National Day of Silence

This was my response to the National Day of Silence last year, and I'm reposting for those of you thinking of inviting me. No answer is a no. Disregard the links, I'm not sure if they still work. Thanks for reading.


As many of you know, today, April 25, 2008, was the National Day of Silence. If you support gay/lesbian/bi people you aren't supposed to speak for the whole day. This is the information I recieved from many students at my school, though the Website for the National Day of Silence doesn't suggest this action. On the page with the "5 Things To Do For The Day of Silence" it clearly says that you should plan on having a silent lunch, followed by a discussion about how you have been affected by LGBT, and how others that have made the choice to be homosexual have been silenced by discrimination. This was not a day in which you weren't supposed to talk at all, though it is a good excuse to avoid discussions, or public-speaking, but one of the things that the website even suggests is that you should discuss the people affected by discrimination. This was supposed to be a day about speaking up about LGBT rights, and what's the best way for hundreds of thousands of supporters to be heard? Well, by not speaking at all! Wait...that doesn't make sense. How can not speaking out about what you believe in help? Call me not-understanding, you wouldn't be the first today, but that does not make sense. How can you be noticed if you aren't doing anything. You are supposed to echo the silence of opressed LGBT supporters, and the Gays/Lesbians themselves, but isn't this just being more submissive to the "Greater Power". Was MLK shot because he said nothing at all about an important issue? Saying nothing will not bring about "equality" between sexualities.

Oppression can only survive through silence.
Carmen de Monteflores


This quote is very true. If everyone were silent about things they believe in, they will never change. Opressors don't just wake up and think, "Oh, they're nice and silent, I should really just leave them alone from now on. They aren't harming anyone." These kinds of things just don't happen. Freedom of Speech. The first amendment. Please use it people. In America there is so much oppurtunity to get heard, why waste this freedom on not having anything to say. I strongly disagree with the acts of those that took the vow today. It may be for a good cause, but I don't believe it did very much for it. I believe that to change the world you must scream you're thoughts from the rooftops, protest, hold rallies, not eat a silent lunch. To make a difference, you need to be noticed by more than middle and high schoolers. To make a difference, if you really strongly believe in your cause, you need to go out of your way to be different. A lot of people who "vowed" still whispered to their friends, this is makeng even less of a change. You need to believe to change.

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." -- Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi changed much of the world with speech, not silence. He was the change he wished to see. Are you? If you follow this quote, then the change you wish to see is that LGBT supporters do not speak up, and just take the bashing. That was not what the purpose of silence was, though that could be the outcome.
The Day of Silence did not do much. Neither do "Gay Pride Parades", or the "Gay and Proud" bumper stickers. I understand that people want to be heard and eventually viewed as being the same as everyone else, but the currents acts showed more difference than equality. This is most likely the reason for a double-standard that has popped up for Straights and Gays/Lesbians. Gays/Lesbians can have parades, bumper stickers, days of silence, and be completely proud about who they are. Now lets imagine a Straight Pride Parade. Maybe 100 people walking down a street, yelling out, "I'M STRAIGHT AND I'M PROUD!" This would be seen as a ploy to harass Gays and Lesbians. If you drive around with a "Straight and Proud" sticker on your car, you will be seen as a gay basher. Many things that groups can have, and act in, can not happen with another demographic.
Mixing the two groups doesn't seem to work either. A friend of mine told me about her school's GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance). When she and her friends went to join, they were ignored. It's because they were not gay. The other members went as far as having a secret meeting and not telling the others about it. That is not becoming allies. Actions like that can only cause more turmoil.
Segregation in groups made to bring together Gays and Straights. This is not progression. Silence for a day if you support LGBT is causing more difference between the two factors. Gay Pride Parades are bringing apart the groups even further. The things that are supposed to help the cause are really hurting it. They are showing the differences between people, not the likeness. There are better ways to gain equality. Integration not Segregation.

Realizations.

-The difference between Ignorance and Apathy: I don't know, and I don't care.

-There are people in this world that are made to be stepped on. It may sound bad, but they let it happen, and they aren't willing to change it.

Banned Books!!

