What Is Day Of Silence

[Albus Dumbledore 0]

Day is Silence is a non-profit organization that was started in 1996 by a group of students from the University of Virginia.

What started out as a simple class project on how to involve themselves with their community turned out to be a very large program Country wide.

Day of Silence is a program that is designed to help create a safer school. Day of Silence is a program that is focused on LBGT people (Lesbian, Bi, Gay, and Trans gender) and how they are treated.

Day of silence is a program that is designed to bring attention to the anti-LBGT bullying and harassing, and discriminating in schools and even out of schools.

Day of Silence is a day where gay people. bi people, lesbian, trans gender people, as well as their allies or friends gather together and be silent for a day no talking or communicating.

Students who are participating in this will pass around a card to anyone who asks why they are not talking that reads:

Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies in schools. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence?

Best of all, teachers cant get you in trouble for not talking during class.....

[csp4.0 1]

The Day of Silence? I don't get it, but anyway it's a good way to show that without all those people talking things are going to become very quiet. And the part of not getting in trouble because you can't talk might make more people join he campaign

[aminzzlink 1]

i gess most of students from the University of Virginia are Lesbian, Bi, Gay, and Trans gender arn't they ?? lolmaybe it can be a good thing for people who born (trans , andicap or what ever) . . . but for Lesbian, Gay ... really the point of view won't change even they make a war , cuz thier "right" is in the opposite of the nature .anyway have a nice Day Of Silence

[salamangkero 0]

...cuz thier "right" is in the opposite of the nature.anyway have a nice Day Of Silence

I was thinking of a sharp snapback but whatever's left of my manners makes me say instead, thank you and have a nice day of silence too.

I don't think we'd have that here, except probably for really elite private institutions where the students can afford to slack of a little and indulge their "philosophies" In any case, even if it were held here, I don't think I can be silent for an entire day 'coz I'm usually much of a trickster clown to shut up. At funerals, I sometimes jokingly ask, "Awh, why the sad face? Who died?"

We do, however, have gay pride parades sometime in the year. No, I don't participate in those loud-and-proud strutting-around either. I have no problems with gay pride but something about being obscenely loud just disturbs whatever's left of my manners.

Well, may you guys live long and prosper, happy and gay (pun intended)

[husker 0]

I think this is kind of a weird protest. I heard these two girls talking about it yesterday at my school and how they were going to participate in it. Quite frankly, I'm glad they are because whenever they are in my Ancient Civ class they just talk and talk and really disrupt the class. So I think some people that are doing this are really helping the cause, just making the people around them happier, but this isn't the case for all of them.They would get in trouble today because we are having a socratic seminar in class and if they didn't talk, everyone in the class loses 2 point on their grade for the seminar. Luckily I'm sick today so my grade won't be affected

Edited April 18, 2007 by husker (see edit history)

[Albus Dumbledore 0]

@ husker,lol, that kinda thing makes me mad. when people who don't really support homosexuality participate in the day just because it is a day to be excused out of talking at all for the day.It is a weird kind of protest but it works, because this year in middle schools, high schools, and colleges across the nation, nearly 5,000 of those schools participated in this years Day of Silence (Wednesday April 18th). It may not be something that is commonly known among the United states or anywhere else, but people who are bi, gay, lesbian etc... get picked on and harrassed quite a bit. not but two weeks ago a Gay teenager was walking home from his high school in colorodo and 6 students followed him home, calling him names and one of the six students threw rocks and other objects at the student breaking his nose and causing many cuts on exposed skin. That is the reason that day of silence was made, just to show he many people are aware of it, and do not support what people are doing to the homosexual community.I myself experiance a sort of harassment from many people who despise gay people at my school. I get people who follow me to classes and yell allowed and point at me saying, This guy's a *BLEEP* he supports homosexuality. Although it doesn't bother me much because it just makes them look like idiots there are people who have actually thrown objects at me with something along the lines of a note attached to it saying you're gay and blah blah blah. And I'm not even gay, i just support it....

Edited April 22, 2007 by Albus Dumbledore (see edit history)

[SNiped 0]

Well you learn something new everyday, but what i cant understand is why be silent? Nomrally people want to speak out about it, or that is the way here in the UK. HMm i may get one of those cards so i dont have to talk in school. When is this day anyway?

