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Our first job: protecting the most vulnerable among us.
By mickielynn on 2016-11-17 15:38:27
[caption id="attachment_9047" align="aligncenter" width="600"]
for these powerful words."
"All of This" a poem shared on Twitter on November 10, 2016 by Hayley Thompson. "@crosberg is the author to thank for
these powerful words."[/caption] This article is mainly about a campaign to provide safety to people most threatened by
Donald Trump's hate speech during and after the presidential election that took place only 9 days ago. Before describing
the ideas and the symbol of that kind of inclusion and safety [Exemplified by the poem above], Here's the current context:
During all of 2015 hate crimes, especially against Muslims rose considerably and began to reach a level higher than such
crimes after September 11, 2001. Even more alarming has been the rise in verbal and physical violence and other crimes
such as vandalism just since the election. These crimes have been carried out against the most criticized groups, including
African Americans, Latinx, LGBTQIA+, Women, and Muslims. Another change is that many of the actions have been
taking place in schools, from Middle school to Universities and affecting our children as well as adults. There have been
numerous articles and media reports about this but I've linked to the most recent article in the New Yorker since it gives
updated statistics about the 400+ reported crimes to date. There is a lot of hope contained in the fierce determination of most
people of good will against the attacks on marginalized groups that are now being re-victimized. I just wanted to share the
response of one Indiana Episcopal congregation whose church was vandalized last Saturday night. Here's the story from
CBC. One of the most interesting aspects of the interview with the priest, Mother Kelsey Hutto, (in which she explains why
they decided to leave the graffiti up until the end of November) is how well it describes the spirit of the current movement to
give sanctuary and support to those who feel threatened.
...Believe it or not, we are going to leave it up until the end of November. We believe that symbols are what you
make of them. We could look at this graffiti as hateful, and we could be angry or hurt, but we choose instead to
look at it as a symbol of hope. If there's anybody in the surrounding area or in the nation that needs a safe
haven, this graffiti on our walls marks us as a safe haven. It is what we believe in, that we are a safe church. So
if anybody can hear that, I think it's a good reason to leave it up.[...]
[caption id="attachment_9049" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Church, Beanblosson Indiana, Sunday morning, November 13, 2016[/caption] [caption id="attachment_9048"
align="alignright" width="225" ]~;St. David's Episcopal Church, second of three pieces of graffiti, November 13, 2016 St.
David's Episcopal Church, second of three pieces of graffiti, November 13, 2016[/caption] Now to the nationwide campaign
to wear a simple symbol of safety to indicate support for those victimized by the current climate of hate and malice. It's an
easily affordable symbol that anyone can wear. "The idea being that anyone against the sort of nationalistic, racist violence
we've been seeing could identify themselves as a 'safe' ally." Here's a quote from the Daily Mail news site: There’s a meme
going around right now that speaks to being an ally:
e Americans copy post Brexit Brits by wearing safety pins to take a stand against racism, xenophobia and sexism
in the wake of the election
e¢ Some Americans have started wearing safety pins to show solidarity with groups who feel frightened by
Trump's election
¢ The small but powerful symbol is a way for many to essentially take a stand against racism, sexism and
xenophobia
e Idea takes inspiration from a British movement in the aftermath of Brexit
e After Brexit vote, some people started wearing safety pins in a show of solidarity with refugees and immigrants
¢ Now Americans have adopted the symbol as way to declare themselves as an ally to groups including
minorities, women and LGBTQ
Here are some pictures from twitter and other sources:».isafetypin-logo-from-roots-action
|» .wearing-a-safety-pin-happify-designer-and-geographer-for-hire-for-good
\#lucky-tran-safety-pin-on-scientist-biophile-fefugee-interneter |j,it-starts-with-a-safety-pin-from-vox-article
le :you-are-safe-with-me-lets-all-be-safe-places-fro-people-who-are-anxious-and-afraid-right-now
\il-wear-my-safety-pin-sarah-lill Here's a little more history about the wearing of safety pins that goes back further than the
actions countering hate and violence after the Brexit Vote in the UK. Before that the campaign began in 2014 in Australia:
The “safety pin” symbol was inspired by the 2014 #illridewithyou movement in Sydney, Australia. where
people offered to sit next to Muslims who felt threatened on their commutes — at the time, there was fear of an
Islamophobic backlash after a terrorist attack in Sydney left two hostages and the gunman dead (one of the
hostages was killed by a bullet ricochet). And its spirit is in line with a guide to stopping Islamophobia that
recently went viral and offers solutions to bystanders and witnesses.
But there is a much earlier historic origin of this symbol of safety and support:
Safety pins were first used as a symbol of unity and hope back on World War II, when the Netherlands were
invaded. The Dutch wore them under their collar to show loyalty to the queen and not be persecuted by the
Nazis.
The really hopeful news is that there are dozens of already existing groups that have long been doing the work to promote
peace, justice, equality and human and civil rights here in the Untied (this is a typo that I discovered later but perhaps it's
more descriptive than the word United) States and around the world. They are all sharing the reassurance that they aren't
going anywhere but are up for the struggle. So wearing a safety pin is just a symbol or guidepost of being an ally in the work
to keep moving forward.
In the words of @cheeahs, the Twitter user who launched the trend, the idea was “that anyone against the sort of
nationalistic, racist violence we’ve been seeing could identify themselves as a ‘safe ally.’” A small but potent
gesture as we suit up for the hard work to come.
[caption id="attachment_8997" align="alignnone" width="600"]
November 9, 2016 a
Code Pink response to election of Donald Trump and call for continued action on behalf of all threatened people, November
9, 2016[/caption]
