Support the Day of Silence

I may never be able to bring myself to watch Fox News without gagging, but I do like to keep a pulse on the right wing noise machine in the US. Know your enemy and keep them close, right? To that end, a while ago I decided to sign up for the American Family Association newsletter. Not because I agree with their odious, awful hatemongering on so many issues, but because I wanted to be advised when these SOB's were up to no good, so I could become active in the opposite direction. Occasionally I'll get AFA alerts to "protect the family" by calling up legislators demanding support for this or that piece of obnoxious regressive legislation that the AFA supports, and I happily call or email whomever they instruct me to, and tell the folks to do the exact opposite of whatever these jerks at AFA asked of me.

Below is an example of AFA's latest. It seems student groups that support gay and lesbian teens (in part to address the shockingly high suicide rates one finds in this population) have begun a program of a Day of Silence, held annually and this year it's April 17. A student, be they LBGT or merely a supporter of friends who are, can choose to have a Day of Silence at their school to show their support for the cause. The jerks at AFA (who kvetch about students "politicizing the schoolroom" but who would merrily support requiring all students to chant a state-sanctioned Christian prayer at the beginning of every class and teaching that Adam rode a dinosaur without batting an eye) simply can't tolerate little gay Jimmy or Belinda being mute for a day to support gay youth. (God forbid. As Steve Martin used to say, what's next, dogs and cats living together? These folks see any hint of tolerance for gays as harbinger of the apocalypse.) Thus they're calling for a coordinated action against school systems that participate, and plan to pull their kids out of class that day and make a loud noise to any school officials and board members in their districts that dare support this cause.

Anyway, enough venting on my part at these conservative blowhards. For those of you with children of school age, I heartily encourage you to KEEP the kid in class on April 17, and if they are so motivated to participate in the Day of Silence, support them lovingly in this helpful and certainly harmless bit of social protest. We cannot protect the poor children from AFA homes that may be pulled out of class by their right-wing nutjob parents, and I can only hope these kids find the courage to overcome the message of hate their parents are so desperately trying to instill in them. But we can certainly give all our love and support to those who promote tolerance and understanding, and stand behind brave teens who choose to support this equality cause.

I don't have to remind any of you how difficult it is to come into one's own as a teenager, whatever your sexuality might be. Being gay or lesbian is a whole extra dimension of baggage teens must struggle with. When I grew up in a small town in southern Illinois, I came out my senior year of high school, alone, with no gay community visibility and scant support from those around me. While it was a rough period, I wouldn't in a million years undo that decision to come out of the closet, for I know within the social construct that is the closet one finds only shame, death, and fear. Our children, as they struggle to come of age and understand their own selves, need love and support, not more hateful shaming bigotry shoved in their faces. I'm encouraged that today in that same school district some 20 years later, there are many many more kids that feel safe to be out about their true selves, and far more friends that love and support them in their development. Someday we may move beyond this, but as it stands now we live in a world where fear and hate must be met by pride and visibility. One can never underestimate how this kind of visibility proves so crucial to enhancing kids' pride, self-esteem, and indeed survival.

For those of you without kids in school, I hope you'll pass this message along to friends and family who do, and ask them to flip AFA the bird as well. Silence for one day on April 17 is indeed golden.

Here is the link to AFA's wicked wicked website. I encourage you to sign up for their news alerts, for an eye-opening look into their steady stream of bile. Then fight against the stream, my brothers and sisters!
http://www.illinoisfamily.org/doswalkout/