Why some of your Facebook friends are wearing safety pins
Even Star Trek captain Patrick Stewart has pinned on the latest political statement.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Have you noticed a number of social-media photos showing people displaying safety pins on their clothing? The pins aren't holding together a rip, they're making a statement, and even Star Trek captain Patrick Stewart has beamed aboard.
The trend doesn't have to do with fashion, but plays off the "safety" part of the item's name to indicate that the person wearing the pin is a safe person for those who might feel in danger, whether that's due to their religion, nationality or other status.
It seems to have begun with a series of tweets after the Brexit vote in June, and took off in the U.S. after Donald Trump was elected president on Tuesday.
Wear an empty #safetypin to show solidarity with EU citizens and immigrants in the UK. https://t.co/F58UqtzN7j
— miss pommery 1926 (@cheeahs) June 26, 2016
The idea being that anyone against the sort of nationalistic, racist violence we've been seeing could identify themselves as a "safe" ally.
— miss pommery 1926 (@cheeahs) June 26, 2016
A safe person to sit next to on a bus, walk next to on a street, even have a conversation with.
— miss pommery 1926 (@cheeahs) June 26, 2016
I quite like the idea of just putting a safety pin, empty of anything else, on your coat. A literal SAFETY pin!
— miss pommery 1926 (@cheeahs) June 26, 2016
Not everyone sees the pin as a useful statement.
But those who do are sharing their photos on Facebook and Twitter, and using hashtags such as #safetypin, #safetypins and #safetypinsolidarity.