Ginger Bullying - What Would You Do?

I'm watching the special Primetime: What Would You Do? that aired yesterday. They're doing scenarios proposed by viewers.

One was proposed by a kid with red hair, because he gets teased for being 'ginger'.

And if this was the UK, you wouldn't think there was anything unusual about that.

But it's the US. And I do think there's something very unusual about that.

Is 'ginger' a common term in the US? More to the point, was it about five years ago? Because I never heard of it until I started watching more British television. Not that I have red hair myself, so it's not that it was pinging my radar constantly. But I knew someone in elementary school(ish) and I knew she got called carrottop. Which made no sense to me, carrot tops being green. Add that to the comedian Carrot Top, who came later.. and pretty much that's what you get right? Carrot-top and Freckles. I think we also equated her to Annie at one point after she got a perm.

And I would totally expect a boy to be called Ron or a girl to be called Ginny or any kid to be called Weasley, these days.

But 'ginger', that surprised me.

And can we lay the blame both for the usage of the term in the US and the bullying at the feet of South Park?

Because while it may not have been the South Park creators' intent, I can totally see how Cartman's bullying and hatred of what he called 'gingers' to have made it into the brains of kids. Maybe at first they say it because it's funny and it's a South Park reference. Then they start saying it just to say it. Because the kids with red hair are different. And that's the only reason they need.

Did South Park invent the bullying and teasing of kids with red hair? No. Did they make it worse and give the bullies more tools? Yes, I think they did.

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And now I clicked 'unpause' on the show and found the producers were aware of South Park. And apparently the kids have even picked up on 'Kick a Ginger Day', which I hadn't remembered from that episode.

I think South Park needs to stand up and take some responsibility. I know they like offending people and pointing out various group's faults and absurdities. But that's a different thing from.. I don't know.. not encouraging or promoting, exactly.. the bullying of a group of people.

Then again, could they have created something out of nothing? People with red hair were getting picked on before, if not to the same degree and with such cohesion of groupthink. But it does appear they've made the problem worse.

And I think as creators, as artists, we should be striving to make things better, not worse.