We don’t have time to fight amongst ourselves. I’m wearing a safety pin. It’s not all that I’m doing either. It’s not the main thing I’m doing. But, I’m going to wear the pin. It’s not to insult anyone or assuage some guilt. I’m wearing the pin to say I’m not a part of this decision. I’m wearing it for my daughter. I’m wearing it for my wife. I’m wearing this pin for my youngest son. I read the articles on Huffington Post and other sites telling me it’s an empty gesture that is more hurtful than helpful, but I don’t buy that. Hopefully, some of my coworkers will start asking me, “Why are you wearing the pin?” And I’ll tell them. Hopefully, some of my family will see me wearing the pin this Thanksgiving and I’ll tell them. And then we can start building some hope and unity. So, if you don’t like the pin, come up and tell me why. Don’t shake your head and turn your back in uppity derision. Come up and talk to me. I will listen.
Let tell me one more thing. The safety pin is also my daily reminder not to “normalize.” It says to me, the white guy who will probably be OK in the end, that something is wrong in my country. It says to me not to turn a blind eye to mysogyny, anti-gay propaganda or racism or freaking sexual assault. It says to me I cannot stay on the sidelines for the next four years. Maybe that’s not what it really was supposed to mean, but that’s what it means to me. So I’m wearing the pin. You wear what you want to wear.
