A little humble safety pin is stirring controversy and I am glad.

Putting a safetypin on your sweater became a simple, humble way of showing those around you that you are a “safe person”. That they don’t have to be afraid of you, even if they look different, have different religion, different viewpoints. I like that idea very much.

Being born in Poland I was much saddened by the bunch of racist attacks towards Polish people few month ago, after UK voted to leave the EU.

I am even more saddened in the last few days around our tiny town, seeing that people are afraid. My girlfriend was pumping gas at the gas station a few days ago, when she was yelled at “Go back to where ever you came from!".

Yesterday, your talented photographer of the clothes on our website, a young gal in her first year of college had to console her fellow student: “A friend of mine informed me of how she was attacked on campus for speaking Spanish on the phone. She was on her phone, outside one of the buildings, talking to her mother in. A man walked up to her, ripped her headphones out, grabbed her phone and threw it on the ground. He then proceeded to call her names and slurs. One included, "Go back to where you came from" and "we don't speak that here!"

My boys in college report that many of their fellow students are confused and afraid. That’s in our country, on our watch. Maybe wearing a safety pin is over-simplified, some people think it’s silly but let’s start with that. Wearing a safety pin to show others that they don’t have to be afraid. They are safe with us, no matter how they look like.

People point out that this is not enough. Of course, it is NOT!
But it’s a start. If you don’t think it makes enough a difference, check with those who are afraid. It makes a difference to take a stand.

Violence cannot be just blamed on a person on a top. It is up to us, the average folks to have the courage to see, hear and do what matters.

The cowards like the attackers above, who feel free to come out from their shadows, need to see and hear that they are the minority. No matter who is the President, no matter who you voted for, I don’t think you voted for violence.

I will be sending a pin with every order starting next week and with a little card saying why. Wear the #safetypin and mean it. It’s a start. Then let’s don’t stop there but continue building the safe place for all of us.

#safetypin