National day of Silence

[Takashi]

The national day of silence for support of the Gay, Bi, Lesbin, Transgender community is on April 25 this year, and I will be taking part in it. Is anyone else going to?

 

[Pojo]

I'm not...I'm not against gay (I'm all for them although I'm not gay)...I just can't stand being a silent a whole day...

 

[Little ollie]

Sod that me quite for a day it is not gonna happen.

 

[Darkfinn]

sign language anyone?

 

[kevintje]

so... if my collegues at work don't talk to me... omg! they're gay!

 

[Charlie]

I'd tried going silent for a day once, not for any particular reason though...

I failed... people kept talking to me.

 

[Peachy]

Sod that me quite for a day it is not gonna happen.

Want some sleeping pills? Or I could knock you out for a day?! :biggrin:

Seriously, though, I'll be on vacation that day in Scotland, so I doubt I'll be able to be quiet all day as I'll have to talk to people for organizing my trip.

Peachy

 

[ShippoFox]

I can't be quiet for a whole day. I'm sometimes a quiet person, but not for an entire day. Sometimes talking is just important.

 

[starshine]

Well no offense to the bi/gay members, however I think there are enough things, such as the Gay Parade, that recognize that group of people. So no, I won't be participating.

 

[LilRabbit]

Well no offense to the bi/gay members, however I think there are enough things, such as the Gay Parade, that recognize that group of people. So no, I won't be participating.

Gonna have to agree with that one, and I'm bisexual.

 

[ArcticFluffy]

I am going to be wearing a sign that says National day of Silence.

 

[Mink]

Well no offense to the bi/gay members, however I think there are enough things, such as the Gay Parade, that recognize that group of people. So no, I won't be participating.

Eh, well I think a day of silence is better, and less extreme, I think the people who are in those parades aren't really helping anyone...

but alas! I will not be participating, mainly due too i cant stay silent for a day without it being obvious to my parents why... :dunno:

 

[ayanna]

Since my job requires me to speak, I guess I won't be participating...not that I had any plans to participate even if I had a job as a mime...but you know...

Sorry...maybe if they were having a few minutes of silence...that'd be more realistic...but a 'day'? That's rather like the pride parade....wayyyyyyyyy "over the top!"

Maybe the heterosexuals should get together and have a hetero-pride parade!

BTW I've nothing against gays, some of my best friends are gay...I even dated a guy who was bi (for a while).

 

[Doodle]

i usually participate in it every year but just clarifying ... text chat is not considdered speaking
*ties the white ribbon around his arm*
and may it make a difference one of these days

remember sometimes the lack of speach speeks louder than all the screaming and yelling could ever do

-doodle

 

[chevre]

Maybe the heterosexuals should get together and have a hetero-pride parade!

Maybe we're ashamed to be heterosexual . No but seriously, if we tried such a thing it would be labeled bigotry. Interesting how that works, eh? .

But no, I won't be participating. Nothing personal, but I've got obligations to fulfill (ones that would generally require talking).

 

[Tigger]

So you don't say anything for a day? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. [other] Gay people piss me off. Always whinging for gay rigts and shoving it in your face all the time. We've got plenty of rights already, and we are tolerated by the majority of the population. The only right we don't have is have the relationship recognised legally (like on government forms and such) but that's it (at least here in Australia). All the poeple whining and protesting because marriage is illegal is stupid. Of course it's illegal. Marriage is meant to be the holy union of a man and a woman, Not all the other bizzare combinations out there. I'm 100% I'm against it being made legal, and I'm against stuff like the mardi gras and things like this. It's just silly.

 

[chevre]

Hm, how are you against mardi gras? Well, I should say I don't see how it fits. Mardi gras is just the big celebration / feasting before Ash Wednesday, which begins the 40 days of Lent until Easter. The point is to have one last big party before the season that's typically marked with fasting and solemnity .

Is there something gays do on mardi gras that I don't know about?

 

[Dawes]

Wait one minute!

Let's dissect this for a moment, if we may.

A day of silence for homosexual and alternative sexual orientations? Hmm... at first, it's a considerably kind thought, but let's look at it deeper.

