...about "The Day of Silence" (TM), Saturday, April 18th, 2009
This article comes from the Southern Poverty Law Center's newsletter, entitled "Hatewatch."
It is reprinted here without their express permission, but giving them full credit for the entire text. I believe it is important to stand up for the rights of all.
April 2007 -- Parenting columnist Dana Williams writes about how a recent spate of highly publicized anti-gay remarks underscores the need for the upcoming Day of Silence ™.
Dana Williams
"First it was Isaiah Washington, who portrays the gifted surgeon, Dr. Preston Burke, on the hit TV show "Grey's Anatomy."
I've been a fan of "Grey's Anatomy" — and of Isaiah Washington — since the pilot first aired in 2005, so needless to say, I was thrilled to see the cast nominated for several Golden Globe Awards earlier this year. But when Washington blurted out an anti-gay slur during the cast's backstage gathering after the Awards, I felt completely shocked and disappointed.
And then it was Tim Hardaway, former guard for the NBA team, the Miami Heat. The retired basketball player emphatically announced, "I hate gay people" during a recent interview for a sports radio show.
Hardaway's remarks were especially troubling to me, not just because of the sheer bigotry behind the words, but because I know my son and many other young children look up to athletes like Hardaway as role models.
My son eats, sleeps and breathes basketball, and to him, the men who play the sport in the NBA are men he idolizes and emulates from their jump shots to their styles of dress. To hear Hardaway say something that so drastically contradicted all that I have tried to teach my son about being accepting and respectful of all people greatly angered me — and greatly confused my son.
"Does he really hate gay people? Didn't he know everybody was going to hear him say that?" my son asked. "He shouldn't have said that; I bet he made a lot of people not like him anymore."
I saw the incident as a learning opportunity, explaining to my son that just because people are celebrities or famous athletes doesn't mean they are free of prejudice. "Those are things we all have to work on," I told him.
Painful rhetoricWhile Washington's and Hardaway's comments have been dissected in the media for weeks now and demands for apologies have ensued, it is a sad fact that similar remarks can be heard in any school hallway in this country on any given day.
Far too often, such anti-gay rhetoric in our schools is met with little discussion or disapproval. In many cases, school leaders choose to look the other way rather than address the anti-gay behavior. The lack of support causes many students who are gay or perceived to be gay to retreat in shame and silence.
If there is one positive thing about the controversy surrounding Washington's and Hardaway's recent comments, it is that the incidents have drawn public attention to how powerful and painful anti-gay rhetoric can be. If nothing else, these incidents give the public a taste of what LGBTQ students routinely face in our schools and communities.
The 2005 School Climate Survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) paints a troubling picture. Among the survey's key findings:
75% of students heard derogatory remarks such as "faggot" or "dyke" frequently or often at school, and nearly nine out of ten (89%) reported hearing "that's so gay" or "you're so gay" — meaning "stupid" or "worthless" — frequently or often.
Over a third (37.8%) of students experienced physical harassment at school based on sexual orientation and more than a quarter (26%) based on their gender expression.
LGBTQ students were five times more likely to report having skipped school in the last month because of safety concerns than the general population of students.
The average GPA for LGBTQ students who were frequently physically harassed was half a grade lower than that of LGBTQ students experiencing less harassment.
Statistics like these prompted GLSEN to sponsor the Day of Silence ™ in 1996. Now in its 11th year, the annual event challenges students in schools across the country to take a one-day vow of silence to symbolize the silence forced upon LGBT students each and every day.
Speaking up with silenceThe Day of Silence ™ draws thousands of participants and has become one of the largest student-led actions in the country. This year's Day of Silence ™ will take place April 18.
It's ironic, because most of us have been taught that it is necessary to speak up against injustice. The power of one voice is a concept I've always tried to explain to my son.
But as the Day of Silence ™ illustrates, speaking up doesn't always require using our voices. When we choose to boycott a store because of unfair labor practices, we are speaking up. When we don't vote for a candidate who supports anti-gay policies, we are speaking up. When we choose to meet hatred not with more hatred, but with forgiveness, we are speaking up. And when used as a show of support and unity, silence can also be a powerful way of speaking up.
Perhaps silence would be a good lesson for Washington and Hardaway, too.
Editor's Note: To learn more about decreasing anti-gay harassment and bigotry in your child's school, visit our free online guide, The ABCs of Sexual Orientation."
