A Christmas card that was deemed to be offensive to redheads has been withdrawn from Tesco stores after a mother complained.
I know it was a silly story, but it did get me thinking about what we do and don’t find offensive. Clearly, if the card had read “santa likes all kids- even black/ muslim/ disabled ones” it would never have been printed in the first place. Are some forms of discrimination more acceptable than others?
Or do we all just need to lighten up and take a joke?
Well… here’s the thing. The card referred specifically to children. They are the little people you see at schools, parks etc. The ones that adults are suppose to protect. The playground is a tough enough place to be, without adults joining in with singling out groups to laugh at.
Bullying is a really big deal. It makes childhood miserable and some people never recover from it. And, some groups are more likely to be bullied than others. 93% of children with learning disabilities are bullied, and ginger kids get a hard time of it too. Our friend Louise has a learning disability and red hair- she talks about her harrowing experiences of bullying in this video. Adults have a responsibility to stop this, not to reinforce it.
Maybe this Christmas card is just a joke, but imagine what it’s like for the ginger kid in the class when someone decides to give these cards out at school.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. Let’s stop thinking about the language we use in terms of political correctness and legislation, and start thinking about how it actually makes people feel. In this case, I’d say we can do without the (not very funny) joke for the sake of not colluding in bullying.
Tags: bullying, ginger, language, learning disability