Olivia Hull, Fall 2009
On November 20, 2009 a group of three middle school boys attacked another boy at A.E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas, California. This attack was not an isolated incident and at this school a total of seven other students were also bullied as a result of a Facebook group called “National Kick a Ginger Day” (New York Times, 2009).
The group is believed to have been formed in response to an episode of “South Park” that was aired on Comedy Central in 2005. This episode, “Ginger Kids,” features one character, Eric Cartman, describing Gingers to be a person with red hair, freckles, pale skin and who are, “without souls” (Kimmel). Cartman, in this episode, then launches a campaign against all those persons on the show with red hair. Although the episode may have sparked the idea for the Facebook group, the violence has been around for much longer.
In the United Kingdom, prejudices against people with red hair (known as Gingerism) have worsened to an almost unacceptable level (Rohrer, 2007). In 2003, a 20-year-old man was stabbed in the back due to altercations over his red hair (BBC, 2003) and in 2007 a family living in Newcastle, UK was forced to move twice after being repeatedly harassed by “thugs” because of their hair (BBC, 2007). Brutal attacks like these have raised concern over “Gingerism” but should also raise concerns in the US. There may have not been any stabbings or other forms of threatening acts but there is no way of knowing to what extent the next “Kick a Ginger Day” will go to.
I also know the trials of living with red hair. Strangers behave outlandishly around me as a way of making fun; like running besides me while rubbing their hands over my head so that they can get warm. My family, all with dark-brown hair, constantly mocks me for the hair color I ended up with. The constant berating I must live with, despite how harmless the person may think it is, can cause permanent mental damage as I start to walk around feeling that I not only stand out but also must be extremely cautious with my fiery locks.
To stop violence against people with red-hair, “gingers,” I am proposing that we be placed on the endangered species list and sent into specialized institutions that would allow us to live and procreate peacefully. In addition funds also need to be gathered to train and send people to discuss the plight of the ginger to the general public in order to create tolerance so that eventually they may be tolerated outside of these communities.
I am aware that the endangered species list is normally reserved for animals but the necessity of preserving our race has caused this organization to be our last hope. Obviously it is hard to put humans at the same level of most animals but it is common knowledge that humans have many similarities to primates, of which there are at least ten on the endangered species list (fws.gov). Humans are also quite similar to whales, the blue whale is also on the list. According to an article from the magazine “Seed,” a publication that focuses on up and coming scientific topics, a new study has revealed that human and whale brains have similarities, “[revealing] that the humpback brain contains many anatomical curiosities, including one type of neuron involved in high-level cognitive functions previously thought to be unique to primates” (Seed). This new-found connection between primates and other animal species proves that humans are indeed more animalistic than are normally considered to be, which gives humans just cause to be allowed protection on the endangered species list.
According to the regulations a species can be accepted if they are affected by “disease or predation” (fws.gov) and gingers are affected by both. Due to the same gene that causes us to have red hair, we are also more susceptible pain. This infected, or diseased, gene causes us to feel more pain – causing the constant bullying to hurt more than the average person. A New York Times article by Tara Parker-Pope states that, “Researchers believe redheads are more sensitive to pain because of a mutation in a gene that affects hair color” (2009). This sensitivity can cause a little kick on our shins to feel far worse than to a normal haired person. This evidence proves that although “Kick a Ginger” day may seem like harmless fun, it is in reality a horrifying and painful experience. If the acts were to be repeated but with more violent actions, then gingers would undoubtedly be in excruciating pain.
The impending threat and “predation” of gingers is also unquestionable. The aforementioned cases of brutality towards gingers are just a sampling of the many other violent actions that have been taken up against us. The number of these hate crimes against us will continue to grow unless something is done. And as these cases grow, the number of people who also take action against red heads will also grow. The act of doing what all the other “cool kids” are doing is due to a psychological term known as “group think,” which causes people to join in on the actions of a certain popular group of people and “…tends to override realistic appraisal of alternative courses of action” (Myers) The idea posted on Facebook for “Kick a Ginger” day was quickly popularized and the idea of actually acting out against them was therefore followed through because the “realistic appraisal” of this idea was left behind while people were swept up in the course of action. What is to say that more people will not quickly and irrationally join forces with these ginger haters? Their actions could be the end of the ginger gene completely. Red heads only make up 1-2% of the human population (Garreau) so if the rest of the population were to turn against us and our recessive genes then we would be in trouble.
