My last newsletter announced the start of a worldwide campaign Cruelty is Not Cool. If you missed it, you can read it on my blog atoutrageousvisions.com/blog/. Always feel free to pass on any of these newsletters. Once we unleash the creativity of all the kind-hearted, creative people out there, this campaign could go viral.
Many of you responded to the video showing a young man with Down Syndrome being called a dummy. Your passion helps fuel my commitment. Thank you! I am resolved to do all that I can to help people take a stand for kindness whenever they feel anyone is being mistreated.
I’m calling us Radical Kindness Warriors because we need to be courageous, creative, and caring. RK Warriors ask themselves, “What does love look like now?” and then they do something. The goal of the campaign is to train a world of Radical Kindness Warriors, people who know how to take action when they see people being treated in a way that may cause emotional or physical injury.
We are all innocent and we are all guilty.
Calling people bullies does not invite them to wake up to the harm they are causing. On the contrary, it invites them to get even worse as they prove they are good at something: being bad.
RK Warriors know that everyone has been bullied and everyone has bullied someone. We are all in this together.
RK Warriors are aware of their own feelings and notice overt forms of cruelty as well as more subtle, less intentional shaming behavior.
Extreme examples of hurtful behavior are easy to spot: such as calling people the “N” word or a retard.
But we often miss more subtle acts of cruelty: laughing at people when they make mistakes, telling people they can’t carry a tune in a bucket, or commenting on their bodies: “Carrie is getting quite a butt on her” said to a seven year old girl by her mother, and a skinny seven year old girl at that.
What if this girl were trained as an RK Warrior and started singing, “No bad body talk!” 
Click here for the song. Wow! That might save her decades of worrying about how her butt looks. She might never ask her boyfriend or husband the dreaded question: “Does my butt look good in these pants?”
RK Warriors live the vow:
I will never, never, never do anything the puts me in jeopardy.
I will always, always, always do something to shift the situation.
My role is to build a toolkit of Radical Kindness Warriors. I’m working on the book right now, Radical Kindness Tips: What to Do When You Do Not Know What to Do, and You Feel You Should Do Something. I’m including tips from readers, students, and AARP members. Send me any ideas you have, and, with your permission, I may include them in the book.
The tips are creative, surprising, startling, courageous, compassionate, and sometimes even funny. The goal is to shift the situation without adding emotional or physical violence, while remaining serene and strong.
Just like little Carrie in the example above, you will be able to shift the situation successfully because you have a skill set:
Awareness: You recognize abuse quickly. You are aware of your own feelings and you take time to get centered before you respond.
Action: You dip into your Warrior Tool Kit to find something to do to shift the energy. You know you can always do one of these three things:
- Sing Happy Birthday.
- Fake a coughing attack. Make lots of disgusting sounds
- Drop something or knock something over.
Cruelty is Not Cool Worldwide Campaign.
Reply to this email if you want me to put you on a special list. I’m updating my educational website, Outrageously Alive Education www.outrageouslyalive.com I will let you know when I have the Cruelty is Not cool Starter Kit available.
Start with being radically kind to yourself, and you will be able to share that kindness with the world