"Kick a Ginger Day": One Mom's Horrifying Account

By The editors of Parenting.com on Tuesday, November 24, 5:18 pm EST

Do you know what your child is doing online? Well, you'd better. A recent incident of violent behavior has been traced back to disturbing messages on the social media kids live for. If you don't want your child to be a target – or a horrifying bully – you must read one Parenting reader's account of a recent disturbing incident in Los Angeles.

Apparently Friday, November 20th was designated “Kick a Ginger” Day by a group on Facebook inspired by a South Park episode about beating up kids with red hair and freckles. It may sound ridiculous, but unfortunately the idea caught on. Several beatings took place at schools across the country on Friday, and a 12-year-old boy in our area was one of them.

When he was dropped off at school last Friday, a group of kids ready to “kick a ginger” laid in waiting for him. His dad was no sooner out of the parking lot before they starting chasing him – he was kicked in the groin and taken down. As he lay on the concrete ground at school, 15 of his peers, some of them classmates, surrounded him like a wild animal and formed a circle around his body. They proceeded to kick him repeatedly over and over again.

He was kicked in the groin, the stomach, shoulder, legs, and head. When he finally managed to escape and hide, he thought he was safe to go back into school. Then, 8th graders formed a line (he is in 7th grade and the first attack was 7th graders) and would not let him past. They also took him to the ground and proceeded to do the same thing to him. It is appalling and disgusting what he went through, and he was not the only one. Several friends of his, who are also redheads, went through the same torture.

He was taken to the hospital on Friday because his parents thought his arm might have been broken. Luckily, it was not. Just a deep bone bruise. He is in a sling and his bruises and physical wounds will heal, but he is embarrassed, humiliated and afraid to go back to school. I just hope that he will be able to put this whole ugly incident behind him.

I urge all of you to monitor what happens on Facebook and the internet, and PLEASE talk to your kids and let them know that this type of behavior is not OK. Kids are subject to so many horrible things, and sometimes they can not differentiate wrong from right.

Here are some tips for talking to your child about internet safety:

In General:

*Keep tabs on how much time your child is spending online. Ask who she's chatting with and if anything interesting is going on -- and be ready to discuss anything that sounds like it could be an issue.

*Ask if your child is aware of any such unacceptable activity in her social circle--she just might tell you all about it. Even if you don't know specific names, it's still worth reporting to authorities if the behavior is serious enough.

On Facebook:

*Create your own Facebook page and ask your child to "friend" you so that you have access to who he is socializing with and what's being said. Keep an eye on how often he posts--most kids will do so at least daily. If yours isn't, chances are this is a fake profile page he created for you, and he has another one that he uses with friends.

*Check your browser's history. While you won't be able to get onto your child's Facebook page this way, you will be able to see whose pages she's been visiting.

How to Spy On Your Child Online

Is Your Kid Being Cyberbullied?

Keeping Your Child Safe on the Internet

How Technology Changes the Way Kids Communicate

Kristina

You're missing something

11/24/2009 at 7:31 pm

Please remind parents to be mindful of their kids' television viewing habits, too. South Park is totally inappropriate for middle-schoolers.

Anonymous

No - YOU ARE MISSING SOMETHING!

11/24/2009 at 9:54 pm

Just to keep you informed... the kids did not go and watch an episode of South Park and run out to kick the "Gingers". This was an "event" that someone put in their Facebook and it got circulated to thousands of people. I think everyone agrees that South Park is inappropriate for that age, but this is not the fault of South Park and their 2005 "Kick a Ginger" episode. This is a highly disturbed child that started this whole thing, and then the whole "mob mentality" set in. The behavior is totally wrong, and the children that started this should be expelled and the "mob" should have some sort of sensitivity training and suspension. This is not a school of underprivileged children. This is a school of children with the biggest problem is not having the new I-Phone. This is a great academic school, with more gifted students then not. Something went very wrong.

Anonymous

"sensitivity training and

11/30/2009 at 2:43 pm

"sensitivity training and suspension"? I don't think so. This was a brutal physical attack. How it was organized and the age of the attackers is irrelevent. The only appropriate response is arrest, complete with a police record, and a court date. The charge will be aggravated assault and in the case of kicking with a shod foot, assault with a dangerous weapon. I am not inclined to go easy on bullies. And yes, kids that age get tried as adults and locked up with older and even more violent folks.