Once gingers are approved for the list we should then also be moved to specialized and remote communities where we can live peacefully and procreate to strengthen our numbers. Those who are born without red hair will be placed in a relocation system that will place these newly born normal children into homes of similar hair color. Although this will separate the children from their families, it will ensure the proper rearing techniques will be used for the child. This act of changing habitats for normal haired children is a necessary segregation. It will ensure that only ginger babies will grow to create more ginger babies and strengthen the numbers for possible integration of the gingers in the general world population later down the line.
Exactly how long it will take to rehabilitate the ginger population is uncertain. But since we are dealing with people and not animals we have to take into consideration that general emotions will get into the way of the procreation – just as they do in the real world. We are not dealing with rabbits here. We are dealing with humans, whose emotions and attachments tend to rule their breeding habits. But, in a contained habitat, red heads will eventually have nothing else to compare their lives to – they will be willing to live their everyday lives believing that an outside world is nonexistent. The unaware next generation then will begin to repopulate and increase the percentage of gingers in the world. Therefore, we must be ready to invest some length of time into the strengthening of the red haired community.
These specialized ginger locations should be in an environment best suited for their genetic makeup. It should be an area with little sun and home to the larger populations of red haired individuals: Ireland. There are wide spaces where a complex could be developed without getting in the way of the Irish. This would require international relations but given the dire circumstances and the numerous red haired individuals there is no reason for Ireland not to jump at the chance at saving the majority of their culture and people.
Funding for these communities will rely heavily on private contributions to start. We will go to red haired actors and actresses first, for money, because they will be the most likely to contribute to the cause. Then we will ask for financial help from the stars who like to help others as a way to flaunt social standing and get good press in tabloids. We can use the possibility of future ginger adoptions as incentive since it is trendy to adopt children who are less fortunate than Americans at this time. Once celebrities are onboard we can then use their endorsement to go nationwide, possibly worldwide, asking for support. We’ll send various actors to the red haired settlements to pose for commercials that will then play prime time on television in a similar fashion to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and Feed the Children advertisements – “tear jerkers” type commercials will help us bring in the money we need to fund the ginger rehabilitation communities.
To get this program started, all you have to do is add gingers to the list of endangered species. The rest will fall into place because, as a small world-wide community, gingers are able and willing to help one another with the proper resources. Please, help the gingers survive in this time of violence and hatred.
Note: This essay is written in the satirical style of Jonathan Swift’s 1729 “A Modest Proposal: For preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the publick.” You can access Swift’s original text on Project Gutenberg.
Works Cited
Associated Press. “3 Boys Detained for Calif. ‘Ginger Day’ Attacks.” New York Times. 30 Nov. 2009. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. <http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/30/us/AP-US-Redhead-Assaults.html>.
“Endangered Species Home Page.” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Home. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. <http://www.fws.gov/Endangered/>.
Garreau, Joel. “Red Alert!” The Washington Post. 19 Mar. 2002. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A47332-2002Mar18¬Found=true>.
“Ginger hair sparks stabbing.” BBC NEWS | News Front Page. 24 Nov. 2003. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/south_yorkshire/3233392.stm>.
Kimmel, Jonathan, Kyle McCullough, and Trey Parker. “Ginger Kids.” South Park. Comedy Central. 9 Nov. 2005. Television.
Myers, David G. Exploring Social Psychology. 5th ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2009. Print.
Parker-Pope, Tara. “The Pain of Being a Redhead.” Health and Wellness – Well Blog – NYTimes.com. 6 Aug. 2009. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. <http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/the-pain-of-being-a-redhead/>.
“Red-haired family forced to move.” BBC NEWS | News Front Page. 2 June 2007. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/6714735.stm>.
Rohrer, Finlo. “Is gingerism as bad as racism?” BBC NEWS | News Front Page. BBC News Magazine, 6 June 2007. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6725653.stm>.
“Whale of a Brain.” SEEDMAGAZINE.COM. SEED magazine, 11 Jan. 2007. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. <http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/whale_of_a_brain/>.