Day of silence

The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network has set aside today as the National Day of Silence. They are expecting hundreds of thousands of students and educators across the country to participate. 

The way it works? Students simply refuse to speak for all or a portion of the day unless they are called on to participate in class. They can also decorate lockers, wear shirts, or hand out cards and flyers. 

The way it DOESN'T work? Students are NOT forced to participate. No one is bullied into accepting anything they don't believe in. No one is abused for reading religious texts. No mouths are taped shut unless they do it themselves. 

From GLSEN:

Students from more than 8,000 middle schools, high schools and colleges registered as participants in last year's Day of Silence, a student-created and student-led event which is sponsored nationally by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. Students typically participate by remaining silent throughout the school day, unless asked to participate in class. The event is designed to illustrate the silencing effect of this bullying and harassment on LGBT students and those perceived to be LGBT.

Some students are holding the day this year in memory of Carl Walker-Hoover, an 11-year-old from Springfield, Mass., who took his life April 6 after enduring constant bullying at school, including anti-LGBT attacks. Carl, who did not identify as gay, would have turned 12 on the Day of Silence.

"The Day of Silence is a positive event during which students bring attention to the pervasive problem of anti-LGBT bullying in our nation's schools, a problem far too often ignored," GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said. "It is inspiring to see so many young people take action to make their schools safer. And yet, just last week, we learned of another reminder of the tragic consequences of anti-LGBT bullying. It didn't matter to Carl's bullies that he didn't identify as gay. Bullies learn from an early age to use homophobic language as the ultimate weapon to degrade their classmates."

The article goes on to talk about how and why LGBT kids are bullied. But who doesn't know why. You're a little too fem or a little too butch. The clothes you wear are different. Your hair is different. Your voice sounds funny. You walk funny. The long and the short of it is, it doesn't matter. If you're perceived to be different, it's open season for anti-LGBT bullying. 

Hopefully today a few people are going to see the effect of their own behavior. Hopefully today somebody will make that little bit of difference that will prevent something like what happened to Carl Walker-Hoover from taking out another young voice.