To think that the "safety pin" is unlikely to be recognised by the people that really need it.

[GerdaLovesLili]

Just that really. My neighbours who are pretty much 80% BAME that's characteristic of my end of the borough I live in (24 flats and yes, I got to talk to pretty much all of them today as usual while I was outside gardening/hanging up the laundry/walking up to and from the school) have absolutely no idea what the hell the safety pin is all about. Mainly because not one of them is an i/Indy/Grauniad reader.

How do we ensure that they know that it's a symbol of hope for them and not just smug virtue signalling?

I'm sure those of us who've been around for any amount of time remember this thread...www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/1408141-to-show-I-am-asexual-by-wearing-a-black-ring

Well I found out about it on Facebook, not in the broadsheets, so I'm guessing a lot of people who might need it will also be aware of it.

BIWI But if anything has become clear over the course of the referendum it's that we all seem to exist in little like-minded bubbles on FB, I'm wondering how much overlap between groupings there really is.

But posts like this get shared, they don'' stay in the little bubbles we're in.

MrsDeVere Good! I'm glad that it's all over FB. I can't see the whole of FB, and most of my neighbours aren't on FB, so it's encouraging to see it's getting coverage.

Great post, MrsDV

Hmm. I wore one today in solidarity with work people from the EU who shared it on FB last night. Was thinking of just putting it on a chain tomorrow to stop the faff of changing it everyday. or buying more than one

No, in itself a safety pin solves nothing, but even as a total coward generally I definitely felt like I'd made a "pledge" to speak up if there was any bullshit in my path.

Anything and everything we can collectively do right now to say a colossal "fuck you" to the racists who have come out of the woodwork, the better I think (and yes - #NotAllLeavers, everyone knows, but it is what it is).

see, this is what worries me. Lots of safety pins worn by lots of people might have some sort of effect, but
a) do the racists know what they mean?
and
b) this: www.facebook.com/faerierhona/posts/886218331504712

Links to a public post, deliberately made public for debate.

I understood the campaign to have been initiated by an American lady living in Britain who wanted to do something - anything! - to show solidarity against the racist attacks at the weekend.
She came up with the safety pin because she reasoned everyone would have one and they needn't go out and buy one (no, I don't have any, either).

Being American, I doubt she realised the symbol had been used here before.

It's easy to criticise and sneer. Perhaps you'd like to share your own ideas on how we can make our non-British neighbours feel safer.
Don't kid yourselves it isn't happening. I live in an affluent area of Surrey. Some of my Polish neighbours are frightened. An American friend was racially abused and told to go home at the weekend, too.

Don't forget that some of these people will have experienced racial violence in their own countries. Poland in WW2 was a terrible place to be and the stories will have been passed down to sons and daughters. I'm not surprised they're scared.

So what, if anything, will you do about it?

Tanith I'll continue to do what I always have: continue to live and work amongst our diverse community as part of that community, calling out fuckwittery where-ever I see it as I always have. I'm not sure that I need a safety pin to do that. But I'll wear one if you think it will help.

My non-english speaking neighbours and my english speaking neighbours who aren't on social media (ie, pretty much 100% of them ) have absolutely no clue what it's for. So it will, unless there is some kind of nation-wide campaign, be recognizable to Guardian/Indy/i-reading plugged-in, socially aware folk who can signal to each other how radical they are.

I'm not sneering at the need for community support, I'm desperately worried that this just further highlights the chasm between those who are socially aware and those who for whatever reason, have no clue.

Agree with flufflepuff and Tanith. Let's not dismiss it just because it's not perfect. If it reminds the wearer, raises awareness, encourages debate then that's all good. I'm sure many people who would value reassurance won't recognise it but some will. And it may grow. Early days.

And can we stop talking about racism affecting only certain races. The very frightening change recent events seem to have inspired is open racism towards anyone not white British. Anyone at all. Americans, the French, Poles, anyone - as well as the depressingly familiar prejudice based on colour or religion. There's a confidence in expressing these anti anyone not like us thoughts that's extremely concerning.

And MrsdeVere's post is great.

It's never too late to be a punk!

Yes! Way more punk to be punking it when no one else is.

jellyfrizz

I'm not telling you to wear a safety pin, Gerda, I'm saying it's easy to criticise.

Tanith it's also easy to wear a safety pin and then do nothing, or to assume that because people aren't wearing safety pins (because they don't know about them) that they're not on your side.

A woman I don't know hugged me in the playground this morning and thanked me for wearing a pin.

I haven't seen anyone else wearing one and to be honest felt a bit silly yesterday. But the hug this morning has changed me. Yes of course be inclusive and treat all people well as your default - but something small I did mattered to someone today.

SteelyPip, that's wonderful :-)

I quite frequently have a whole heap of safety pins pinned to my front when I'm sewing. I forget about them and go out with them on me. How will you know if you see someone with a pin whether they have it for a reason or not?

Witchend well, yes. I've usually got a couple on me from sewing exploits plus the three or four that habitually live on my lanyard...

it is 'virtue signalling' and the implication is that if you are NOT wearing a pin (and therefore can not be considered a right-on person) you are a 'racist' (so have all 17.5 million 'out voters' gone out and made racist remarks or attacks?) The 57% increase which has had 'legs' on social media is an increase on a very small number of hate crimes - that have always been there.
but if you think that not wearing a safety pin means we are going to attack the nearest immigrant - of course we are not.

Police log fivefold rise in race-hate complaints since Brexit result.

but if you think that not wearing a safety pin means we are going to attack the nearest immigrant - of course we are not.

Yes of course, that's what everybody thinks What a ridiculous post.

Threshold a mumsnet campaign on fb and twitter about displays of solidarity along with the safety pin.