odene497 Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 ^It catches people's attention and gets them to see that there are actually people that care about gay rights, seeing as most people don't seem to bother thinking about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmicha Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I do think that there should be something to support and honor those supporting gay rights, yet a day of silence is not the right way to do it, in my opinion. I feel a gay awareness day where you learn, discuss, etc. about gay rights in your classes would be much more effective. That way, those who do choose to remain in the closet won't be holding up a flag screaming they're sexuality. They can also join in discussions about gay rights without revealing their sexuality if they are not ready to let everyone know they are gay or bisexual. Coming out is extremely hard (in most cases), yet doing it in an environment such as a school is usually not the best place to do it. One of the things I learned about coming out is that telling your closest friends first and building your own support group makes it easier when someone chooses to discriminate against you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterlvr_nc Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I also participated in it today, with our school though, we all put red duct tape on our mouths to also make a visual impact, along with the impact of the silence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I can't even imagine how something like this would go over here. We had a homosexual substitute one day, and after spending 2 hours trying to teach our class, he swore he'd never come back again. It's really sad. There is a smart kid in our class with long hair, who is nicknamed "Fag Muffin" by all the rednecks. He is strange, yes, but no one deserves to be treated the way kids treat him... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterlvr_nc Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 ^ so hes nicknamed fag muffin cause hes gay? thats just wrong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeke11793 Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I didn't actually participate, but I support it. (I kinda forgot the date ) I also participated in it today, with our school though, we all put red duct tape on our mouths to also make a visual impact, along with the impact of the silence. We did the same thing at our school. About everyone that was participating had a black duct tape X on their mouth... That made an impact... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 ^^Yeah, and he hasn't even admitted it. The world is cold, or at least Mrs. O'Connell's class is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yankee cannonball Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 the other night my friend was sleeping over my house. we had a crapload of chips and whatnot and when the food coma set in, we were the 12-year-olds equivalent of drunk off our asses. the point is we were just blabbering like complete idiots when I said "what's with the gay bias in our school?" and yeah, we agreed that there's nothing wrong with gay people. the day before DOS. weird coincidence since I'd never heard of the event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunfire Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 At our school, we did have the Day of Silence (held by the Gay Straight Alliance), and I think people at my school are mostly accepting of gay people. Then again, I live in the Bay Area near San Francisco, which is known because of the diversity and acceptance of homosexuality. Me personally, I didn't participate in the event, but I do respect the people that did. I feel so horrible for the people that get harrased because of their sexual orientation. It's just wrong to discriminate people like that. I wish we could just live in peace, LGBT, and straight. The world would be a better place that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmicha Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 ^Unfortunately, that's never going to happen, as hard as we try to make people realize that no one on earth is the same and that there really is no such thing as "different" as there are no two people that are alike in any way, and aspects such race, gender, sexuality, nationality, etc. are just characteristics of people that are not always going to be the same. I've learned that if someone has a problem with me, then I don't need to be around them and just turn to my friends and family that do support me. It stinks that some people will not even give me a chance because I am gay, but if they feel that way, they are not the type of people I want to associate with anyways, so there really isn't any loss in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jojo19799 Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 PRISM was sponsoring this event on Friday at my school. For the past week and a half they were in outside the cafeteria educating the other students about the event (and other issues that gay, bi and transgendered people face.) Our school administration supported it and a mass email was sent out to staff letting us know of the event. The kids who were participating met in the main lobby before classes started and was handed a sticker (and information on the event) to wear all day. I think it made an impact because a lot of students who were not participating asked me what the DoS actually meant. Although I noticed there were some who started participating towards the end of the day. I thought it was great, but I think they decided that they didn't want to talk in class, or were trying to get out of an assignment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBird Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I also participated in it today, with our school though, we all put red duct tape on our mouths to also make a visual impact, along with the impact of the silence. Me and a few friends did that too, but it was against the rules and we got in trouble for deffiance when we wouldn't take them off. =/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenA07 Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I'm surprised to hear so many schools actually supported this. I would have thought most schools was would have taken a stance of neutrality towards the event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I think the event should be expanded to include bullying of all types. People suffer because of their religious beliefs, their color, their ethnicity, their interests, their size, their weight, their looks...why are we limiting this to sexual orientation? Larry King, the kid who was shot back in February, was killed a few blocks from where I used to work. That was a tragic event, to be sure. But we need to focus on bullying in general. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterlvr_nc Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 I also participated in it today, with our school though, we all put red duct tape on our mouths to also make a visual impact, along with the impact of the silence. Me and a few friends did that too, but it was against the rules and we got in trouble for deffiance when we wouldn't take them off. =/ Thats just not right... the school is essentially taking away your freedom of expression. The kids who dont want to be bullied, as someone had mentioned above. if they were that afraid, then they just shouldn't wear the tape, and there were ( at least at my school) a large amount of strait people who were supporting also. People who dont understand that no two people are alike... I honestly dont understand how they can't grasp the concept that there is no normal. The only really "normal" trait among humans is having opposable thumbs, 2 legs, 2 arms, ect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllenA07 Posted April 28, 2008 Share Posted April 28, 2008 Thats just not right... the school is essentially taking away your freedom of expression. Actually when I said that I was surprised that schools were allowing (and even helping with this) is because I figured that they would claim that it was the event would cause a substantial interferences to the mission of the school. It would be very interesting to see what would happen if one of the punished students were to sue to the school over the punishment. One one hand the student could argue that the school has interfered with his freedom of speech, whereas the school could argue that the event cause a substantial interference. I honestly have no idea how a court would come down on an issue like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterlvr_nc Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 yes, but it doesnt interfere ALL that much with learning, the students are still in class, and they are still learning the subject matter. They are simply not talking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DATman Posted April 29, 2008 Share Posted April 29, 2008 Day of Silence isn't the only Gay Awareness day out there. National Coming Out Day exists as well, and that serves as more of an educational day than a statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digidude18 Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 I remember Day of Silence from when I was in High School. I never really thought it did any good, to be honest. I think the best way to get people to understand different lifestyles is to talk. I know that its really hard for some people because of where they live or go to school, but discussions are the only way that other people will learn. And on a side note, I'm not sure that High School's should be doing Day of Silence anyway. Too many things in High School become fads and loose their meaning. I know of some people that jumped from straight, to bi, to gay, and back around multiple times just so they could "fit in". And that isn't some blanketed sweep of the gay/ bi community, there really are some teens who, depending on the group they are with, change their orientation just to fit in or be different or whatever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepp Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 I know of some people that jumped from straight, to bi, to gay, and back around multiple times just so they could "fit in". While people can change their behavior (for instance, a straight woman can go have sex with another woman, and plenty of essentially gay guys are married to women), there's little evidence that people can change their actual orientation, and certainly not on the spur of the moment so they can be the cool kids in school. I mean, could you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digidude18 Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 I know of some people that jumped from straight, to bi, to gay, and back around multiple times just so they could "fit in". While people can change their behavior (for instance, a straight woman can go have sex with another woman, and plenty of essentially gay guys are married to women), there's little evidence that people can change their actual orientation, and certainly not on the spur of the moment so they can be the cool kids in school. I mean, could you? I think you just said what I meant, but in a much better way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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