They are living metaphors for the fragility of our species and the universality of individual perseverance. Gingers are more than potential sunburn victims cloaked in a galaxy of freckles and topped off with a wild streak of bright orange hair. This attitude is in critical need of reappraisal. Since their genes were decoded in 1997, gingers, once regarded as vampiric by their oppressors, are now dismissed as mere genetic defects doomed to eventual extinction. The only difference between the red-headed-witch-burnings of the 15th century and the grade-school drubbings of today is that superstition has been replaced with crudely applied science. Rather than an isolated case, Kick a Ginger Day is best interpreted as the latest flare-up of what many consider to be the last form of acceptable prejudice.įor centuries, even millennia, non-gingers have continually expressed their distaste for all things copper-top. But while one Canadian judge blamed a " vulgar, socially irreverent" South Park for the violence, there is nothing new about gingerism. Now in its second year, this year's incidents have spread as far as the Isle of Man, indicating a cultural momentum completely independent of the original context. The group was deleted soon after authorities learned of its existence, but by that point the webpage had received enough traffic for Kick a Ginger Day to go viral. Although these online jabs were initially meant to be humorous, often taking the form of mock inspirational posters, the meme turned violent in 2008 after a 14-year-old Canadian created a Facebook group that established 20 November as " Kick a Ginger Day". The writers of South Park were clearly attempting to satirise hate groups, but the episode inadvertently spawned the "ginger kids" internet meme, which has served to amplify and spread pre-existing prejudice.
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