Day of Silence

Go ahead and prepare your torches and pitchforks ahead of time. This will make some of you not like me.

Only because I completely forgot did I not participate in the event at left. I had planned to, but didn't.

Today is The Day of Silence. If you click on the picture, you will be directed to the website for it. The concept is to recognize the harrassment of gay people, by recognizing one person killed over the past year due to this violence, and to remain silent for an entire day in recognition of the violence.

There are some serious cons to living in a small, conservative town like Mt.Vernon. For one thing, the following conversation happened today.

Friend: Dude, this girl just came up to me and I said hi, she wouldn't talk, and she showed me a paper that said that she's doing a day of silence today.

Me: Yeah, it's against gay violence. I was going to do it, but forgot.

Friend: Why?

Me: Because it's wrong to beat the crap out of people.

Friend: Well, I don't think it's right to be gay.

Me: I don't either.

Friend: So, why were you going to do it?

Me: They're still people aren't they? Should they get the crap beat out of them because they're gay?

Friend: Well.....(exasperated stomp off)

This kind of thing makes me mad. Yes, I'm a Christian. No, I'm not gay. No, I don't believe that being gay is right. Yet, I don't exactly have a huge problem with gay rights, especially this one. The right to not be beat up because you're different, even if the difference is that you're doing something that people see as sinful. Think about it. Look at the things that I personally don't do, and then imagine who I would have to harass and bully if I followed that standard.

There would be girls who wear pants and cut their hair, as well as those who wear makeup and jewelry. There would be people who use bad language. There would be people who don't wait until they're married to have sex. There would be Trinitarians, Jews, Muslims, Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics. The list is too long to put on here.

Maybe you don't think it's right. I don't either. I have friends who are, and I've told them that I don't think it's right. But they're still my friends. So if I'm not going to stand up for their right by being quiet all day, at least I can try to use the talking for some good while I'm at it.