The idea of wearing a safety pin as a political message was first used in the United Kingdom after the recent vote there to leave the European Union. The vote was followed by an increase in hate crimes. People started wearing a safety pin to show they were “a safe place” — that people need not fear them.
After our presidential election, many people in the U.S. now fear for their safety. So people here are spreading the idea of wearing a safety pin to show solidarity with those who feel threatened.
If a lot of us in Addison County wear them, it may help to remind those of us who feel hate for others that it’s not all right with the rest of us to express that hate. It may be a kind of public proof that the vast majority of us care for each other, wish the best for each other, and relate to each other on the basis of our common humanity — by what we share rather than on how we differ.
Barbara Clearbridge
Middlebury