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Kick A Ginger Day Causes Real World Pain for Children
None of that matters as much as knowing how horrible it must have been for children to arrive on school campus last week and be set upon by their peers in a barrage of kicks, punches, pinches and slaps as they walked in the halls. Even a girl who was headed to the principal's office for protection reports her progress was impeded by the onslaught of attacks on her way. Fortunately or least luckily, none of the injuries sustained are reported to be serious. But the embarrassment, humiliation for the victims and sheer stupidity of the perpetrators is shocking to a parent.
According to the Los Angeles Times, two boys have been booked by police on charges of "battery" and a third boy who posted threats on Facebook, faces charges of "making a threat via electronic communication" or cyberbullying.
Today, I was teaching internet safety to the students at an elementary school in Los Angeles. During the question and answer period with the older students (6th - 8th graders), someone mentioned having heard about "Kick a Ginger Day" and the attacks on the radio during the drive into school. The children began squirming with interest as I described the events that had occurred. I made sure to emphasize the stupidity of following instructions from a TV show or an online stranger. I also cautioned that threats of physical violence posted online would always be of interest to law enforcement. And finally I reminded the children of the need to be inclusive and kind to one another in the real world and online worlds. As I spoke, I noticed one boy with red curls become visibly uncomfortable with the topic and as we moved our discussion onto the next internet safety concept, his buddy next to him gave him a playful pinch on the arm. I'm not sure the lessons of "Kick a Ginger Day" had been fully absorbed.