If the day is a day of silence, where people who are homosexual (or in support of humosexaliy), how are they supposed to express their pride at being homosexual or in support of homosexuality? How are you supposed to encourage more awareness of your orientation when you can't talk about it? Ut oh ... I think I'm starting to see some problems.
_______________________
A Worst Case Scenario - A Satire
a play in one act by Rance
Setting: The curtain opens on two chairs, both of which are inhabited by a character; STEVEN and JANE. STEVEN may be wearing whatever the director deems appropriate, and JANE's costume is also free-reign as well. The setting is androgynous and may be anywhere. The time is variable and may be located in any semi-modern era. There is a banner hanging on the background of the set that says, "NATIONAL DAY OF SILENCE," which should remain as a prominent part of the set throughout.

STEVEN: Hi, Jane.

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: It's such a pretty day. How are you doing?

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: That's strange. You're very quiet today.

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: I see how it goes! (he laughs.) Okay, okay. You're giving me the cold-shoulder. I understand. Is there any reason why you're being so quiet?

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: ... Well, I can take a hint, I guess. Do you want me to go?

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: I'll stay. Is that okay?

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: Jesus, Jane! Why do you have to be so difficult to work with! Jane, I've been thinking a lot lately ... and I've been wondering about you. I've noticed that you don't really go out and hang out with guys or particularly try to make any male friends. I mean, I've known you for what, fifteen years? Never once have you even gotten rip-roaring drunk and tried to take me in the bathroom! Most women do that around me, you know? All I'm trying to say, (he sighs and shrugs), is that ... if you're choosing at any point to come out of the closet, you know ... you know you can talk to me about it. You know that, right?

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: (dejected.) I guess I'm not a good confidant, then, am I?

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: Does ... does this mean my friendship is over? Oh, but Jane, I ... I wanted to tell you something. Something important... something that I know that, even if you're not homosexual, you might be able to accept. (He takes in a breath.) Okay. Here goes. Jane, I'm gay.

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: Jane?...

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: (bursting into tears.) OH GOD! Why won't anyone understand! They just give me the silent treatment, and I can tell NOBODY! NO ONE! Whenever you sons-of-bitches find out that I'm homosexual, you always respond with this passive-****ing-aggression or turn your back or refuse to acknowledge me anymore! Why did I even need to come out of the closet anyway! I hate you straight people -- you never think it's good enough to talk to me! That's it, Jane! We're over as friends! If I can't trust in you anymore, then who can I trust in?

(STEVEN stands up and marches off. From off-stage, there is a single gunshot and the sound of a body slumping to the ground. A single tear slides down JANE's cheek. The curtain falls.)
_______________________

Okay, so maybe that's a bit extreme ... but I don't truly understand how not speaking at all helps someone speak out for their support of an alternative sexual orientation. And if somebody is unaware as to why you're silent, and it's a good time to let them know, how are you going to let them know? How are you going to make others aware as to your standards and purposes when you can't even speak?

If anything, it should be National Stand-On-The-Rooves-And-Shout-Out-Your-Homosexuality Day! Be proud, but always with respect to others and their sensibilities, too -- don't hide it behind silence, even if that silence has a a good explanation!

 

[Mingus]

Wait one minute!

Let's dissect this for a moment, if we may.

A day of silence for homosexual and alternative sexual orientations? Hmm... at first, it's a considerably kind thought, but let's look at it deeper.

If the day is a day of silence, where people who are homosexual (or in support of humosexaliy), how are they supposed to express their pride at being homosexual or in support of homosexuality? How are you supposed to encourage more awareness of your orientation when you can't talk about it? Ut oh ... I think I'm starting to see some problems.
_______________________
A Worst Case Scenario - A Satire
a play in one act by Rance
Setting: The curtain opens on two chairs, both of which are inhabited by a character; STEVEN and JANE. STEVEN may be wearing whatever the director deems appropriate, and JANE's costume is also free-reign as well. The setting is androgynous and may be anywhere. The time is variable and may be located in any semi-modern era. There is a banner hanging on the background of the set that says, "NATIONAL DAY OF SILENCE," which should remain as a prominent part of the set throughout.

STEVEN: Hi, Jane.

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: It's such a pretty day. How are you doing?

