Toronto Police Officer Dyes Hair Pink To Fight Bullying And Homophobia
April 8 was The Day of Pink, an international day against bullying, discrimination, homophobia, transphobia, and transmisogyny across the world, according to The International Day of Pink website. The day was founded to promote and celebrate diversity, and people could demonstrate their solidarity by wearing a pink shirt at their homes, workplaces, schools, and communities. The message is that “together we can stop bullying,” according to the New York Daily News.
Well, Luke Watson, a policeman in Toronto, decided to dye his hair hot pink to fight LGBT discrimination and bullying. And he documented his new coif on social media. So, it’s fitting that he also decided to let social media — that is, Twitter users –decide how long he’ll remain “in the pink.”
Watson promised that for every thousand retweets of a picture of his new style, he would keep the pink mane for another week. For every 100 retweets, he would keep the colorful hair an extra day. Little did he know that the story would go viral and that he would get over four thousand retweets and counting.
The day originated by two heterosexual teens in Nova Scotia who wanted to stand in solidarity with a gay student being bullied while wearing a pink shirt. The next day, the students handed out 50 pink shirts.
Now, high schools around Canada host events and change their school colors to pink in solidarity every year, and the Toronto Police have been attending the Day of Pink event for years. Some officers even shared stories of bullying they had suffered and gave students tips to fight abuse, according to the New York Daily News.
According to the Huffington Post, the Day of Pink means seeing outside of oneself.
“Day of Pink is more than just a symbol of a shared belief in celebrating diversity — it’s also a commitment to being open minded, accepting differences and learning to respect each other.”
According to the Toronto Police Service News, LGBTQ Liaison Officer Constable Danielle Bottineau noted that this was the third year in which the Police Service participated in celebrating the day at a Toronto school, quoted below. They celebrated at a gymnasium at Forest Hill Collegiate, and there was a sea of pink shirts, demonstrating the solid support for the cause.
“We all need to take a stance against homophobic and transphobic bullying. The message here is that, together, we can make it better.”
Chief of Police Bill Blair summarized the event as follows in his speech, according to the Toronto Police Service News.
“Bullying can only take place when we lack the courage to intervene, when we stand back as bystanders, when we just let it happen. You have demonstrated that you will not be bystanders… you have demonstrated your commitment to each other. Today, we remember what we stand for. We stand together and we stand strong.”
But, although a day reminding people to respect each other and their beliefs is a concrete reminder, shouldn’t we all try to respect each other every day? Of course, that is a message of the Day of Pink.
In an article in the Inquisitr, an openly gay honor student senior wanted to wear a tuxedo to her prom. At first, the school’s principal said that she could not attend if she did not wear a dress. After much media attention, he had a change of heart and indicated that she could attend in a tux.
[Photos Courtesy of Twitter]
