Is gingerism as bad as racism?

Carrot-top, ginger-nut, Ronald McDonald, Queen Elisabeth…there are many names you can call a read-haired. But is calling redheaded people names really as serious as racism?
I just read an article by Finlo Rohrer in the online BBC News Magazine which discusses that topic. Let me first sum up the main points before putting in my two cents.

Especially in the UK, the phenomenon of bullying red-haired seems to be a big issue. Red-haired children face taunting and even grim persecution. While in other countries the teasing stops when they become adults, in Britain women get stereotyped and red-haired man take much of the worst abuse.

Photographer Charlotte Rushton claims that only two out of the 300 red-haired people she snapped for a book (called “Ginger Snaps”) haven’t been bullied of their hair. Even worse, they reported a serious anti-red hair hate crime in the UK: a 20-year-old got stabbed in the back in 2003.

Red-haired journalist Sharon Jaffa, suffering anti-red hair abuse herself, claims that “attacking someone on the basis of their hair color can be every bit as damaging as persecuting someone for their race or religion, and therefore, in some cases, needs to be taken just as seriously”.

Whereas in most countries red-headed women are considered fiery, alluring and glamorous, red is also the color of heat, danger and warnings. In ancient Egypt, readheads were sacrificed - in Europe they were associated with witches and vampires. Lilith, Adam’s lover, was a redhead (which indicates red hair was bad) and Shakespeare made all his most menacing characters wear red wigs.

In a comment below the article, I read that redheads are feared because they are believed in folklore to be the devil’s children and have red hair because they were conceived during their mother’s menstruation. A welsh proverb say “if he’s red-haired then he is of the devil”. So yesterday’s superstition has become today’s teasing. Nevertheless, sociologists claim that perpetrators could be habitual bullies, which means that if they are engaging in one kind of harassment they are engaging in others as well. They are simply looking for something to pick on. Bullies have a problem and need a victim.


To my mind, bullying red-haired is not much different than teasing people who are fat, wear glasses, have stupid names, a funny accent and so on. One of those commenting on the article said that “racism is something completely different, historically and socially” and I fully agree with this statement. Redheads have not suffered centuries of systematic abuse ranging from slavery to institutional racism. I mean of course it is wrong to judge and bully people because of certain features that distinguish them from others, but on the other hand, it often isn’t that serious and sometimes even ‘funny’. Just think about all the jokes about Burgenländer or Carinthians, and what about the “dumb blonde” jokes? Do these people seriously feel offended by such jokes? That would be too ridiculous if you asked me. There are jokes about all kinds of people and if you don’t like someone you’ll always find something to pick on. Especially children tend to mock others because of their appearance and only a few unfortunate adults don’t grow out of this habit.

How honest are you really?

Are you one of those who think they are very honest and rarely lie to anyone? Well that’s what I also thought about myslef before taking Reader’s Digest online “honesty survey”. But as I learned after reading a related article by Nancy Kalish, the 2,624 people who took the survey thought the same way as I did.

The 13 questions of the survey ask whether you’ve ever…

1. Called in sick at work when not ill?

I’m pretty sure that, especially in Austria, this is a common thing to do. Tell me one person who hasn’t ever ‘pretended’ to be sick. It already starts at school where many kid are even encouraged by their mothers to stay home in some cases…
63 % of those taking the survey said they have lied in this respect and taken a sick day even though they were feeling perfectly fine. Some swore they only did it to take care of an ill child or loved one, but the majority thought it was kind of their right to take a day off from time to time. Interestingly, this practice costs corporations (in the US) an average of $ 645 per employee each year.

2. Taken office supplies from your company for personal use?

71 % of men and 61 % of women have already committed such a crime, but don’t really feel guilty about it since they don’t see it so much as stealing but as a way of getting even.

3. Taken anything valuable from your company for personal use?

Still, even 16 % of all participants confessed to taking something valuable from their employer, which causes an annual loss of $ 15 billion. A study in 2002 showed that retailers credited 48 % of losses to employee theft, and only 32 % to shoplifters.

4. Misstated facts on a résumé/job application?

Everyone of us wants to present him-/herself in the best possible way. To do so, we sometimes exaggerate a little when describing ourselves or talking about our skills, abilities or experience in various fields. We don’t really consider it as cheating since everyone seems to be doing it. Well that’s what I thought anyway…in fact, only 18 % lied on their résumé or job application. But then I think that Americans are more honest in general, they don’t like to cheat as much as we do. It would be interesting to have survey like that in Austria. I’m sure there would be some differences in the results of certain questions.

5. Shifted blame to a co-worker for something you did?

To my mind, that’s really not a very nice thing to do. But honestly, I’ve actually done it myself, even a couple of times…And still I’m not really a bad person since I’ve never blamed anything on a particular co-worker. As you might know I work in a restaurant and it’s a rather big one, so we have a lot of staff. I get along very well with all of them but one single head waitress who is constantly picking on the younger ones and complaining about stupid little mistakes. The easiest way to avoid unnecessary stress is to say “It wasn’t me”. Everyone says it and no one gets the blame. Interestingly enough, we only lie to her, not to any of the other waitresses…
The survey revealed that only 13 % of respondents have ever shifted blame to a co-worker for something they did.

6. Been undercharged/ received too much change from a cashier and not told him?

50 % confessed to being undercharged or receiving too much change without mentioning it. One said “If a store makes an error in undercharging me, I somehow feel that it’s because of their lack of efficiency – and I just caught a break.”

