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Day of Silence to Honor Slain Gay Student »

Posted by: david_nwpa 4 months, 3 weeks ago

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This year's national annual Day of Silence, when students observe a vow of silence to bring attention to bullying and harassment of LGBT students, will be dedicated to the memory of 15 year old Lawrence King.

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david_nwpa4 months, 3 weeks ago

I will allow any of my students who wishes to honor the Day of Silence to have his or her rights respected. I will be honoring this day as well, and will write classroom instructions on the board. I will speak only as an absolute necessity.
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  lvrofwolves4 months, 3 weeks ago
  
  I like that! to have his or her rights respected! it covers many human rights.
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    dandt16124 months, 3 weeks ago
    
    I completely agree.
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Poulenc4 months, 3 weeks ago

The other day I was checking out some You Tube stuff and was genuinely shocked to see the number of comments posted in which males in the various clips were referred to as fa*gots. Other comments went along the lines of, "This is too gay..."
Am I behind the times--do these sorts of comments not have the same ugly meaning they did when I was younger--or are they examples of apparently permissible bigotry? (Would commenters allow themselves to say, or be allowed to say, "n*ggers," in referring to the clips?)
A day of silence is fine, but the horizon of permissibility for the use of antigay slurs must be pushed back into the far-infinite....
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- lkrdgevaComment removed: User banned.1 Reply
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    hamy4 months, 2 weeks ago
    
    When I was a kid, we used it the same way. I understand that and I just feel that words are harmless. It's human rights that I am more concerned with. I have been called every name in the book. I don't really mind. Those are the ones that you know can hurt you so you can steer yourself out of danger.
    It's the ones who court your vote and then vote your rights away once in office that scare me more.
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  ecotourusa4 months, 3 weeks ago
  
  Poulenc-
  I still use the word "Queer" in the real sense of the word. I suppose I should stop. but, I was taught that "gay" means happy and "queer" means different from a conventional viewpoint. I wish I could speak English without having to worry about word usage. But, I understand if people are offended. I have 2 homosexual siblings whom I love dearly. I support same sex marriage rights, etc.
  But, one day I heard my nephew use the word "Gay" in a not so nice manner and I corrected him emphatically. I doubt he will use it again in that fashion.
  We need to have sensitivity education.
  And, David, Please don't forget Simmie Williams, 17, of Fort Lauderdale who was gunned down and found in a field wearing a dress. This killed me in a sense as well. I was so disappointed to realize we still have such blatant and horrid ignorance infiltrating our community.
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    david_nwpa4 months, 3 weeks ago
    
    I have definitely not forgotten about Simmie or Matthew Shepard or the thousands of young gay men who are assaulted and never reported in the news or to the police. For them, this day of silence is honored.
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Poulenc4 months, 3 weeks ago

Thanks, lkr....I suspect you're right.
At the same time, it's difficult not to believe that tucked somewhere in those comments there's actual antigay sentiment.
I mean, they're not saying, "...that is SO Guernsey cow...." And in the You Tube clips I referred to, there WERE guys behaving in a way that could have threatened other guys conflicted (let's say) about their own sexual impulses.
PS, I'm not an injustice collector....
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delphin934 months, 3 weeks ago

Oh really? Great news. Thank you for sharing with us.
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Poulenc4 months, 3 weeks ago

Anything for a pal, delp....
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peaquod4 months, 3 weeks ago

A day of Silence is a great thing... BUT a possibly more effective tactic would be to flood your Senators with letters and phone calls demanding that they pass the Matthew Shepard Hate crimes bill!!
It's only taken 30 some odd years to get this legislation tothe Senate.....We must not let this bill die for lack of a floor vote....
Silent tributes are great but action speaks louder than silence.
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  lvrofwolves4 months, 3 weeks ago
  
  yes some things people can do are better then others, but I think the more things you do,there are many ways to reach people, the chances are much better getting through to many different people. People who feel homosexuality is wrong, don't always share the same reasons as to the why. Everyone starts somewhere. If that light bulb goes on because of a moment of silence, or the many other things, it's a good thing!
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david_nwpa4 months, 3 weeks ago

Action will begin with the first few steps we take. If we can make more noise by being silent for a day, at least we will have kept schools quiet for a day. We will have attracted attention to the needs of those most likely to be a target.
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