In Solidarity

No one should look to me for fashion advice, as my wardrobe never reflects new trends and the latest from the fashion gurus of Paris, Los Angeles, New York, and Asheville.  

Unless cargo shorts, hoodies, t-shirts and ballcaps are suddenly the "new thing."

I didn't think so.

But here's Mr Mark from the House of What's In with a fashion tip:  You're about to see a lot of people wearing a safety pin, and just so you don't have to wonder why, they're wearing them in solidarity with those who may feel put down or left behind all over the world.

It actually began as so many other things did, in merrie olde England, where people for reasons no one seems to understand voted to leave the European Union last summer, and then, once the votes were counted, there was a huge surge in Britons looking up just what "leaving the European Union" meant, in many ways.

And then they all said "Whoops!"

The symbolism is that a safety pin is SAFE, and no threat to other people.  So immigrants, minorities and others who fear reprisals and attack from people favoring xenophobia and small-minded hatred can spot a sheltering soul in someone sporting a pin.

So you will be seeing them in the weeks to come, and my Fearless Fashion Forecast is that people will decorate them in appropriate colors for the upcoming holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Inauguration Day.)

With hate crimes, schoolkids trooping around shouting intemperate things at New Americans and children of color, and of course good ol' KKK rallies, many feel that standing up as being opposed to these ineffable enormities is the only way to help.  

It's been a while since I read children’s books, but someone named Mo Willems writes them about a character named Knuffle Bunny, and here is KB showing support for the cause. 

Back in my Paleozoic youth, we had childrens' books with characters named Knucklehead and Sluggo and Mike Hammer and Smokey Stover.  Let's hear it for Knuffle Bunny!