Rebecca Goehner

Kick a Ginger

1/2/2010 at 4:49 am

Yes, a kid DID go and watch an episode of South Park and then go out and kick a "ginger". People are responsible for their own actions; however, South Park is responsible for the programming that goes into their young audience's heads. If that episode had never been aired, then the "highly disturbed" child you blame for starting the whole thing would never have gotten the idea. Also, the highly disturbed child would not have been able to conjure up such a following, had the followers not related to the idea from watching the South Park episode, or at least from hearing about it. Children are very open to suggestion; and television programmers should be more responsible with their programming. Since the most shocking thing sells by getting our attention, we are led to believe that that makes it okay to put out there in our kids' heads. As adults, we are fully responsible for our actions, and children are responsible for their actions, too - but only to a certain degree. Children's minds are in the developmental stages of programming, and we are responsible for what programs are run through them, now aren't we? (I have red hair. I was never picked on about it. If those brats had been my peers, I would have kicked all of their asses, no matter what it took. Redheads Rock!) FY

Anonymous

South Park

11/25/2009 at 2:25 pm

Not only is South Park inappropriate for middle school ages but in my opinion, it's not appropriate, PERIOD for any age!

Adam

umm and what gives you the

11/27/2009 at 6:04 am

umm and what gives you the right to say, that its not appropriate for any age, i dont see anything wrong with the show, im of age and an adult, if you dont like it dont watch it, dont bash down on entertainment because you feel that it hurts your feelings or isnt right, im sick and tired of people saying omg this isnt right for my child, im going to start an organization to stop this and boycott it because im thinking about my children. its bull. now again how can you say period when there are other shows out there that kids shouldnt watch, porn comes to mind, but parents are so pushed over and think oh they are just curious, then sex, and parents think well they are just exploring there sexuality, and then drugs and so on and so on, dont try and pin a solution that has nothing to do with the problem, blam the parents that allow there CHILDREN to watch a mature rated show, and that dont block the damn channel. open your damn eyes and see that its not the tv show that is the issue, its the parent......

Anonymous

Nobody is going to take

12/5/2009 at 10:14 pm

Nobody is going to take you seriously if you have grammar errors. "Umm" is not a word and "i" is capitalized. "im" is not a word, "I'm", on the other hand, is. "There" is not possessive ("...there sexuality..."), it's "their". We learned that in 4th grade, respectively. I am aware of the fact that this is the internet and most of us could care less about grammar, but I feel that typing like that is acceptable for facebook and myspace, or twitter, but on a respectable website such as this, where you are trying to defend your mature opinion, don't make immature grammar mistakes. It makes you seem unprofessional and subjects you to criticism.

Anonymous homie

Your dumb

12/7/2009 at 4:43 am

Hahah shut up biznach

Laurie McCoy

Children Are Not Brainwashed

11/24/2009 at 8:17 pm

If a group of children beats up a child i do NOT believe that a television show is to fault. Yes it may have triggered a cruel idea but i beleive that you would have to look further into how THOSE children are being raised and what kind of example their parents are setting. Personally, growing up i watched plenty of horrible shows just like South Park and i never took up beat the snot out of another child. I have also seen this exact episode and i thought it was stupid. I had a great example of what was right and what was wrong, dont go blaming T.V. for a fellow parent not teaching their child right from wrong. ~L.M.

Tshaka Armstrong

@LM You're right, it's

11/24/2009 at 9:27 pm

@LM You're right, it's ultimately the parents' fault, but just like that song you remember from your first kiss or high school dance, media does have an effect on you. Try going to sleep listening to food commercials and see what you wake up hungry for. I can't think of any justification for why a middle schooler should be watching South Park. "It won't kill 'em," or "there are worse things out there," are about as good a defense as a screen door on a submarine. Bottom line, too many children watching too many things they shouldn't because there are too many parents not teaching children the things they should. "Age appropriateness" seems to be a dying concept anymore. Most of us wouldn't let our children have sex at age 11 or 12, yet we'll let them fill their heads with as much sex and raunch as the internet, video games and television will serve up to them. /rant

Anonymous

where was facebook?

11/24/2009 at 10:35 pm

not sure if i'm blaming them, where was facebook in all this? do they have any way of knowing that this activity goes on? just curious. don't be surprised if they come under scrutiny. on another note, i used to think that the influence of the media on children like violent or sex themed video games, tv, and so on, was exaggerated, but the older i get, the more i think it really is changing a generation of kids. i agree with everyone else that we parents have to be there to teach our kids right from wrong, but damn if these games and songs and shows don't make our job a million times harder. am i right?

Truth will set us free

Ginger Beating

11/24/2009 at 11:43 pm

I cannot believe it was other gingers beating on a ginger. Isn't it about time that journalists dropped the blinding political correctness of hiding the ethnic identities of violent bullies? Let's call it as it is and let the devil take the hind most!

