To anyone who has ever called-out "freak",

Maybe you've seen them when your driving down George St. Or perhaps they were standing outside when you went into your downtown bank. They're the ones you label "freaks", "skinheads", "delinquents", they're the ones you point and laugh at, they're the ones you harass. But you see, what they are, are individuals. They're people whom express themselves through their appearances, and you shouldn't judge them.

They most proabably dress different then you. And their appearances could be shocking: her blue hair, his dreads, her army pants, his skirt, her spiked mohawk, his black clothes, her pierced tongue, his eyeliner... But after all, theya are your children, your siblings, your nieces and nephews, your neibours and your peers. They are your equals, and you should learn to accept, and respect them.

These individuals have the right to walk down the street without being harassed; without being called names, or laughed at. They too, have the right to feel at ease in malls and restaurants. They are people, who make an effort to be different from the norm; not freaks, that are at your disposal to be singled-out and ridiculed. How would you like people to make assumptions about you? Calling you a Nazi because of you hair? Or assuming you have a criminal record because of your clothes? Every time you laugh at someone who is different than you, you're making yourself less of a person and merely adding to your own ignorance. All people deserve respect.

And for those of you that have children, what kind of example do you think your setting? Last weekend when your five year old son pointed-out to you the girl with purple hair, a lip ring, and army boots, what did you say to him? Did you say something that would make him think negatively of that girl? Children are impressionable, and if your not careful you could be helping raise another generation of people who can't tolerate diffences in others. Another generations of haters, another genration of bashers.

And so next time you see someone who is different from you, please consider what I've said. Try to be a little more open-minded; instead of demeaning them for being weird or unusual, try to respect them for it. After all they do take a risk each moring when they step out of their home.