It is reprinted here without their express permission, but giving them full credit for the entire text. I believe it is important to stand up for the rights of all.
April 2007 -- Parenting columnist Dana Williams writes about how a recent spate of highly publicized anti-gay remarks underscores the need for the upcoming Day of Silence ™.
Dana Williams
"First it was Isaiah Washington, who portrays the gifted surgeon, Dr. Preston Burke, on the hit TV show "Grey's Anatomy."
I've been a fan of "Grey's Anatomy" — and of Isaiah Washington — since the pilot first aired in 2005, so needless to say, I was thrilled to see the cast nominated for several Golden Globe Awards earlier this year. But when Washington blurted out an anti-gay slur during the cast's backstage gathering after the Awards, I felt completely shocked and disappointed.
And then it was Tim Hardaway, former guard for the NBA team, the Miami Heat. The retired basketball player emphatically announced, "I hate gay people" during a recent interview for a sports radio show.
Hardaway's remarks were especially troubling to me, not just because of the sheer bigotry behind the words, but because I know my son and many other young children look up to athletes like Hardaway as role models.
My son eats, sleeps and breathes basketball, and to him, the men who play the sport in the NBA are men he idolizes and emulates from their jump shots to their styles of dress. To hear Hardaway say something that so drastically contradicted all that I have tried to teach my son about being accepting and respectful of all people greatly angered me — and greatly confused my son.
"Does he really hate gay people? Didn't he know everybody was going to hear him say that?" my son asked. "He shouldn't have said that; I bet he made a lot of people not like him anymore."
I saw the incident as a learning opportunity, explaining to my son that just because people are celebrities or famous athletes doesn't mean they are free of prejudice. "Those are things we all have to work on," I told him.
Painful rhetoricWhile Washington's and Hardaway's comments have been dissected in the media for weeks now and demands for apologies have ensued, it is a sad fact that similar remarks can be heard in any school hallway in this country on any given day.
Far too often, such anti-gay rhetoric in our schools is met with little discussion or disapproval. In many cases, school leaders choose to look the other way rather than address the anti-gay behavior. The lack of support causes many students who are gay or perceived to be gay to retreat in shame and silence.
If there is one positive thing about the controversy surrounding Washington's and Hardaway's recent comments, it is that the incidents have drawn public attention to how powerful and painful anti-gay rhetoric can be. If nothing else, these incidents give the public a taste of what LGBTQ students routinely face in our schools and communities.
The 2005 School Climate Survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) paints a troubling picture. Among the survey's key findings:
75% of students heard derogatory remarks such as "faggot" or "dyke" frequently or often at school, and nearly nine out of ten (89%) reported hearing "that's so gay" or "you're so gay" — meaning "stupid" or "worthless" — frequently or often.
Over a third (37.8%) of students experienced physical harassment at school based on sexual orientation and more than a quarter (26%) based on their gender expression.
LGBTQ students were five times more likely to report having skipped school in the last month because of safety concerns than the general population of students.
The average GPA for LGBTQ students who were frequently physically harassed was half a grade lower than that of LGBTQ students experiencing less harassment.
Statistics like these prompted GLSEN to sponsor the Day of Silence ™ in 1996. Now in its 11th year, the annual event challenges students in schools across the country to take a one-day vow of silence to symbolize the silence forced upon LGBT students each and every day.
Speaking up with silenceThe Day of Silence ™ draws thousands of participants and has become one of the largest student-led actions in the country. This year's Day of Silence ™ will take place April 18.
It's ironic, because most of us have been taught that it is necessary to speak up against injustice. The power of one voice is a concept I've always tried to explain to my son.
But as the Day of Silence ™ illustrates, speaking up doesn't always require using our voices. When we choose to boycott a store because of unfair labor practices, we are speaking up. When we don't vote for a candidate who supports anti-gay policies, we are speaking up. When we choose to meet hatred not with more hatred, but with forgiveness, we are speaking up. And when used as a show of support and unity, silence can also be a powerful way of speaking up.
Perhaps silence would be a good lesson for Washington and Hardaway, too.
Editor's Note: To learn more about decreasing anti-gay harassment and bigotry in your child's school, visit our free online guide, The ABCs of Sexual Orientation."
posted by Cinnabitch | 10:41 AM
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