Welwyn Hatfield welcomes the Scary Guy

Welwyn Hatfield’s Community Safety Partnership last night hosted a presentation by the Scary Guy (real name change!) – a 280 pound American man whose face is emblazoned with tattoos and peppered with piercing. Despite his appearance his mission is clear: the worldwide elimination of hate, violence and prejudice.

Born Earl Kaufmann, Scary Guy has faced prejudice in his own life and he now uses his experiences in schools, communities, law enforcement agencies and businesses worldwide to teach others how to take responsibility for all their own words and actions.

The audience included representatives from Hertfordshire Constabulary, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council, Connexions, Women's Refuge, YMCA, a counsellor, teachers and some teenagers.

County Councillor Richard Smith, the Chair of the Welwyn Hatfield Community Safety Partnership, said: “Scary Guy is the perfect speaker for the Community Safety Partnership to endorse as his key themes relate to bullying, anti-social behaviour and fear of crime – issues that the CSP is very concerned with. I hope that this will be the first of many visits to Welwyn Hatfield and we are exploring the possibility of getting Scary involved in local schools.”
 
Community Safety Sergeant Lara Stevenson, who organised the event, said: “I met Scary Guy at Hertfordshire's Anti-Bullying Conference last year. I was struck by how his appearance engages his audience so quickly and also by how simple his messages actually are. His 'New Effort for the Elimination of Anger, Hate, Violence and Death' is such an innovative approach and such a worthwhile message, that I wanted to bring it to Welwyn Hatfield. 

“A particular focus of the evening was bullying. In 17 years as a Police Officer I have witnessed and dealt with incidents of bullying, both in the work place and in schools. The level of suffering that is caused to both adults and children simply cannot be ignored.
 
 “I have been astounded at the response to this workshop and I believe it is not only indicative of how widespread the problem is, but also I hope how ready people are to accept new ways to face and deal with bullying. Enforcement is not always the best option and it certainly isn't the only one. I hope that those attending will take away Scary's messages to both their personal and professional lives.”

More information on the Scary Guy is available on www.thescaryguy.com