NO H8 November 8

We've all been there to some degree or other. 

The kid on the bus or the playground that pushed you around, the name calling when you had to get glasses or braces, because you were too short or too tall, or just because you didn't look like everyone else. Bullying isn't just something relegated to childhood either, it happens to adults too and especially on the internet where the lack of face to face contact gives people a sense of anonymity and disconnection from the people on the other end of the connection.

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.

For today's mani I chose Illamasqua Prosperity, one of the new Rubber Brights polishes. My decision to use an Illamasqua polish was influenced by their work with the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

Our lives are like threads on a giant loom, what happens to one person can influence many people, and so I used one of my hand-mixed polishes, Ancient Pu'erh, to represent this connection in my nail design.

Remember, just because someone is different or doesn't have the same skills to the same degree as you it doesn't give anyone the right to put them down or bully them for those differences.