Do not think that I am opposed to ending bullying, but realistically, how does the pink shirt actually do anything? It's a nice thought, no doubt. It's about as nice of a thought as spreading around a viral web video about the children in Uganda. We wear pink t-shirts to ease our conscience. All the while we probably talked about how "that one girl over there in the hallway reeeeally should have worn a couple sizes bigger pink t-shirt." We ARE bullies. From the youngest to the oldest of us. There are exceptions but we as a people can be vicious to one another. And we don't really want to change that about ourselves because it's a fantastic protection mechanism and no one is interested in getting hurt! So we slap on a pink t-shirt and silently announce our alliance to kindness and justice while thinking of how many corporate toes we're going to have to step on and sever before we make it to the top. Honestly.
So that's what bugs me. Our population likes to bring a lot of AWARENESS to things and do not so much about it. We will be a generation most known for our use of technology and the sound of our voices. We talk, a lot. Here I am, blogging. What will I do about it? I'm a bully myself. I know that. There are situations when in order to make myself feel better I am convinced I must make so-and-so feel worse, much worse. I need to eliminate the desire to ever make a human being feel like less than made in the image of God.
That means no gossiping, the most sly of all the bullying tactics. The one that girls are absolute geniuses at. That has to start with me (and you) so that maybe we'll have some positive effect on the people around us and that all of our hearts would be inclined to spread joy, not malice. And it doesn't really matter what shirt you have on when you do it. Just do it.
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