Letter to the Editor
Day of Silence
Published Friday, April 25, 2008
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To the editor:
I am writing in regards to today’s Day of Silence. With all the heated debates I’ve seen I must first point out that thanks should be given that at least one community, a community which I am proudly a part of, is organized enough to take an active stance against harassment and bullying. This is the goal of the day of silence — to increase awareness of the things that go on which may go unnoticed.
Though I am a part of the GLBT community, I would like to share an experience that has nothing to do with being gay, but which has everything to do with speaking up and speaking out.
I attended school with a girl who, over the summer break, lost a lot of weight. Her anorexia was caused by the constant ridicule, teasing and harassment she received for being overweight. For four years I would painfully watch as she would accept candy from teachers only to spit it out when she thought no one was watching. Following high school, I ran into her in college, still bone thin, still timid from years of abuse from fellow students but doing her best. As we talked, she mentioned that she was doing poorly in math because the numbers were constantly in the wrong place and things she read just didn’t ever look right. From her description it sounded like she had dyslexia and I urged her to talk to someone about it. But her years of torture from other students inhibited her from getting help. Six years later, she’s still in college, and I can only imagine that she’s still silently fighting dyslexia and, as a result, has taken longer to finish school.
I believe that because she was bullied in school for being different, she has spent years of her life struggling to be like everyone else and will never be able to speak up for herself. This day of silence is dedicated to those who cannot speak up for themselves, to show them that there are people who care and who will fight beside them against harassment.
Community Discussion
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The Day of Silence is an annual day of action to protest the bullying and harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students, and their supporters. Students and teachers take a day-long vow of silence to symbolically represent the silencing of LGBT students and their supporters.
Beginning in 1996, the Day of Silence is held each year in April. The next Day of Silence will be April 25, 2008.
I wonder why some continue to say this is about bullying and harrassment of all types when the truth is just as stated above?
Conservative organizations, including the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America, Mission America, Traditional Values Coalition, Americans for Truth, and Liberty Counsel, believe the Day of Silence to be instead a day where students, at the prompting of adult homosexual activists, celebrate a high-risk and immoral lifestyle, and encourage their peers to do likewise, by taking a victim posture and erroneously associating homosexuality with other legitimate causes, like race relations or religious tolerance.[citation needed] These groups opposed the Day of Silence in 2008 by forming a coalition urging parents to keep their kids home on the DOS if their school was observing it.
Are people trying to claim it's about bullying and harrassment in general to make the protest more palatable to communities?
The yearly Day of Silence, sponsored by the Gay,
Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (“GLSEN”). This student-led event, held in middle
schools, high schools, colleges, and universities across the country, encourages students who are
questioning their sexual orientation to remain silent for the duration of the school day. For those
parents, students, and schools that do not wish to participate in the Day of Silence or wish to limit
its effects, the following steps can be taken:
First, schools do not have to tolerate students remaining silent in class. Conduct on the part
of a student that causes a substantial disruption or material interference with school activities is not
permitted and is not protected under the First Amendment.
Second, schools can adopt policies that require parental consent for students to attend any
club, including those premised on sexual orientation or gender identity. Parental rights in the
educational arena do not end at the schoolhouse door. Obtaining parental consent as a prerequisite
for membership will eliminate some students from these types of clubs.
Third, schools, especially those in states that have enacted sexual education statutes
containing opt-out provisions and require abstinence, can pass a policy requiring clubs to comply
with these legislative mandates.
Liberty Counsel will provide free information to parents, students, and schools regarding
their rights associated with noncompliance on the Day of Silence. Liberty Counsel is a nationwide,
religious liberty, public interest law firm dedicated to advancing religious freedom. Liberty Counsel
has regional offices and affiliate attorneys throughout the country. As a nonprofit ministry, Liberty
Counsel provides free legal advice and representation.
If you have any questions, please call 1-800-671-1776 or visit www.LC.org.
Hardly a grass roots protest organized by students.
A grassroots movement is one driven by the constituents of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it is natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures.
See the annual support of this adult organization
http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/ab...
"Are people trying to claim it's about bullying and harrassment in general to make the protest more palatable to communities?"
