The language of colour

By Glen Hancock

Students are showing responsibility and imagination by rallying under the colour pink to show their displeasure with bullying, which has been spreading in Nova Scotia public schools.

It is not likely that all bullies will be eliminated, because bullies are cowards, and persons with this psychological hang-up have been a problem in schools for generations, but this expressive reaction to campus bullying will go far toward making it an unpopular activity.

Apart from the main focus of the anti-bullying campaign, the colour pink has taken on a new value and draws attention to the international language of colour and the role it has played in history as a medium of communication. Pink, for instance, has been identified with girl babies, as blue has been the symbol for boys. And red is a colour that constantly speaks to us in terms of symbolism and authority.

Everything, it seems, is related to something else. A dozen red roses sent to a loved one on Valentine’s Day is associated with passion and love and needs no further explanation.

The War of the Roses – red for the House of Lancaster and white for the House of York – is historically related to the British wars of 1455 and 1485, and is often the only thing remembered about the creation of the House of Tudor.

Red is particularly prominent in the symbolism of our lives. The use of the term ‘sub rosa’ – under the rose – has a long history, and the rose, apparently of any colour, was sculptured on the ceilings of meeting rooms to remind people that it was the symbol of silence and anything that transpired there was in the strictest confidence.

In the colonial wars, British soldiers wore red coats and the French wore blue uniforms, long before khaki became the universal colour for military use.

The red cross has become the symbol for medical aid. Red-haired persons were once thought to be deceitful, unreliable and quick-tempered. In the common vernacular, red has a variety of meanings, like “red handed”, meaning being caught in the very act, as with blood on the hands or a smoking gun. In the United States, “red neck” is a disparaging term for the uneducated masses. The term “red cap” requires no explanation for travelers.

Orange is a good colour for oranges, but the Orange in some places in Ontario, even only a half-century ago, paraded in full regalia on the glorious 12th day of July commemorates King William’s victory over the Irish at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. The Protestants put pots of orange flowers in their windows, and if they intended to rile the Catholics they succeeded.

Colours are entwined with our social heritage. They send messages to people. A yellow ribbon around the old oak tree is explicit. Purple is associated with the clergy. Blue chip conveys confidence in a certain investment stock, and the blue ribbon at a horse race indicated supremacy.

Gold, silver and bronze grade contestants and green – apart from the symbol ‘go’ it conveys – is the colour used today to symbolize the environment. Brown is not a popular symbol; the Hitler youth wore it during World War II.

Pink came into its own when students gave it meaning. Let us hope bullies will get the message.