Pink Shirt Day

It was great seeing a bunch of my students and instructors wearing a pink shirt on Wednesday to take a stand against bullying. As martial artists, we like to think we make a big difference in the fight to eradicate bullying. There is no doubt that we are in a unique position to have a big impact but more often than not, we’re all about the talk, not the walk.

Bullying is an obvious problem and despite all the attention it gets, the problem is only getting worse. Back in the day if you were getting bullied at school, home and vacation were welcome havens of respite. Now with social media, bullying can literally be a 24/7 proposition for the victim.

Children’s behaviour is a mirror of their experience. If we want to break the cycle of bullying, it has to stop with us, the adults. With skewed, agenda-driven newscasts and politicians using fear and negativity to undermine their opponents, is there any doubt as to where children are learning to be so selfish and ruthless?

We can’t control how a newscast is delivered or how politicians choose to campaign, but we can set an example of compassion and kindness to serve as positive role models for our children. Bullying is a problem and promises to always be a problem until each of us begins to recognize when and where we are part of the problem.

“Knowing what’s right doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right.” - Theodore Roosevelt (1958 - 1919)