Wearing Purple for Anti-Bullying

Today, October 15, everyone is invited to wear purple to promote anti-bullying. An organization, GLAAD, is calling today ‘Spirit Day.’ This explanation is from their website:

“Spirit Day is presented by GLAAD each year as an international show of support for LGBT youth and to take a stand against bullying. But it's not just about "going purple." It's about starting a conversation about the realities of LGBT bullying and educating youth and adults alike on how they can help prevent it 365 days a year.”

They even have an anti-bullying kit: http://www.glaad.org/spiritday/education. While this material is geared toward school age children and their parents, the importance of stopping bullying is big. Bullying doesn’t stop once people enter into adulthood. I have experienced plenty of bullies in my work life, not to mention in my personal life. And for a variety of reasons. None of them justified.

As I consider those times, I am left with questions. How do I respond when I witness bullying? What do I do? What is the organizational policy about bullying, especially when it isn’t overt? What about when I am the person being bullied? What is my reaction? My answers are mixed. In the past sometimes I have stood strong, but other times I have shrugged away the situation, feeling powerless. I have pushed back and been rolled over, spoken my truth and kept quiet. The only consistency is that it feels terrible. Perhaps that is the best reason to interrupt bullying behavior.Because we are all connected, when one of us feels ‘less than’ we all suffer. As the human family, it matters what is happening to my sisters and brothers. It matters what happens to me.

Let’s wear purple clothes today but always keep our eyes open to the bullying that happens around us and lean on God to be our strength in order to change the situation and create a different outcome.