Hi!
These are “Safe Harbor” pins. I make pins like these and give them away. It’s led to some heartwarming interactions.
“Safe Harbor” is a symbol that came to the U.S. from the U.K. One wears a safety pin to signify that one is a “safe harbor” for people who feel threatened in some way. It says “I will try to treat you with respect and courtesy.”
As reports of people being harassed and threatened grew, I decided to wear a pin and hand some out. Then white supremacists and others started trying to co-opt the plain safety pin, so I started “tarting them up,” adding beads and pendants.
I wasn’t sure if anyone would get what I was doing, but when Mark and I went to Southern California to see friends, I took a few along. When someone admired my pin, I gave him one. A young man who works at Universal Studios Hollywood noticed my pin as Mark and I were leaving. He asked if I knew the significance (I did). I offered him a pin. He was very excited. He said that he knew people who had been harassed and felt threatened. He asked to hug me, explained that he wasn’t allowed to wear the pin at work, but he would when he wasn’t working. Mark and I made a stop at the Customer Service Office, and when we came out, the young man came running over to show us his new pin in its new home, on his hat.
Since the first few were well-received, I decided to make more and give those away. Today, at the Women’s March on Sacramento, I gave away 50 pins in less than 15 minutes. They were accepted by young mothers, including one nursing her baby, older women including a grandmother who also took one for her granddaughter… women from all generations and backgrounds. Among the people I met today:
- A church group, who said they are thinking about giving out Safe Harbor pins;
- A group of young people (say 15-20) with partially-shaved heads, hair dyed in rainbow colors;
- A couple with a daughter lofting a Mexican flag;
- A group of young women in pink “pussy” hats;
- A little boy who took one with a leaf, because he wants to encourage people to take care of nature;
- A young woman who took a packet with two simpler pins (not as ornate as the ones in this photo) because she liked the idea of taking one and giving another to someone else.
My favorite might have been the mom who navigated the crowd with her teenaged son in tow. She had accepted a pin earlier and hailed me through the crowd because her son wanted a pin, too. By that time I was almost out, but he found one he liked.
I’ll be posting a video in coming days on how to make a Safe Harbor pin of your own. It can be ornate or simple. But I would encourage you to make at least two, one for yourself and one to give away.
In the end, it isn’t princes nor politicians who make our world what it is. Our world is whatever we choose to make it. They can’t take us where we are unwilling to go, and they can’t make us hate each other. We can be the first to be kind. We can give each other a Safe Harbor.
Hope you and yours are happy and well. Check back to see the video, probably early February so you can make a few pins for Valentine’s Day. And to the people who accepted pins, thank you.
#safetypin #safetypinAmerica