<p>I hadn't heard about it until joining cc last year.
I would do it, but I don't have school tomorrow I work and have rehearsal, so I can't not talk!</p>
<p>its a pretty huge deal at my school district. this person got suspended for doing the Day of Truth, which is basically an anti-gay day, and he's battling the school district all the way to the supreme court !!! i have a lot of gay friends who are participating in it, and a lot of people also wear Day of Silence supporters badges. I think i'll wear one too if i can get one. For me, its kind of a religious issue, because i'm christian so i believe homosexuality is wrong, but i strongly believe that it is the person's own decision and no group of people should be discrimated against. hopefully this years Day of Silence will go smoothly--- my friend, who is gay and participated got kind of roughed up, but overall, the atmosphere at my school is pretty tolerant.</p>
<p>Day of Truth? What? At least Day of Silence isn't AGAINST anybody. I just found out though that somebody wrote "Good, now the f*gs won't talk anymore" on one of the walls of another high school on my campus. I swear there's something wrong with people like that. Everybody is entitled to their opinion, don't get me wrong. But vandalism and derogatory words, that goes way too far. </p>
<p>Edit: Went to day of truth website. They claim they don't interrupt the academic day nor do they push their agenda like LGBTs do. It's crap, they are interrupting too because they know they will be protested against just like DOS people are. They are pushing their agenda just as much as LGBTs do but at least LGBTs aren't trying to oppress others.</p>
<p>Well last year at my school the GSA was kind of obnoxious and did their Day of Silence on the same day as the National Day of Prayer. I personally don't support gay rights, but I do think that high school GSA clubs have a right to take part in the Day of Silence- but I just thought it was way too convenient that their Day of Silence happened to be on a day that a lot of Christians who are against homosexuality recognize. You could tell which "side" everyone was on, though, because about 3/4 of the student body participated in one of the two events: they were either dressed all in black and being silent, or wearing white for the Day of Prayer.</p>
<p>I go to PCEP as well, and I think that the Day of Silence was crap this year. People who didn't hear about it beforehand didn't even know what it was about. </p>
<p>I heard a lot of nasty comments that day. I was walking between schools, and someone said, "I'm gonna beat up the next kid I see with tape on his mouth." I wasn't aware of how prevalent the homophobia is at our school. It was kind of eye-opening.</p>
<p>the thing is that it's only the school day, so you're only not talking for a few hours, and you still have to participate in class, so that person who had a presentation could have gotten around it. it's just where your priorities lie. and yes, as i'm talkative myself, it got noticed. luckily i've gotten to a point where all my friends are very supportive, and one person even said he wished he'd done it and would participate next year. that's what it's all about.</p>
<p>I have a problem too with the Day of Silence. A lot of kids in my school participated in it and I agree with the fact that it raises awareness. But it makes more sense to me if we are to have a Vocal Day or a Day of Words or something similar where people would just talk instead of being silent. I understand that for the Day of Silence, you also want participants to feel what it is like for those gays/les/bis who are too embarassed and scared to voice anything. The truth, even though we attempt to feel it, we can never truly get to feel what they are going through. Just by saying "oh..it's awful" "oh I understand." "oh I sympathize." I don't know, things like that...you cannot put yourself in these peoples' shoes just by being silent for one day because you silent is only a part of their scarred experience with a society that doesnt accept them.</p>
<p>Exactly. That's why I choose not to participate.</p>
<p>i also agree with dragon, but it made sense personally (and given my specific school) to do it. to each his own, as long as the message is the same.</p>
<p>I've been a Peer Educator at my university for four years now - I work with the Office of LGBT Student Services. One of the most important messages I've taken away from the experience has been the importance of diverse opinions. People should feel free to take part in these events, but they also need to recognize that others have the right to disagree with the logic behind the event and not take part. One viewpoint is not superior to the other.</p>
<p>What it boils down to is that we allies are working towards a better world. The more time we spend insulting each other is less time we're spending on achieving our goal. I don't expect it to be easy, but I'm certain that in 50 years, we will recognize discrimination based upon gender identity and expression or sexual orientation is as ridiculous as discrimination based upon sex or ethnicity.</p>