This morning I logged on to Twitter (as usual) and discovered that a lot of the Geeks and Geek News sites I follow were pushing the hastag #maytheForcebewithKatie. Since it's usually only big things that get passed around to everyone I follow, I clicked through to find out what the deal was.
I cannot fully explain the disappointment and sadness I felt when I read Katie's story:
She wailed, "The first grade boys are teasing me at lunch because I have a Star Wars water bottle. They say it's only for boys. Every day they make fun of me for drinking out of it. I want them to stop, so I'll just bring a pink water bottle."
I hugged her hard and felt my heart sink. Such a tender young age, and already she is embarrassed about the water bottle that brought her so much excitement and joy a few months ago.This. This still. This is so not okay. I've been the victim of bullying "just because". Luckily, it was never my love of Star Wars or Fantasy that caused people to pick on me, or if it was, I must have blocked it from memory. One of my favorite memories is still when my mom picked me up early for an opening day showing of The Phantom Menace. I was so happy, I told everyone where I was going. It was 1999; I was 11.
But somehow, in a world that professes to embrace diversity and love differences, we still have little girls being picked on for loving stuff that is awesome.
I dance ballet, wear skirts pretty much all the time, and enjoy talking about boys and reading romance novels. This doesn't take away from the fact that I've read pretty much every fantasy book I've been able to get my hands on, know more about dinosaurs than my brother, can quote Star Wars, Monty Python, and The Lord of the Rings ad naueseum, and play D&D and WoW.
My heart hurts for Katie and other little girls (and boys!) like her who get picked on for not being "normal." It's 2010. Shouldn't we be worried about other things?
The outpouring of support and love for Katie from geek girls the Internet over has been monumental. I urge you, if you'd like, to post a comment for her here (or, if you're leery of creating an account, here). Her mom and dad are reading them to her every night before she goes to bed. And if you know a little geek-in-the-making or even a grown-up one, don't hesitate to show your love and appreciation for them.
May the Force be with you all,
Cell
