I thought of this before the fire on Friday, but school's been kicking my ass. You'd think it'd be easier with the college spot and everything, but not so much. Any way.

Things have been getting... meaner since the election. People have been saying the things they've thought but had the manners to hold back, and the people who said stuff before are now acting on it. Not just the anti-mutant bullshit, but flat-out racism. There's a YouTube link going around of a bunch of kids in the lunchroom at Salem Center High chanting "build the wall" at the Latinx kids. Muslim girls are having their hajibs torn off in the halls. Queer kids are being beaten up. Yesterday I got a swastika on a post-it stuck on my locker.

It's not okay, and I'm not going to sit on my ass and let it happen.

Here's my thought. We Gen X kids, both the college-age and the high-schoolers, can get involved in making our schools and streets safer. At Bayville, I'm going to start up a protective escort service for the kids that are being targeted for harassment, in school and out. I'm also going to talk to the teachers about setting up a tolerance society, a club which educates schools at large about diversity and not being a dickhole. If enough of you are with me, we can start doing the same out of school, providing support for the kids who get hassled in town, at the diner, that sort of thing. No powers, obvs, but these assholes are cowards and won't go after groups.

And even if you're not interested, here's something to help give you an idea of how to act when someone's being harassed.

Who's with me? Who wants to make even a small difference? Might as well put our training to good use.

And you know what? Let's talk about this stuff. What have you seen? What do you think needs fixing?