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: That's strange. You're very quiet today.

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: I see how it goes! (he laughs.) Okay, okay. You're giving me the cold-shoulder. I understand. Is there any reason why you're being so quiet?

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: ... Well, I can take a hint, I guess. Do you want me to go?

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: I'll stay. Is that okay?

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: Jesus, Jane! Why do you have to be so difficult to work with! Jane, I've been thinking a lot lately ... and I've been wondering about you. I've noticed that you don't really go out and hang out with guys or particularly try to make any male friends. I mean, I've known you for what, fifteen years? Never once have you even gotten rip-roaring drunk and tried to take me in the bathroom! Most women do that around me, you know? All I'm trying to say, (he sighs and shrugs), is that ... if you're choosing at any point to come out of the closet, you know ... you know you can talk to me about it. You know that, right?

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: (dejected.) I guess I'm not a good confidant, then, am I?

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: Does ... does this mean my friendship is over? Oh, but Jane, I ... I wanted to tell you something. Something important... something that I know that, even if you're not homosexual, you might be able to accept. (He takes in a breath.) Okay. Here goes. Jane, I'm gay.

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: Jane?...

JANE: (silence).

STEVEN: (bursting into tears.) OH GOD! Why won't anyone understand! They just give me the silent treatment, and I can tell NOBODY! NO ONE! Whenever you sons-of-bitches find out that I'm homosexual, you always respond with this passive-****ing-aggression or turn your back or refuse to acknowledge me anymore! Why did I even need to come out of the closet anyway! I hate you straight people -- you never think it's good enough to talk to me! That's it, Jane! We're over as friends! If I can't trust in you anymore, then who can I trust in?

(STEVEN stands up and marches off. From off-stage, there is a single gunshot and the sound of a body slumping to the ground. A single tear slides down JANE's cheek. The curtain falls.)
_______________________

Okay, so maybe that's a bit extreme ... but I don't truly understand how not speaking at all helps someone speak out for their support of an alternative sexual orientation. And if somebody is unaware as to why you're silent, and it's a good time to let them know, how are you going to let them know? How are you going to make others aware as to your standards and purposes when you can't even speak?

If anything, it should be National Stand-On-The-Rooves-And-Shout-Out-Your-Homosexuality Day! Be proud, but always with respect to others and their sensibilities, too -- don't hide it behind silence, even if that silence has a a good explanation!

Amusing though your one act play is, Rance, the point of the day of silence is to replicate the de facto silence gay, bi, and transgender people have to live with on a day-to-day basis. There are places where being part of one of these groups results in total ostracism. The idea of the day of silence is to try to understand better what it's like to have no one to talk to. People who participate usually carry a placard explaining what they're doing, and why. At the end of the day, schools (at least my high school did) usually have an activity called 'Breaking the Silence' to talk about the issues, feelings, and thoughts that came up from being isolated from human conversation.

The Day of Silence is not about gay pride. And while some countries and places don't have extensive problems or anti-gay violence (I'm not going to say they have no problems--I'm a straight man, so this is an experience that's alien to me), other places still have significant social misunderstanding surrounding people who are gay or transgendered. Some places are even violently anti-gay, so to say that this is pointless is merely to assume that every country and region is as enlightened as your own. There is far more at stake for gay people than whether they can marry or form civil unions. In some areas secrecy is fundamental to even getting by.

Day of Silence website

 

[Dawes]

I appreciate the explanation, Mingus -- and I know it's certainly not a straight thing, since you get it -- but even though you understand it, outside of the need for safe protest in countries that don't accept homosexuality as readily, I truly don't understand it at its core.

I don't necessarily understand what a symbolic recreation of communicative discomfort can do to encourage understanding or even promote the idea. Powers above may strike me down for the comparison, but staying in silence for a day to symbolize support for homosexuality still seems extreme. I would feel the same way if black people chained themselves up to promote an understanding for the pain their people experienced during the American slave era, or if Jews recreated holocaustic conditions to garner understanding of their mistreatment during World War II.

The idea is noble and, in a lot of ways, very awesome -- I guess what I'm saying is, I wish there were more appropriate and expressive ways that a homosexual person had to promote understanding of their orientation.