Good Evening, my avid readers. Ha, yea right. Anyways, I'm here tonight to talk about how important banning books is. Not very. For this unit in my integrated class, we are reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and talking about the freedoms we have in school and in life. It turns out, that the aforementioned book is one of the most challenged books for schools. Why? Well, if you have read it, you probably noticed the 200+ times the word "nigger" shows up. This, being so blatantly put out, is harmful to a certain demographic. I realize that since I am not black, I don't completely understand the affect this could have on people. However, there are things that offend everyone. This book is meant to be satirical! It shows that a moronic, street urchin, learns that blacks are people too. Therefore, implying that everyone else who doesn't realize this, must be even stupider than Huck Finn. Sure, you can watch Mind of Mencia, he throws out racial slurs every 30 seconds, and it's funny. Yes, there is a painful past, and still a lot of racism in the world, but allowing this accurate piece of literature to still harm people, even though it is meant to ridicule the oppressors, is not progress. In an article we read in the class, a man said that the African American race needs to respect itself before others will respect them. Complaining about a book written almost 130 years is not going to gain respect for yourself. Eventually, the word will leave the vocabulary, if they put on some tougher skin, and not let it get to them. Most literature has some kind of bias, and can hurt anyone. Should we ban the history books, because a jewish student seeing a swastika could be offended and hurt because of the holocaust? Anything can be offensive, Huck Finn just makes it more blatant. In all reality, it was reality. The book accurately portrays the way people thought of blacks. If all students could read was books that were completely unbiased and unoffensive, they would see the world as a peaceful place. It's not, there is prejudice for anything. The clothing you wear, the way you walk, the music you listen to, hair color, anything. The fact that blacks use the word with each other, only keeps it alive. The fact that Huck Finn is so challenged for it's use of the word, keeps it alive. Pico v. Island Trees states that a book may be banned for being vulgar. It cannot, however, be banned for being unpopular. It's all up to perspective. I see it as neither vulgar or unpopular. I believe it is just another word, but it's the meaning an idividual puts behind it that makes it offensive. Slavery, and oppressing blacks was wrong, but it's time that we leave that ugly past behind, and start off with a new page.

iTunes 8 and Twitter

Today while I was at home being a sickie, I downloaded iTunes v.8. I was very pleased with the new add on. The newest version of what I assume to be one of the most used applications in the united states, if not the world, has added a genius sidebar. No, it is not automatic customer service, it merely shares the same name as Apple employees. When I finished downloading, I was given a prompt to "scan" my library, and a brief explanation as to what it would do. As I read through it, I realized it was something I needed for a long time. It is similar to Pandora with how you choose a song, and it finds other songs in your library with similar qualities. It doesn't stop there however. In the sidebar, it also suggests music that you has similar qualities, or is by the same artist. From the sidebar you can choose to sample and even buy the songs if you like. One good part is that you can go back to a song after you've listened to it, unlike Pandora. Although, because it has to be music you own, it is less of an actual Pandora's Box affect, unless, of course you own every piece of music ever recorded and sold. Another one of it's downfalls is that, with my 2500+ library of songs, it took almost a half hour for it to scan all my songs, and group them together. Also, as long as I am comparing it with Pandora, there is no way to have a song not played in a certain Genius Playlist. At least, I have not found one. Other than the few tweaks I would add, however, I think that this will definitely be a great addition for iTunes. While I'm on the subject of new technology and such that I am trying, I may as well talk about Twitter. This is, if you do not know, a medium for people to exchange what they are doing. All you have to do is sign up for an account, and started following, or be followed by people. People will either Text, IM, or use Twitter on the web to change their status. This change will then be sent to everyone who is "following" them via text, IM, or on the web. Me, being the nerd that I am, thought of some great ways that this could be used. Teachers could use it all the time. They would just have to have their status on Twitter be the homework, or students could "tweet" answers to the teacher if they are shy in class. Teens could keep in touch with their friends or parents by just sending out one text message instead of waiting the extra few minutes for 10 or more to send out. I know, I sound like everything needs to be instant, but in all reality, it does. Things like Twitter, and even iTunes8 are. Sure, it took 28 minutes for my music to be scanned, but a Genius Playlist was developed in less than 30 seconds. With how fast people have gotten at texting, Twitter could be used to alert police or other entities of attack, rape, break-ins. It may sound crazy, but it has a bigger potential than the "OMG! I broke my nail!!" that it sees everyday. It is convenient, fast, and free. That's how we like things these days. If it's difficult, we don't like it. Slow? We can go without. Costs too much? With our faltering economy, free is the only way to go. Look at that, I went from being excited about new things I tried, to criticizing Americans for their outlook on life. Oh well. Anyways, these are both great things to try out. If anyone actually reads this, feel free to follow me.