SPIRIT DAY 10/20/10

Jess · 10-20-2010, 05:48 PM

When I picked up the boy from school today, he eagerly pointed out the big PURPLE X's sharpied onto his hands and said, " I got a ribbon too".

It seems a young girl had made hundreds of ribbons and armed herself with purple markers and put her ass on the line ( in this area, it IS a risk) to get the word out about cyber-bullying and gay bashing.

I asked him if he knew what it was all about and surprisingly, he had a clue. Mind you, he is a great kid, but he is also a young man trying to fit into a mainstream school for the first time in quite a few years and he is a senior. I was impressed that he knew anything about it, as I rather doubt that X-Box live has a game regarding gay bashing.

We ( his mother and I) had a discussion with him a few weeks ago about an off the cuff comment he had made ( in my presence) to a guy from school. While standing in line at Wally world, he eyed a "snuggie" box and chuckles stating to his friend " that is soooo gay". At which point my reaction was to turn to him and say "yes, that is why I am buying you one in every color for Christmas".

After settling down a bit and discussing it with "mom", we sat down and talked with him about the impact of such "slang". I am fully aware that it IS just something that kids are saying all the time, however, so is the N word, the S word, the J word, the M word. None of them are helpful to any conversation except promoting hate and othering. He seemed to get it and while defending the "but I didn't mean anything bad by it" position, his accepting of the purple told me he does kinda "get it".

He did mention also that he heard several guys calling the young woman ( my new hero) a "rug cruncher". Said, he didn't get it. I explained that they were calling her a dyke in reference to sexual activity. He seemed genuinely confused, as I think a couple of these guys were folks he considered "friends" and I commented that what they said is EXACTLY what the entire "purple" thing was about.

We allowed the conversation to lull itself away after that and his comment that some people are just idiots. I figured that he got it enough, at least for this moment i time.

CherylNYC · 10-20-2010, 06:25 PM

I'm working looong hours and enduring a dreadful commute on the job this week. After work yesterday I rushed to get to three consecutive meetings that each lasted far too long. When I finally got home I searched the chest of drawers for a purple work shirt. Then I searched everywhere else, and checked the drawers again. NOTHING! I ended up dying a t-shirt purple and got to bed at 1:30 AM. I left for work at 6 AM wearing my new purple shirt! Yay for me.

I said I was going to wear purple, and I wore it.

I'm really glad I managed to come up with something because no one else on the job site wore purple today. I spoke to a few co-workers about it and they had not heard anything about it. Sigh.

jenny · 10-20-2010, 06:27 PM

I wore purple today, as did my daughters. Best of all... I went to my salon for a haircut this evening, and every single person working there was wearing purple! Fabulous.

Nat · 10-20-2010, 06:35 PM

I wore purple - and I early-voted.

10-20-2010, 05:48 PM	#1
Jess Timed Out - Permanent How Do You Identify?: decidedly indifferent Preferred Pronoun?: other Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Patrick Springs, VA Posts: 2,812 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,247 Thanked 5,700 Times in 1,682 Posts Rep Power: 0	When I picked up the boy from school today, he eagerly pointed out the big PURPLE X's sharpied onto his hands and said, " I got a ribbon too". It seems a young girl had made hundreds of ribbons and armed herself with purple markers and put her ass on the line ( in this area, it IS a risk) to get the word out about cyber-bullying and gay bashing. I asked him if he knew what it was all about and surprisingly, he had a clue. Mind you, he is a great kid, but he is also a young man trying to fit into a mainstream school for the first time in quite a few years and he is a senior. I was impressed that he knew anything about it, as I rather doubt that X-Box live has a game regarding gay bashing. We ( his mother and I) had a discussion with him a few weeks ago about an off the cuff comment he had made ( in my presence) to a guy from school. While standing in line at Wally world, he eyed a "snuggie" box and chuckles stating to his friend " that is soooo gay". At which point my reaction was to turn to him and say "yes, that is why I am buying you one in every color for Christmas". After settling down a bit and discussing it with "mom", we sat down and talked with him about the impact of such "slang". I am fully aware that it IS just something that kids are saying all the time, however, so is the N word, the S word, the J word, the M word. None of them are helpful to any conversation except promoting hate and othering. He seemed to get it and while defending the "but I didn't mean anything bad by it" position, his accepting of the purple told me he does kinda "get it". He did mention also that he heard several guys calling the young woman ( my new hero) a "rug cruncher". Said, he didn't get it. I explained that they were calling her a dyke in reference to sexual activity. He seemed genuinely confused, as I think a couple of these guys were folks he considered "friends" and I commented that what they said is EXACTLY what the entire "purple" thing was about. We allowed the conversation to lull itself away after that and his comment that some people are just idiots. I figured that he got it enough, at least for this moment i time. Last edited by Jess; 10-20-2010 at 05:51 PM.

10-20-2010, 06:25 PM	#2
CherylNYC Member How Do You Identify?: Stonefemme lesbian Preferred Pronoun?: I'm a woman. Behave accordingly. Relationship Status: Single, not looking. Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: NYC Posts: 1,467 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,474 Thanked 7,112 Times in 1,205 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	I'm working looong hours and enduring a dreadful commute on the job this week. After work yesterday I rushed to get to three consecutive meetings that each lasted far too long. When I finally got home I searched the chest of drawers for a purple work shirt. Then I searched everywhere else, and checked the drawers again. NOTHING! I ended up dying a t-shirt purple and got to bed at 1:30 AM. I left for work at 6 AM wearing my new purple shirt! Yay for me. I said I was going to wear purple, and I wore it. I'm really glad I managed to come up with something because no one else on the job site wore purple today. I spoke to a few co-workers about it and they had not heard anything about it. Sigh. __________________ Cheryl

10-20-2010, 06:27 PM	#3
jenny Member How Do You Identify?: queer femme Relationship Status: inquire within Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: NJ Posts: 956 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 434 Thanked 1,594 Times in 580 Posts Rep Power: 5091118	I wore purple today, as did my daughters. Best of all... I went to my salon for a haircut this evening, and every single person working there was wearing purple! Fabulous. __________________ "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~ Anne Frank “Life's most persistent and urgent question is: 'What are you doing for others?'” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

10-20-2010, 06:35 PM	#4
Nat Senior Member How Do You Identify?: bigender (DID System) Preferred Pronoun?: he/him or alter-specific Relationship Status: Unavailable Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Central TX Posts: 3,537 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 11,047 Thanked 13,967 Times in 2,589 Posts Rep Power: 21474855	I wore purple - and I early-voted. __________________ I'm a fountain of blood. In the shape of a girl. - Bjork What is to give light must endure burning. -Viktor Frankl