# Whadya think of the safety pin trend? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 11, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536 "2016-11-11T20:55:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/21 "2016-11-13T06:00:54Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > You mean like being endorsed by the Klan, having a white supremacist in a senior position in his campaign and a wave of violence by his supporters? How long until NOT wearing a pin means something? Cause I’ve already seen friends turn on each other because their SO’s…not even them…SO’s didn’t vote for Hillary. NOT “voted for Trump even”…but because the SO didn’t vote for Hillary. I’ve already seen voter databases (Has said person voted before) used as witch hunt devices in conversations. JFC The Monsters are Due on Maple Street ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/22 "2016-11-13T08:48:29Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > How long until NOT wearing a pin means something? Cause I’ve already seen friends turn on each other because their SO’s…not even them…SO’s didn’t vote for Hillary. NOT “voted for Trump even”…but because the SO didn’t vote for Hillary. > > I’ve already seen voter databases (Has said person voted before) used as witch hunt devices in conversations. > > JFC The Monsters are Due on Maple Street I honestly don’t understand your question. The pins are meant to be a symbol to vulnerable populations that you are not a bigot and that if you see them being attacked by bigots, you will try to help. Friends turning on each other is a separate issue and would seem to be outside of the idea for the program. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/23 "2016-11-13T13:43:10Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I honestly don’t understand your question. The pins are meant to be a symbol to vulnerable populations that you are not a bigot and that if you see them being attacked by bigots, you will try to help. Those so inclined will take anyone not wearing, not wanting to wear or refusing to wear it as a sing that they _are_ bigots. Classic “If you aren’t with us you are against us” thinking. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/24 "2016-11-13T13:53:22Z")
That’s an interesting take, did that happen in the UK? I honestly don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/25 "2016-11-13T14:00:54Z")
I picked “other”, because I wanted to choose both options 1 and 3. It’s really pathetic that something like this would be necessary… but it is. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/26 "2016-11-13T14:17:15Z")
I agree **Chronos**. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/27 "2016-11-13T16:20:01Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > That’s an interesting take, did that happen in the UK? I honestly don’t know. This fad thankfully hasn’t made it’s way over here but the remembrance day poppy (another, ostensibly voluntary symbol) has been the victim of that s[ort of thinking](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34720464). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/28 "2016-11-13T17:18:30Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > As a white guy, I get why you’d want to wear a badge that says, I’m not a bigot right now. If an American who is Muslim, black, brown, gay, non-Christian, disabled, or any of the other things that put him/her outside of Trump’s America spots these pins and feels a little bit safer and a little less marginalized, I guess that’s a victory. I could maybe signal that with a pin that says All Lives Matter. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/29 "2016-11-13T18:06:07Z")
It sounds like something that probably makes white people feel a lot better about themselves. I’m outraged that so many people were willing to overlook Trump’s racist rhetoric, but I think dealing with it effectively is going to require a lot more than a safety pin. OTOH, Sir Patrick Stewart’s doing it, so it must be right. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/30 "2016-11-13T18:11:20Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > This fad thankfully hasn’t made it’s way over here but the remembrance day poppy (another, ostensibly voluntary symbol) has been the victim of that s[ort of thinking](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34720464). The campaign came from the U.K. after a spike in hate crimes following the Brexit vote. > **[Here’s The Powerful Reason People Are Wearing Safety Pins In The U.K. - Good](https://www.good.is/articles/safety-pin-solidarity-immigrants-uk)** > > This tiny object is making a huge statement ---
**Author:** ![hermann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b487fb/32.png) [@hermann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hermann)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/31 "2016-11-13T20:29:36Z")
I think it is silly. What if all of a sudden you see people walking around with “Make America Great Again” hats with safety pins in them? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/32 "2016-11-13T21:58:47Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > The campaign came from the U.K. after a spike in hate crimes following the Brexit vote. > [https://www.good.is/articles/safety-pin-solidarity-immigrants-uk](https://www.good.is/articles/safety-pin-solidarity-immigrants-uk) Well it certainly isn’t something that’s getting a huge amount of publicity thankfully. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/33 "2016-11-13T22:31:19Z")
Self-aggrandizement. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/34 "2016-11-13T22:42:23Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Self-aggrandizement. In what manner? How does it aggrandize? I am wearing one as I type. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/35 "2016-11-13T23:21:27Z")
It sounds like a way to signal “Hey, I’m one of the good guys! Don’t lump me in with them! I’m cool! So LIKE ME, dammit!!” If some shit is going down and it looks like I can’t take care of it myself, please help me. Don’t tell me you’re going to help me–just fucking do it. And likewise, if I see you getting harrassed, I’ll do what I can. But I’m not going to broadcast my supposed bravery with a damn safety pin like it confers supernatural abilities or something. And being white doesn’t protect you either. The whole thing reminds me of that show-your-solidarity-with-Muslims-by-wearing-a-head-scarf Facebook thing from a couple of years ago. Yeah, I can just see me walking around with a hijab and getting clunked in the head with a beer can on my way to work. And then that would be the end of me being a play-play Muslim. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/36 "2016-11-14T00:28:34Z")
Sounds like another way for white people to feel good about themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/37 "2016-11-14T01:30:33Z")
Gestures like this are too easily co-opted by trolls and the ideological opposite, and I understand it’s already happening. So well meaning, but ultimately futile. It looks like these days, you really have to wear your politics on your sleeve if you’re going to express without words that you’re going to help against hate crimes. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/38 "2016-11-14T02:11:28Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Sounds like another way for white people to feel good about themselves. No, no, it’s another way for white people to feel good about themselves _that requires almost no effort, and absolves them from doing anything more meaningful because they made a token gesture already, what more do you want?_ The latter part is important too. There’s a word for this sort of thing isn’t there? Slacktivism. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/39 "2016-11-14T02:18:47Z")
Sounds like a great way for some klan members to lull some minorities into a false sense of security… And then BAM! they got em! ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2016, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536/40 "2016-11-14T03:00:41Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > No, no, it’s another way for white people to feel good about themselves _that requires almost no effort, and absolves them from doing anything more meaningful because they made a token gesture already, what more do you want?_ The latter part is important too. There’s a word for this sort of thing isn’t there? Slacktivism. That and the internet petition to “The Electoral College” to defy Trump. And exactly how will the College receive this? Will the internet fairy deliver it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whadya-think-of-the-safety-pin-trend/771536.md?page=3)