Anonymous

Having grown up in the 70's

11/30/2009 at 6:18 pm

Having grown up in the 70's and 80's with red hair AND the name Ginger (yes, it really is my first name) I caught a lot of junk from other kids. Being a natural red head is just one way of being different, and mean kids will pick on anyone they percieve as different. Mean kids aren't new. Being a red head and catching a hard time over it isn't new. When it comes down to it, some people are mean b--tards, and they almost always start out as mean, bullying kids. While some of the culpability is in the hands of the parents, a large part of the responsibility should be laid on these young people, who were old enough to know that kicking the crap out of someone is wrong. A three-year-old should know that is wrong to kick someone. I truly believe some people are incapable of empathy or sympathy, and will only refrain from hurting others if they are able to perceive the act of hurting others will lead to hurting themselves. (i.e. corporal punishment, jail, etc...). The only way these people can be dealt with is to remove them from society for the safety of others, or to offer strict and uncompromising punishments strong enough to act as a deterrant.

Anonymous

A FEW POINTS

12/1/2009 at 12:52 pm

1. Families in this country need to start practicing religion again; That is why these little cretins don't know the difference between right and wrong, and unfortunately, they grow up into big cretins who don't know the difference between right and wrong. 2. I agree that not everything needs to be homogenized for children; HOWEVER, South Park is one of the dirtiest shows on television--it is NOT an appropriate show for middle school-age children, and anyone who thinks otherwise needs to have their head examined. 3. As a red-head with freckles and very fair skin who grew up in the 60's and 70's, I had to endure much annoying and hurtful teasing from classmates and even adult relatives who I'm sure just thought they were being funny. The problem is that it hurt my self-esteem and body image. As an adult, I have endured comments from people about how they were so afraid their baby was going to--Oh My God--have red hair and freckles. I cannot even believe that someone came up with a goofy little name for it (Ginger). There are two things that are still unacceptable even in our politically correct, multi-cultural society--being fat, and having red hair, freckles, and fair skin. You're really screwed if you're both. It really is possible to be too white in our society.

Anonymous

Yeah, religion, the good ol'

12/23/2009 at 12:00 am

Yeah, religion, the good ol' days. It's not like that led to lynchings or anything. Oh, wait... it did.

A Ginger

Don't Blame South Park, or lack of religion.

12/14/2009 at 12:52 am

1. I saw the South Park episode, and it actually made amusing commentary on racial issues. There was no mention of "Kick a Ginger Day" in the episode. Yes, the episode predominantly featured gingers, but I have been called a ginger before the release of the episode. 2. Lack of religion does not make a group of kids attack another because of his hair color. As an Atheist, I can't see why people automatically assume the non-religious people will behave badly, and religious people will always be kind and do the right thing. Some of the most cruel harassment I have seen/been subject to has been by Christians. And while, obviously, not every practitioner of Christianity is bad, it is clear that not all are good, either. 3. I believe that this is just a case of parents not raising children correctly. If we raise children with the idea that differences are bad, whether they be differences in religion, sexual orientation, gender, or race, they will take that with them to school, and may project that hate onto people will other differences, like in this case, hair color. So, raise children to be accepting of people, and that hatred is wrong, and things like this will someday come to a halt.

Rebecca Goehner

KICK A GINGER

1/2/2010 at 5:02 am

Kick a Ginger 1/2/2010 at 4:49 am Yes, a kid DID go and watch an episode of South Park and then go out and kick a "ginger", pretty much. People are responsible for their own actions; however, South Park is responsible for the programming that goes into their young audience's heads. It's easy to say, "Oh the cartoon isn't for kids, " and figuratively wash your hands of the situation. However, in reality, if it's a cartoon, and it airs on a regular tv channel, you know kids are going to watch it. If that episode had never been aired, then the "highly disturbed" child you blame for starting the whole thing would never have gotten the idea. Also, the highly disturbed child would not have been able to conjure up such a following, had the followers not related to the idea from watching the South Park episode, or at least from hearing about it. Children are very open to suggestion; and television programmers should be more responsible with their programming. Since the most shocking thing sells by getting our attention, we are led to believe that that makes it okay to put out there in our kids' heads. As adults, we are fully responsible for our actions, and children are responsible for their actions, too - but only to a certain degree. Children's minds are in the developmental stages of programming, and we are responsible for what programs are run through them, now aren't we? (I have red hair. I was never picked on about it. If those brats had been my peers, I would have kicked all of their asses, no matter what it took. Redheads Rock!) FY

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