by Marna McManus
The Red Cross Day of Pink took place on April 10. Staff and students from all schools, as well as children and staff from day cares, parents, organization representatives and city officials came together to stand up for respect.
Young ones joined together to fly hand-crafted flags, upon each of which were sayings like, 'friends don't let friends be bullies' and 'be a buddy not a bully'. Uplifting music played from a mini-van that followed the police escort as the parade travelled from the court house to the south end of Third Street. It was a brisk morning, but the children were in great spirits.
The Canadian Red Cross community outreach coordinator for the Weyburn and Estevan area, George Barker, was in attendance, as always.
"It's a day on the calendar. It's like Christmas, Easter, Valentine 's Day, your birthday - there are special days," said Barker. "But this should turn into a 365 day of the year philosophy. Day of Pink on April 10 is a one day event, but it should turn into a 365 day event, whether you're wearing the pink shirt or not."
Joined this year by Sask Energy, the Red Cross promotes the Day of Pink as an opportunity for young people to raise awareness about the impact of bullying. The program is part of the Red Cross's RespectEd Violence and Abuse Prevention initiative, which goes into schools to teach young people about defining healthy relationships, understanding maltreatment and abuse of power. They also learn that abuse is never a young person's fault and they are empowered with resources.
Barker said that when someone acts as a bully, they are attempting to gain control or power over another person. Bullying can range from the mild belittling of others to physically harming them.
"There is a lot of mental stress because the kids go home and think, 'is that what they think of me?" he said. "Now they've not only belittled you, but you start belittling yourself, by agreeing with it."
Barker noted that it is easier to instill the values of respect in younger people than it is to 'teach old dogs new tricks'.
"If we can teach younger children how to take the stand now, eventually we think it propagates itself over to when they get older," he said.
The RespectEd program teaches kids to consider the impact of a word or action rather than only the intent of it. They must think about how they are coming across to others.
"We just have to be aware of how we are making other people feel," said Barker.
"Respect doesn't mean you have to like everybody," he noted. "There are people I don't like, but I treat them with respect whether I like them or I don't like them. They have every right to be here. We're all human beings. I don't think we should try to force all of our values on others."
By aligning with the Day of Pink, one takes a stand against all types of bullying.
The Red Cross usually makes the pink shirts available beginning in about November, which is five months ahead of the Day of Pink. 20,000 shirts were sold this year in the province, up 6,000 from last year. The deadline is usually the end of January, but this year it was extended to March 1.
Barker noted that one doesn't have to acquire a shirt from the Red Cross - any pink shirt will do for the sentiment of the campaign - but the proceeds from each $11 shirt does go directly toward training one child in bully awareness.
"How do you change a community? One household at a time," Barker said. "You don't change it through the school, because education begins in the home. If kids see dad bullying mom, kids grow up being bullies - because it's education."
Just as each child must learn to treat others with respect, each parent must demonstrate respect toward themselves and others. Bullying may never end, but the first step in change is awareness.
