Today thousands of schools in the United States will observe a Day of Silence.
Students will make a statement against bullying and homophobia.
And they will honour the memory of Lawrence King, the brave little kid who was murdered for being gay.
Some Christian groups are staging protests.
Which only goes to show what an inhuman social evil religion has become.
But it doesn't matter....because the Day of Silence just keeps getting bigger every year. And Canadian schools are now joining in.
There are many ways to deal with bullying. Reporting the abuse, getting the police involved if necessary, demanding that school boards do more to fight the hate that kills. Or learning how to defend yourself like I did.
But I think that the Day of Silence is the coolest way of all.
Gay and straight kids together standing up for themselves and others. With a simple message of tolerance:
Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence (DOS), a national youth movement bringing attention to the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment. This year’s DOS is held in memory of Lawrence King, a 15 year-old student who was killed in school because of his sexual orientation and gender expression. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward building awareness and making a commitment to address these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today."
Like these voices ....
There is an old saying in the gay community; silence equals death.
But today I'm not going to say anything ..... if I can help it.... or even blog.
Because today silence equals life, love, and solidarity.... and working to make the world a better place for EVERYONE.
It's too late for Lawrence King and so many other bullied gay children, whose voices won't ever be heard again.
But won't that silence be beautiful ....and powerful ?
Isn't hate disgusting?
Isn't hope EVERYTHING ?
Personally, I’d rather see people speak out than be silent. That just doesn’t quite add up to me. Those school events where kids wore pink struck me as effective because it was making a statement in a positive way. This seems to be a negative thing in the sense of withdrawing and holding back communication as a way of making a statement. Not a bad thing, but just not terribly effective either, imho.
ReplyDeleteHi Red!! I agree that getting people to speak out is the way to go. But I also think the Day of Silence can be very effective. Firstly because it's a very peaceful non confrontational way of showing support. But secondly because it allows kids to put themselves in the shoes of gay kids who are too bullied or afraid to speak out. And many WERE wearing pink shirts or whatever.
ReplyDeleteSometimes a little empathy goes further than a lot of sympathy. The other good thing is that many schools are planning a Day of Noise on Monday.So we can have a day of silence and a day...or a year...of protest.