November 8 - No H8

Bullying is not funny. It is not cool. It is not right. And more importantly, it is not okay.

Most of us are, thankfully, residents of countries that support tolerance and many of our families have settled in these places simply for that reason. Generations later, it is our responsibility to perpetuate that message of tolerance across our new social platforms, including the internet.

As members of the nail polish blogging community, we all share a love of beauty, color, and lacquer. Other than that, we are remarkably different: from our race to our religion to our hair color...even to our polish application techniques. To marginalize anyone because of those differences is completely unacceptable and today I take a stand against that. I refuse to allow other people's view of "normal" dictate how I behave, believe, and blog.

In solidarity with a multitude of bloggers linked below, my purple manicure represents my proud commitment to the No H8 movement. Today, November 8, I dedicate my post to ending bullying of any kind and to encouraging diversity and imperfection among our colorful community.

It constantly amazes me how much bullying and hatred goes on in the nail polish community. Over bottles of chemicals and pigments. I really wanted to participate in today's No H8 purple mani because I really think that this community should be about love and sharing something that we are all passionate about.

I was severely affected by bullying growing up, and at times I have probably been a bully. We are all guilty of it. We had all been on both sides of the coin. So let's make a pledge to stop being silly mean girls. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but if you have nothing nice to say, just don't say anything at all.

Unfortunately I have been so busy that I've had no time to create a mani specifically for today so I decided to pull out a few purple manis from my archives.

Gradient Nails from the 31 Day Challenge

Violet Nails 31 Day Challenge

Subtle Purple Stamping

Olympic Themed Polish Days

I also went back and found and old mani that I posted when I first started this blog. It's not all purple, but it has a little bit thrown in there.

Ninja Turtle Splatter

We have all been there. No one has applied polish perfectly from the moment they started. So don't be a bully. No one is perfect in any facet of their lives.

I am wearing purple today as well to support this cause.

Have a No H8 day filled with love! I love all of you!!

EDIT: Please note that Llarowe will be donating $2.00 of every purple polish sold on her site from 12am Thursday, November 8 through 12am Friday, November 9 to Pacer.org, an organization devoted to anti-bullying education.

If you or someone you know suffers from bullying, there is help.  Please visit the following sites for support and encouragement:

StopBullying.gov
Report Cyber Bullying
National Suicide Prevention Hotline - 800.273.TALK (8255)
Eradicate H8"
Please check out this post over at amandalandish.com for more links and No H8 manicures.