I think you're spot on user6244...
yes, lea, blame others for your deviancy...THATS the ticket...just count yourself lucky you arent living in Iran or some other turd-world country where your death-style isnt tolerated AT ALL...
They would have been better off to skip the Day of Silence and change it to Make a New Friend Day.
Skip the gay agenda (or whatever you want to call it). There are all kinds of kids being bullied and harrassed at school - and to say the GLBT deserve a day of silence over the other kids that are also being picked on simply is not right.
User6244:
Please, please, please Google "how to cite from the Internet". Please. It would make the stuff you paste so much easier to sort through.
Wow! You guys show such wonderful compassion for your fellow Americans. Do you feel proud of yourselves for publicly displaying your biggoted arogance? Are you proud that these kids are ridiculed, harassed, beaten, and murdered right here in our own little community at your urging? Does it make you feel good to think that some little teen girl or some nice teen boy may commit suicide this year because of your views and the hatred they spew?
Last night I saw one of those signs at a Church off the New Steese that read "Sodomy has always been Wicked, and it always shall be". Where do you supposed Christian types get off spreading hate like this? You claim to be about love, but then I see this? You might as well put up a sign that reads "GOD WANTS YOU TO KILL YOUR FELLOW AMERICANS!!!", because that is what you are promoting.
And you, BlueCometRush, saying that they are just lucky they aren't dead? Lea didn't blame anyone for her "deviancy", she blames others for their treatment of her! Not her actions, YOUR ACTIONS are the problem. They are not spreading hate - YOU ARE SPREADING HATE.
You are disgusting to the extreme. Far, far, worse than any gay person I have ever met, or I will ever meet.
BlueCometRush...there is no call for your words. You should be ashamed. SHAME ON YOU!! People, please forgive this human for what he/she/it wrote, for they do not know what they say. YouMustBConfused
sherry29 says "to say the GLBT deserve a day of silence over the other kids that are also being picked on simply is not right."
Can you read? Did you even bother to read the article or did you just let your bigotted hatred flow when you saw Day of Silence heading?
This article is about an anorexic dyslexic who was also picked on. The author is advocating this as a day of silence for ALL of the people that are picked on.
You said all that needs to be said Newsreader...RIGHT ON!!
why should we have a day of silence again? A person should not be decided by their sexuality in society. what a person does in the bedroom is there own business. To each there own. are going to have a special day for the people who get picked on for being skinny/obese? why are we choosing one day to advocate for these people, be an example and respect a person for who they are. Return hate w/love.
Glad to see the gay-bashing was up and running before 5:30 this morning. I'd hate to see hate sleep late.
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Why should someones sexual orientation define them? we are equal, I dont introduce myself "Hi, i am hetero, or hi i am gay" If you flaunt it you are going to fall into a catagory-Flaming gay, to chauvinist jock, ext....see my point?
ECT..not "ext" sorry.
I think you mean ETC. et cetera...
lol yes i do, time for the second cup of coffee. thank-you
Well said, CurtJ. For decades I assumed the main thing driving the conservative Christian hatred of homosexuals was ultimately the self-hatred of people who couldn't deal with their own conflicted desires. The plethora of recent high-profile outings has vindicated that view. If I were a conservative Christian politician right now, I'd just keep my mouth shut about homosexuality, for fear of casting suspicion upon myself. Whenever I hear some elected official spouting off about the horrors of gay marriage, I immediately presume he's hiding something. And I know I'm not the only one who makes that assumption.
ar_85 says - "Why should someones sexual orientation define them?"
Good question. Why would someone judge and doom another person solely based on their sexual orientation? Why not define a person by what they do...
When was the last time you heard of gays saying that all straight people were doomed to hell? When was the last time you heard a gay person say that others are "wicked" and, thus, shouldn't have the full rights of a citizen?
I hear them saying we should all get along. I hear them saying that they are tired of living in fear in our supposedly free society. I hear them calling for compassion, not only for themselves, but also for all who are persecuted, ridiculed, teased, and harassed.
From the gays, I hear pleas for compassion and understanding. From the religious fundies I hear "you are wicked, you are an abomination, you are wrong, you can't get married, you can't enjoy the fullness and richness of America, you should feel lucky we even let you live."
