Please understand my reason for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harrassment. prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step in fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today.
I appreciate the thought, but I really don’t think a Day of Silence is going to result in more than a lot of rolled eyes. If people want to do something really useful, campaign for gay-friendly politicians; fight local anti-gay regulations; don’t let casual hate speech go unchallenged; come out of the closet; stand up for “the community” even if you’re straight . . . The Day of Silence is a well-meant but ultimately impotent endeavor.
Hm. Day of silence. First year I heard about this and tried to participate, there was a crisis involving a friend and a hospital. No silence, as I had to inform people as to my friend’s whereabouts.
Second year: Didn’t hear about it until the next day. No silence.
This year (Third year): I work in a call center and have no vacation time. I also need money to pay for a new computer (I still owe 175 on a 275 desktop). No silence.
Besides, I daresay that silence is the problem here, not the solution. I agree with Eve.
In no way do I wish to belittle the thought behind this gesture, but realistically, I believe there are people who would PAY me to be silent on the subject.
I admit that the first thing I usually think when I encounter an anti-discrimination protest is “go away! What did I do to you?”
This is no different. It would be one thing if it offered constructive solutions. But as it is, it is just polarization for the sake of it, and not all of the chips will fall on y/our side.
I think you may be on to something. How about a pledge drive–sort of like the March of Dimes WalkAmerica?
“Hi, I’m working to end the harrassment, prejudice and discrimination faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. For every dollar you pledge, I promise to shut up for one full minute. If I can get pledges for $1440, I won’t say a single word for the entire day. How about it? Can I count on your pledge?”
“Well, that certainly seems like a worthy cause, and you do have an annoying voice. OK, sure. Put me down for 20 minutes.”
I want to second what Eve said and add a few thoughts of my own.
I really don’t have lot of time for self-indulgent protest that makes the protestor feel empowered but doen’t accomplish anything. Silence is the last thing we need. This “Day of Silence” should be a Day of Action–talking to people, engaging the folks around you in debate on gay rights, but the LAST thing you should be is silent.
To Eve and gobear, I think you underestimate how active being quiet actually can be. Its really difficult not to say something during a day at schools of any variety and you do get noticed by those around you. I wouldn’tve believed that it was effective if I hadn’t participated at my college last year, during which time people who otherwise never might have considered the subject really got curious and checked out the information on the back of the card.
I think thats another thing y’all are forgetting: its not just an open-ended question. You’re supposed to provide people you encounter with action steps on how to fight anti-gay bias in their local environment. Its not about changing negative into positive, but rather to raise awareness among those who either never gave the issue much thought or simply never saw what they could do.
I’m out, loud and proud in 90% of my life but I never feel like I make the same impact as the single day when I’m simply… quiet.
I hate to see you dogpiled here, Priam, as your heart is in the right place. But I think people might misinterpret your silence and your card as being self-righteous and smug. Which it isn’t, but how can you explain that if you’re being silent?
This was a college thing in my world. I never participated, precisely because I didn’t want to inconvienence anyone, but I always admired the people who had the courage to hand a card to someone. Generally, the most outspoken leaders of our school participated, people who are trying to make a difference every day, and it was a gentle reminder that silence = shame/sorrow.
I’ve never seen it as self-righteous/smug, I’ve always seen it as, “I’m doing something different than normal today, please don’t hurt/punish/shun me,” which I believe is the exact sentiment the movement is trying to convey.
I couldn’t see it working outside of high school/college, and even in college, the GLBT teachers didn’t participate. But it’s nice for the kids. Is reflection ever wrong?
I thought about doing it, but I forgot about it until last night, and I had a sectional to run for band today, which would be rather difficult to mime. But I wore my shirt with gay stick figures on it in support.
While the national day of silence is today, our school did it a few weeks ago, to correspond with Pride Week. We didn’t hand people cards, we only got one card and we showed it to people who asked. (No smugness there.) Also, we all wore the same shirt, so we were easily noticed.
I thought it was a really neat experience. My teachers were very respectful, and my fellow students seemed interested. No-one tried to get me to talk. I “converted” a few people over the course of the day who decided that they wanted to participate, too.
While I agree that there needs to be more action, everyone I saw in our shirts was a person who could be counted on for action. The Day of Silence was just another way for them to act.
Some people at my school did this today. As much as I support gay rights, I didn’t participate. It was pointless–only five or so people stayed quiet, and they had notebooks so they could communicate anyway.
Is there really a card for this? Jeez, those Hallmark people are into everything…
How’d it go? The day of silence I mean, not the card. I’m not GBLT, but I’m genuinely curious. About the Day of Silence. Not really in the market for a toaster at the moment.
Jeez, those Hallmark people are into everything…