[CinnamorollTK 0]

I've been wondering: Is that the university where the Cho guy shot a whole bunch of people? I'm wondering because I remember that they mentioned that the university was in Virgina.

[jlhaslip 4]

The Cho incident was at Virginia Tech. The full name of the school is "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University" in Blacksburg, Virginia.

[Smack 0]

That's a good way to protest. (Though the people without the cards should be the ones being silent! - haha) It points out that there are many more LBGT people around you than one might expect - even some the anti's see as friends - maybe it will bring them to accept and possibly even embrace those LBGT people for who they really are. I'm straight and think that LBGT people should be able to do what they want, their body - their life - their choice. Thats why I live in America... because we should be free to do what we want to do, as long as it doesn't affect others in a harmful way. Many anti-LBGT people are so crazy and extreme... some of them just need to keep their mouth shut. Last semester an extreme right wing Christian evangelist came to my college campus to judge us. Anyone who didn't agree with him were called sinners and told in a scream that they were going to hell. Isn't that so nice?

[techclave 0]

Looks something weird to me..I guess the students rather take some better topic to protest about. How about protesting the gun laws prevailing at their universities..??I was really shocked to hear the Virginia Tech shootout. It really was a sick feel watching the news edition that day. Really felt bad on seeing what loss the incident had left behind. Well, it looks like i am deviating from the topic , ut, the point is , it would be nice if the students consider more important topics like this to stage a protest.

[salamangkero 0]

I guess the students rather take some better topic to protest about. How about protesting the gun laws prevailing at their universities..??

In understand your POV but different people have different views on what is important and what is not.

Take our government, for example, different agencies have a lot of claims as to where a lot of the funds should go. Last I heard, military got the largest share.

1. Military wants more funds. "It is essential that we eradicate terrorists in our nation."
2. The education sector clamors for more funds. "Education is the key to success."
3. The same quote is also the mantra of the research and development department.
4. Women's groups, gay and lesbian rights groups, children's welfare groups, they clamor for human rights and request funds to prosecute the violators.
5. The transportation sector also has something to say about roads and bridges.

See, we all have different ideas on what is important. There is no saying which wrongdoings should be rectified first. What if, instead of that Virginia Tech shooting, gays and lesbians were stoned by mobsters instead?

The way I see it, we're only reacting about guns and gun laws simply because of timing. Had a different event taken place, like a landslide, we'd be looking at issues of forest denudation or the excessive draining of groundwater. If a girl was nabbed, raped, tortured and killed, we'd be complaining against security in the school.

Humans can be so short-sighted. A small upstart and we immediately move on to the most trivial of issues. Say, is anyone here still concerned about the Taiwan quake and the disruption of daily life it caused? No siree, we're yapping away about Virginia Tech, guns, gun laws, weapon ownage (or ownership, but I do like the pun ) and the like.

So, see here, let's not play clean and tell other people what issues are important or what "better" topics they should protest about. People usually take action when they have something to protect, as said by Yoruichi-sama. Whether it is good or bad does not matter at all. It may be honor, pride, family or friends. You talk of protecting people from guns. We talk about protecting people from bigotry and prejudice. Neither is more important than the other, rather, they are both of importance to those who support their cause

[Smack 0]

Yep yep salamangkero has it all right. What is considered "important" is usually just what is hot at the time.IMO how we directly treat our human beings is way more important than trying to talk about gun laws. Laws are figured by the politicians so if you don't have a large amount of money or are a politician yourself there is really little you can do to change them (of course talking about them does accomplish something). But trying to make a change in people on how they treat their fellow brothers and sisters is something you can do by talking to people - or by not talking to people.

[Matt2 0]

I think the The Day Of Silence, would be a cool way to get a point of view across. I haven't heard of it being done in my country, but I think it would be a pretty cool thing to partake in Also the speech on the card is worded very well. Is there a website around where we can learn more information about this?

[NNH1254 0]

I think the The Day Of Silence, would be a cool way to get a point of view across. I haven't heard of it being done in my country, but I think it would be a pretty cool thing to partake in Also the speech on the card is worded very well. Is there a website around where we can learn more information about this?

http://dayofsilence.org/

I did it last year after I found about it (around 9:00 in the morning), but I don't talk a lot anyway and some people that I saw all day didn't even notice I wasn't speaking until sixth period (about 1:30PM).