Facebook, Violence and Red Heads

Recently I read an article that made me think about how the internet can once again, get you into quite a load of trouble. The article was discussing a Facebook event, Kick a Ginger Day. First, I'd like to say that I do not understand the obsession with red heads that the people of my generation seem to have. The article mentions that South Park, a show I have never seen, has something to do with this hatred for gingers urging people to kick gingers on November 20th. Many people (as far as I know most people) are all joking when it comes down to making a ginger joke, but one Canadian student is said to have taken it too far.

This past Thursday was marked to be Kick a Ginger Day. Ironically enough, it fell right in the middle of international Ant

i Bullying Week. People all around the world had joined to Facebook event, and the majority thought little of it. Little did the student who created know that he could soon be facing charges, “We do treat this sort of thing seriously,” she said. “This is sort of inciting hate. It’s a hate crime really.” News of this event traveled quickly, and people began to react:

In St. John’s, N.L., schools warned students they’d be disciplined if they acted on the joke.

Tony Stack, principal of St. Peter’s, a grades 7 to 9 school near St. John’s, said they were told about the event by parents of red-headed kids.
In Flin Flon, Man., an elementary school sent a letter home to parents alerting them and their children to the possibility of disturbances.

And in Sylvan Lake, Alta., one red-haired student said she and her 13-year-old sister were punched and kicked by their peers when they got to school.

It is amazing how the Internet can cause such a reaction from the public, and cause so much to happen internationally with just a couple minutes and a few clicks of the mouse. One poor red headed student left school that day covered in bruises. He had no idea what was going on when he was moving through the halls on the way to his next class, as he had only heard of the Facebook event in passing, thinking nothing of it: “Three people saw me and they decided they would kick me. They were much older than me, maybe like 15, 16 years old,” he said. “I became trapped trying to get through this press of people. And that’s when they kicked me from behind and I fell over.” Although this is a rare case, we must still consider the consequences of our actions on the Internet. The group leader has been apologizing profusely, as he did not realize that this would lead him into so much trouble: “It was a joke,” he said. “I’ll message everybody and say I’m sorry that this offended people.” Unfortunately, this joke was taken a step too far, and may lead to punishment by law.

I feel that this goes to show that even something as small as a Facebook joke could lead an Internet user into more trouble than they could have ever dreamt of, and that the Internet is just as close to reality as any other open forum.

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