November 8 - No H8 - Eradicate Hate in the Nail Polish Community

Bullying is not funny.  It is not cool.  It is not right.  And more importantly, it is not okay.  

Most of us are thankfully residents of countries that support tolerance and many of our families have settled in these places simply for that reason.  Generations later, it is our responsibility to perpetuate that message of tolerance across our new social platforms, including the internet.

As members of the nail polish community, we all share a love of beauty, color, and lacquer.  Other than that, we are remarkably different: from our race to our religion to our hair color and even to our polish application techniques.  To look down on anyone because of those differences is completely unacceptable and today I take a stand against that.  I refuse to allow other people's view of "normal" dictate how I behave, believe, and blog.  

In solidarity with a multitude of bloggers linked below, my purple manicure represents my proud commitment to the No H8 movement.  Today, November 8, I dedicate my post  to ending bullying of any kind and to encouraging diversity and imperfection among our colorful community.

Since I have already done my nails for the challenge I'm in, I decided to go through past manis and found this one:

This was when I first started my blog and getting back into nail polish. This is two coats of Orly Oui, a gorgeous dark purple with gold shimmer. Back in July, I didn't know about nail polish clean up, cleaning up around your cuticles, the macro setting on my camera, lightboxes, etc.

Bullying is all around us. I don't necessarily think I was bullied when I was a kid (maybe I was?), but I was picked on a lot because my family didn't have a lot of money, and I didn't always wear the "right" clothes, the "right" shoes, or hang out with the "right" kids at school. I was bullied at my previous job and at a job a few years ago because I wouldn't kiss butt. In both cases, I was fired for reasons other than the true cause. My 6 year old daughter has been bullied at school and around here.. and what happens? Some kids either succumb to the bullying, or they become a bully themselves in order to defend and stick up for themselves. My daughter is the latter, and we tell her constantly what it means to be a bully.

I think people sometimes forget that something they say could be funny to them and a few others, but not everyone is going to see it the same way. A lot of what is meant to be in fun could really hurt someone's feelings. There IS a HUMAN BEING behind every screen name, every blog, every social media page, and it's so easy to hide behind that and not own up to your actions.

If you or someone you know suffers from bullying, there is help.  Please visit the following sites for support and encouragement:

StopBullying.gov

Report Cyber Bullying

National Suicide Prevention Hotline - 800-273-TALK (8255)

Eradicate H8

Check out the other bloggers who are standing up against bullying!!