Becoming popular last year was the use of safety pins worn upon the outer garments of a person to symbolize solidarity. Personally I have no problem with the idea in its nature although my politics don't necessarily aline with that of the democrats, but I do have a problem with safety pins being the symbol.
Safety pins were already adopted as a symbol by a movement that came far before this new movement. All the way back to the early 70's punks across the nation and across the world wore these pins as a symbol of rebellion to society, and a poke at the perfection society was faking. The beauty of the pin was it was not necessarily tied to any specific politics, and that is what was great about it. Punk music contained great diversity in its range of beliefs but all punks were united under the belief that society was upside down, and it was something that they wanted no part in. The symbol was one of unity, and I would like to keep it as one. A unity of all beliefs and all political backgrounds. The US needs that right now, we are more divided than ever. Since when did beliefs in the political world become a means to disconnect a relationship and demonize the opposition. We could learn a thing or two from the punk rock movement as a whole in-fact. Learn from its way of thinking, punk music fought against small thinking and close mindedness. Punk music focused on starting conversations and asking questions. Most of my conversations with punks have been the most insightful conversations I have had and some of the most intelligent. Most punks have been told that they won't amount to much at least once in their lives, so a-lot of them are humble and don't think they are the smartest person in the world or their message is God's gift to humanity. A good example of this is a conversation I had with Andres after one of the band practices. We both are from complete opposite sides on the political spectrum, but since we were able to see each-other as humans and listen and ask questions we found that on the end of the day we shared a-lot in common. We are both just trying to do what is best for this country. As long as both parties has reason behind what they are saying they deserve a listen.
Now back to the pins, please just try to find a new symbol. There is no reason to adopt a symbol that is already in use, and bury something so beautiful creating a new context that leaves no one knowing about the old context of the pins.
The sex pistols played a large roll in popularizing the use of the safety pin
(Art work done by graphic designer Jamie Reed)
