{"id":1499,"date":"2017-01-21T12:21:32","date_gmt":"2017-01-21T20:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ideajones.com\/?p=1499"},"modified":"2017-01-21T12:21:32","modified_gmt":"2017-01-21T20:21:32","slug":"safe-harbor-and-safety-pins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ideajones.com\/?p=1499","title":{"rendered":"Safe Harbor and safety pins"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Hi!<\/p>\n

These are “Safe Harbor” pins. I make pins like these and give them away. It’s led to some heartwarming interactions.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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:<\/p>\n