To show support for the many ethnic groups under attack in the days following the Brexit vote, many citizens began wearing safety pins to show others that they were against this type of racist behavior and that they were a safe person for those needing support in tumultuous times.
After the election of Trump, the safety pin movement quickly migrated to America. Many Americans began wearing the safety pin to demonstrate their support for those mocked, ridiculed and threatened by the Trump campaign. The safety pin showed that the wearer was a person of safety. It is a symbol meant to instill confidence in those threatened that not everyone feels the same way as Trump and his supporters.
Of course, detractors say it's a useless symbol and worry that it gives the wearer a free pass thinking they're doing their part in fighting racism and bigotry. They believe that action is needed, not symbols.
But I believe symbols are important. Of course action must accompany symbols or they lose their power. But I work and teach with a lot of people who feel threatened by Trump's rhetoric. They are worried, legitimately worried about their place in Trump's America.
So I will be wearing a safety pin. I want my students to know that I am a safe person. I want them to know my classroom is a sanctuary. I want them to know that the main reason I'm in this classroom is for them. I'm for them. I'm with them.