7. Downloaded music from an Internet site without paying for it?

I don’t know any person of ‘my generation’ who doesn’t own a burned CD or who hasn’t downloaded music illegally. 37 % % of respondents have already committed such a crime, many without second thought. Most people think that CDs are way too expensive and that it is much more convenient to just get their favourite songs from the Internet. The Recording Industry Association of America though, claims that CD shipments have dropped 15 % in four years, primarily due to online piracy.

8. "Cheated" on your tax return (not declared income or over-reported deductions)?

Only 17 % of the online survey-takers admitted to fudging a tax return. Most people dread tax audits and don’t want to risk anything.

9. Switched price tags to get a lower price for something you wanted to buy?

It surprised me that one in eight respondents have already swapped price tags to get a lower price. I would be way too cowardly to do a thing like that. Just imagining that there might be a hidden video camera in the store makes my stomach turn. For me, switching price tags is almost like stealing.

10. Lied to friends or family members about their appearance, to avoid hurting their feelings?

Most people say they would never ever lie to their friends and family. But then they don’t even realize how often they actually do so. When we lie to our loved ones, it’s often to protect feelings and the relationship. Sometimes you just really can’t be honest with someone, because if you were, that person might not like you anymore. Just imagine being asked “Does this outfit make me look fat?” 71 % admitted to being dishonest when being asked a question like that.

11. Knowing you had little chance of getting caught, driven more than 20 m.p.h. over the speed limit or gone through a red light?

71 % have no qualms when it comes to speeding or even running a red light. One of the people asked said “Speed limits are guidelines” - I'm sure he is not the only one who thinks like that.

12. Lied to your spouse or partner about the cost of a recent purchase?

That question I couldn’t answer since I haven’t been married yet or shared any money with my partner. I remember though, when I was a child I used to do a similar thing and lie to my Mum about certain purchases. I knew she would start complaining and say something like: “Don’t you waste your pocket money on such unnecessary and expensive things!!”
In order to keep the peace 32 % admitted to deceiving their partner about the price of a recent purchase.

13. Lied to your spouse or partner about your relationship with another person?

28 % believe that some things are better left unsaid. It’s important to stay honest, but sometimes there are things that you partner shouldn’t or might not even want to know about any past or present relationships…


Only 39 people out of the 2,624 who took the survey claimed they have never committed any of the 13 acts on the list (yeah, right…) and just one respondent said he had done them all. On average, people have committed 5 of these 13 ‘crimes’.

What is also interesting, is that men and women seem to be lying differently, which I read in another article by Cynthia Dermody.
Men start lying when it comes to taking office supplies, fudging tax returns and illegally downloading music, which is due to men being more risk-taking.
Women on the other hand, are more likely to be dishonest in their personal lives and relationships in order to avoid conflicts. They also lie more often to the boss about a sick day.

What is it that makes us happy?

I just read a very long but interesting article: The New Science of Happiness by Claudia Wallis. As you can guess from the title, it's all about happiness...

So what exactly is it that makes us happy? Is it money, good education, youth, marriage, sunny days, religion or rather friends and family? Have guess..
No, it's certainly not wealth that makes us happy. Research has shown that once your basic needs are met, additional income does little to raise your sense of satisfaction with life. Good education or a high IQ doesn't help you either and also youth doesn't bring happiness. A recent survey found that people ages 20-24 are sad for an average of 3.4 days a month, whereas people ages 65-74 are only sad for about 2.3 days a month, which shows that old people are much happier. It's also true that married people are generally happier than singles. (By the way, in a different article I read that married people have more sex than singles - and more orgasms. So that might also be a cause of happiness). What about sunny days? Sorry, the article claims that this is not a reason for happiness, although I don't really agree with that. Don't you have the feeling that people living in the warm sunny south are happier than those from the cold rainy north? I can only speak for myself, but I'm in a much better mood when the sun is shining and it's warm outside. Anyway, religious faith is said to lift the spirit, though you could argue whether it's the God part or the community aspect that makes us feel better. When you ask people what makes them happy, I'm sure most will answer with 'friends or family'. And really, studies found that people with strong ties to friends and family are less prone to depression.

The author also mentions a new tool for sizing up happiness, which has been presented only recently: the day-reconstruction method. Participants had to fill out a long diary and questionnaire each day, listing all the things they did, with whom they did it and how they felt doing it. 900 Texan women were tested in this research. Now have guess: What were the five most positive activities for these women? - It was sex, socializing, relaxing, praying or meditating and eating (in descending order). While exercising and watching TV was close behind, "taking care of my children", cooking and housework polled very badly. (And I always thought children are a mother's greatest joy...)

Now the big question: Is it possible to get happier? Scientists found out that 50% of our satisfaction with life comes from genetic programming. Even so, the article presents a few ways to improve your state of happiness:

The gratitude journal: Writing down things for which your are thankful once a week can significantly increase your overall satisfaction with life over a period of six weeks.

Gratitude exercise: Believe it or not, but exercise doesn't only improve physical health but also raises energy levels and, for patients with neuromuscular disease, relieves pain and fatigue.

Performing acts of altruism or kindness: Doing five kind acts a week, especially all in a single day ( like helping a friend or visiting a nursing home) makes you more satisfied with your life.

Making a gratitude visit: Writing a testimonial thanking to someone to whom you owe a debt of gratitude and then visiting that person to read him or her the letter of appreciation makes you measurably happier and less depressed a month later. But unfortunately your state of happiness will only last three months.

Three blessings: Each day write down a trio of things that went well and why. Three months later you'll be less depressed and happier.

So why doing all these acts of gratitude and kindness? - Volunteering and giving makes us feel good about ourselves and it gives us a sense of purpose. So maybe you would like to try one of these exercises and let me know whether they worked or not :-)