Safety Pin Displays of Support? We Can Easily Do More
I have a suggestion that pretty much any of us can do that might just be more powerful. I’ll use my own neighborhood as an example.
There is a little family grocery store up the street. No fresh meats, all packaged goods. Lots of rices and beans and maybe exotic smells and spices. It happens to a be a Halal store and they also run a small prayer room next door. This is the center of public Muslim activity in our zip code. I found out it is a Pakistani family. Been here years and years.
I like bread, rice, various beans in my diet. Who doesn’t right? So why not just shop there and get to know them a little? Be loyal customers. Like the barber shop, the pub, the theater. Each of these is minority or family run. The kind of place that could encourage the hard / mean hearted to act up and trash talk the employees or customers coming and going. Each of these places benefits us with their presence.
Your home might or might not be a lot like mine. But surely our urban population has a chance to act in support with ordinary activities. Should trouble come, we step up. Call 911. Maybe help clean up broken glass or just reassure a person who has been harassed over a hijab or skin color. Help how we can. Vote with our presence and our money.
By fastening a safety pin to their clothing, people are declaring themselves allies to groups who have been maligned by Trump, to show that they stand in solidarity with anyone who might be afraid.
And as we’ve been dismayed to find out in the days following Trump’s election, it appears that there is reason to fear. People across the country have shared stories on social media of violence and hate speech directed at them in the wake of Trump’s victory. Racist graffiti was spotted around the country and minorities reported experiencing harassment the day after Trump was elected.
More: The Incredible Reason You Might Start Seeing Safety Pins Everywhere