Teen invites all to hug a ‘ginger’ on Dec. 8

Andrew Cohen, from his Facebook profile.

In response to the “ginger” attacks at Calabasas’ A.E. Wright Middle School, Andrew Cohen, a senior at New Community Jewish High School, is inviting people to embrace redheads during “Hug a Ginger Day” on Dec. 8. As of Tuesday afternoon he’s had almost 4,000 responses to his Facebook event page. 

Daily News:

The 17-year-old issued “Hug” invitations to all 500 of his Facebook friends, many of whom passed along the idea to members of their own contact lists. Now, he’s awaiting responses from more than 3,410 other Facebook members promising to join in “Hug a Ginger Day.”

“I thought it would be a little thing,” Cohen said. “But it blew up.”

Cohen was spurred to action after hearing of a “South Park”-inspired “Kick a Ginger Day” at A.E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas, where seven redheaded students were bullied. In his Facebook message, Cohen said the incidents are more than just a prank.

“I use the example of the Holocaust, and how it started as small acts of discrimination and then it escalated to a much larger problem,” Cohen said. “We can’t take these things lightly. This is a hate crime.”