Why Wearing Purple Will Protest Bullying

Got purple? Pants like these will help you protest school bullying. (Photo: Image Source/Getty Images)

Purple socks, purple beret, purple T-shirt—whatever you've got, you'll want to dig it out.
 
To bring awareness to the recent suicides by bullied gay teens, Canadian teenager Brittany McMillan has started a worldwide "Spirit Day" on October 20, asking that people wear the color that represents the "spirit" of the LGBTQ movement. Via Facebook, McMillan has garnered hundreds of thousands of followers vowing to wear their lavender, violet, or mauve best to raise awareness.
 
On her Facebook page McMillan writes: "Many of [the teens] suffered from homophobic abuse in their schools or in their homes. We want to take a stand to say that we will not tolerate this. Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that's exactly what we'd like all of you to have with you: spirit."
 
There's been a bit of controversy in that McMillan didn't get approval from the families of the seven teens who took their own lives, to which she responds on her Facebook page, however her idea has spread like wildfire and dozens of other websites and organizations have joined the cause.
 
Another Facebook page boasts more than 1,300,000 people who say they're committed to wearing purple. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) features a “Wear Purple" page allowing people to "purple their profile pic" on Facebook or Twitter. A "Make It Better" video offers a toolkit for posters and other items to help raise awareness and promote education about LGBTQ bullying. One poster to McMillan's Tumblr page writes that he got his entire Best Buy in Columbus, Ohio, to wear purple.
 
What are you waiting for? We know you have purple pants somewhere...

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