Funny, if I had to pick a group of friends based solely on the statements in my last paragraph, they choice for me is very obvious.
It is an Christians obligation to treat all people the way Jesus did.
He was accused of eating a drinking with tax collectors and prostitutes. He did not approve of the sins that people committed, but he did not let that stop Him from loving them, and paying the penalty Himself on the cross. If that were the case He would not be able to love any of us. He did not hang out with self rightoeus people, there is hardly any reaching them with Gods love, because they don't need it. I am a born againer, and I have gay friends who know I respect them (not for what they do, but for who they are).
2cold4me- well said from a christian point of view. The golden rule, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" unfortunatly the fanatics give many christians and atheist alike a bad name.
From what I can see, in Fairbanks and elsewhere, the Day of Silence has grown beyond it's original focus. While it was originally started by LGBT people, many others have adopted it as means to protest ALL bullying and harassment. A great many people are using the Day of Silence to protest the abusive activity of bigots due to differences in race, religion, gender, economic status, and health issues.
Those who insist on overlooking this broader scope in order to focus in the LGBT origin are demonstrating their own extreme bias. To me, they are saying, "Let's overlook [accept?] the bullying and harassment people with weight problems, with disabilities, and so forth because a few people might also protest abuse of people with sexual orientation we consider objectionable."
What do you have to say to the kids who are using the Day of Silence to protest sexual assault and harassment? To protest physical, verbal, and mental abuse of those less well off financially?
Most of all, I want to see you continue to oppose the Day of Silence when your kids get beat up and harassed because their parents follow rigid fundamentalism Christian beliefs.
well, if the rigid fundamentalist christian kids are getting beat up then today should be a day were they join hands w/LGBT and stand up against bullies. think it will happen?....probably not unfortunatly.
I happened to be in one of the participating schools this morning and will be surprised to hear how communication in classrooms is affected. I witnessed teachers and students writing notes instead of speaking. Completely non-productive. This "student-led" initiative needs to be limited to non-classroom times (before and after school, breaks between classes and lunch). What a joke.
People are gonna get bullied until the end of time. It will never change know matter how many days of silence you have. Its just like everything else that is wrong with this world. Politicians will stay corrupt racism will go on. It has never been stopped nor will it be thats just the plain damn sad truth.
AR_85 said, "why should we have a day of silence again? A person should not be decided by their sexuality in society. what a person does in the bedroom is there own business. To each there [sic] own."
The day of silence costs the schools nothing. It is not enforced upon unwilling students. It's a day of participation by those who want to bring the subject of bullying and harassment of GLBT students to the forefront.
In a perfect world, GLBT people would be free to love the people they wish to love, to have their own wedding ceremonies, to pay taxes as a married couple, to walk down the street doing something as simple and innocent as holding hands without fear of being beaten, or even murdered.
In reality, that freedom is sadly lacking in the US, and especially in schools where bullying can be overwhelming, and is often unnoticed by teachers and parents.
If you're terrified that your precious snowflake might "turn" gay or lesbian because of a day of SILENCE in honor of those whose lives have been changed or ended due to bigotry and ignorance, then you have a lot to learn.
Nobody "turns" gay ... but people do "turn" bigoted, hateful, and cruel.
I am the parent of a large family. I welcome this day of silence, and I encourage my children to befriend those who are lost, disenfranchised, and bullied.
Those of you who call yourselves Christians, and yet yell out obscenities and spew hatred, have a great deal to apologize for. Your anger and hatred is what Christ preached most against.
AR_85: "...today should be a day were they join hands w/LGBT and stand up against bullies. think it will happen?....probably not unfortunatly [sic]."
Nope, but not because the kids themselves are naturally full of hatred. It's the doctrine of their parents that creates a climate of fear and shame in school and elsewhere.
Their parents are too afraid that their kids will catch "the gay" if they're nice to GLBT students...sort of like in the bad old days people thought that association with Blacks or Italians or what-have-you would bring your down in the world...
It's just too bad most of these fundie folks don't have more open hearts and loving constitutions. If they truly believe in G-d (of the Biblical persuasion) then they can't help but know that their job on Earth is to love and to profess their belief in the love of Christ. Not to hate, or to spread hatred.
The best way to spread your faith is by living a loving life.