April 2008 | From the Publisher
A Day of Silence (and Questioning)
Imagine a bright sunny day in Oxnard, California, on February 12th, 2008. You are sitting in an 8th grade classroom next to a kid named Lawrence King. Lawrence is an unusual 15 year old boy — cute, though he is what you might call “unconventional.” He lives in a home for troubled youth and wears eye makeup and shoes with high heels. He has self-identified as gay. He is a nice guy, laughs a lot, and is very outgoing and personable. He is just different.
Suddenly, another boy enters the classroom, a 14 year old named Brandon McInerney. He pulls out a small handgun and shoots Lawrence twice in the head.
There are so many troubling factors involved in this all too true story that I cannot begin to do it justice without approaching a mighty tome. Justice … did I actually just use that word? I can barely write about this without becoming physically ill.
How does this make you feel? If you have children, how do you feel as a parent? How would you feel if your child were in the classroom, or worse, the victim? How do you feel about your own consciousness journey? Where are the missing pieces between what you experience on your path to enlightenment and what is really happening in the world, on our small part of the planet?
April 25th, 2008, is the 12th annual Day of Silence, sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Association (GLSEA) and the United States Student Association. The Day of Silence is a nationwide, student-led event during which thousands of high schools and colleges will protest the oppression of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.
Here is a brief explanation from the sponsor’s website:
The Day of Silence, a project of GLSEA, will be held during school hours. Hundreds of thousands of students are expected to participate on April 25, many of whom will wear stickers and pass out ‘speaking cards’ that read:
“Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence, a national youth movement protesting the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies in schools. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by harassment, prejudice and discrimination. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward fighting these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the silence?”
For more information and a complete collection of organizing materials, visit dayofsilence.org.
Hmmm. War, economic recession/depression, disappearing middle class, racism, sexism, children and young adults murdered in classrooms, disharmony. What are you going to do to end your silence? This is not just an academic issue. It needs to go to the streets, our offices, our homes, our families. Our lives.
I want to hear from you.
— Richard McGinnis, Publisher
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