Does someone think people from Langley are less enlightened? I don’t live in Langley but I do take offence. Yes in this case this man was obviously in the wrong, however I don’t this everyone from Langley is like this man.

Okay, yes, it’s true, my younger (middle) brother was the enforcer in our family, not me. Probably because he spent most of our teenage years as the bigger, stronger, more athletic one :).

But in the general case, I have a hard time who is out there supporting the pro-bullying cause at this point. Aren’t we already drilling an anti-bullying message into kids pretty much from pre-school? I sure remember that kind of message in school myself. Heck, I bet even the bullies in school are wearing pink today, in support of going with the flow, or perhaps in support of looking good for the ladies.

My parents, as wonderful as they were and are, probably didn’t do much to enhance what could, through much of my youth, be summarized as social obliviousness. I was also pretty lucky in that high school was, for me, a LOT less alienating than the last years of elementary school. The apparent result was that my grades went all to heck in high school…

Also true: the only even remotely pink garment I own these days is a pair of socks that went through the wash with a red shirt. I don’t avoid pink per se, it’s just not a color that looks good on me.

Where was I? Effortless gestures are meaningless gestures. And if you’re into bad behavior at the mall, let me tell you the story of the time my lovely bride got punched in the arm by a stranger for what amounts to no damn reason at all.

I, on the other hand, care too much about what others think. I was picked on at school. I don’t want my kids to be picked on. People should just be nice. Parents should do more to make their kids respectful of others. Period. I’m wearing pink today, so in the case my kids get picked on hopefully someone else sticks up for them. I know your brother did.

But I refuse to be bullied into supporting this absurd feel-good cause! Maybe in the specific case of the kids above it was sensible, but I got a to-all email at work yesterday exhorting me to wear pink to work.

Today, I am wearing black and blue, plus this wristband:

http://store.ronniejohns.com/?show_product=HTFU

So, I guess I got over the being-bullied thing.

BTW, I gotta say that the pink-shirt-in-Langley anecdote probably says as much about you as about your dim-bulb taunter. You escalated to what over what? Buddha says: let it go.

You wanna get teased by random passers-by, try wearing spandex in public and get back to me (only on the bike; I’m not a complete anorak).

One more thing: a lot of this anti-bullying rhetoric ties into the theory that self-esteem is important to our little ones and other innocents.

Self-esteem is probably overrated.

I used to read your Blogs on MySpace religiously .. and just stumbled across this site of yours. I’m glad to be back … you are my favourite blogger Buzz

<33 .. tiff