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It was one week ago that students at A.E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas responded to a posting on Facebook by beating up at least 7 of their redheaded classmates as part of "Kick a Ginger Day," a pseudo-event thought to be inspired by a 2005 South Park episode.
Not only did the attacks provoke an investigation (and may well result in arrest and prosecution of the attackers) but has renewed the discussion of the extent to which kids are influenced by pop culture and the media, and the responsibility of the parents.
Now some high school students in Los Angeles are hoping to overcome the negativity of "Kick a Ginger Day" by launching a kinder, gentler counter-attack: "Hug a Ginger Day."
In our inbox came info about the event from the movement's organizer, Andrew Cohen, a 12th Grader at the New Community Jewish High School, who says he feels "young adults were represented poorly, and a blanketed statement may have been implied of the corruption of youth from television, pop culture, etc." Cohen says his campaign of kindness aims to "prove the contrary, that we are productive, knowledgeable, and while we enjoy television smut at times, we don't [i]nternalize it."
Using social networking to promote the event, "Hug a Ginger Day" is listed on Facebook, and takes place on December 8th, with well over 1300 attendees confirming participation.
Cohen sees the larger potential of this manner of response: "Small steps lead to bigger steps, as we learned in the persecution of minorities in the Holocaust, so these types of actions like the one at A E Wright must not go unopposed."
