I haven't said a word all day. I am participating in a national observance of Day of Silence, promoting LGBTQ rights. (LGBTQ? LGBTQI? LGBTQIA? I've seen them all and am never sure how many letters I have to say to make sure I'm being all inclusive. Can't we just make it "A" for awesome?)
As evidenced by yesterday's post, I often go into things willy-nilly, ignorant of how hard they're going to be. I either underestimate the challenge, or overestimate my own will, or a bit of both. Either way, not talking all day is really, really hard. I don't think I realized how much I rely on talking to get by and stay sane before today. Like when I accidentally bumped someone with my elbow and started to say, "sorry," before catching myself and just making an apologetic face. Or trying to get lunch by pointing, smiling, and nodding.
I made it through a whole day. It was hard, but it was worth it a hundred times over. Being consciously silent made me think all day about what I was doing it for. And when I didn't respond to friends in class, I got to show them my "speaking card" to explain the reason for my silence.
The FBI says 16% of reported hate crimes are motivated by sexual orientation. 1500 happen each year. 1/3 of people who identify as gay or lesbian try to commit suicide. Over half of those who identify as trans attempt to kill themselves. These horrendous realities stem from a culture of hate that manifests itself throughout our society--not least in the bans on same-sex marriage that exist in some form in 43 states. Some of this hate is motivated by religion, and most by sheer ignorance.
This cause is very close to me. So many people, some of them close friends, suffer against prejudice, discrimination, and hatred for their LGBTQ self-identification. Who they are and how they love is denied at every turn. The reality that people have to fight just to express who they are hurts me so very deeply. I may be an idealist, but I want a world where being yourself is never looked down on, a world without hate, and a world with equality for all.
So go out and fight. Our weapon is love.
If you're not careful you may end up with the whole alphabet in there. I've personally never seen it go beyond the Q. I think Q, Queer and Questioning, is pretty inclusive -- Queer is pretty vague, it pretty much refers to anyone who isn't straight.
ReplyDeleteYour experience with not speaking for a day actually sounds quite a bit like my experience visiting the school for the deaf with a severely limited sign language vocabulary. The same thing happened to me, I bumped into someone by accident . . . and she signed "sorry" to me, but because it's such a reflex, I simply spoke "sorry." I kind of felt like an ass. But we hadn't learned that sign yet.
I've never officially done the Day of Silence because I was only in school for it one time when I was fourteen and I had been out sick, so I didn't know it was coming till it happened. I've always wanted to do it though. I kind of did it on my blog. I didn't post a real entry, just a link to a video on the Day of Silence site.
Wow, are those numbers really accurate? Half of trans people and a third of gays and lesbians attempt suicide? I mean I knew the numbers were high, but damn. I'm so thankful that I'm not completely surrounded by religious zealots because I guess, under the right circumstances, that could have been me. ("right" in that sentence actually means "really wrong and fucked up") Some of my extended family can be harsh at times, but my mother is great. I'm not out to my extended family yet (with a few exceptions). Yeah, I'm a lesbian . . . I'm never sure exactly how bluntly I need to say it for people to understand. I've made more subtle references to it in the past and it goes right over people's heads . . . I assume they know only to find out that they are completely clueless. It's actually kind of funny at times.
-- Heather, BEDA Buddy
I don't know if you meant to reference Harry and the Potters with the whole love being the weapon thing... but that's actually irrelevant (although it is a good song, as you probably know). What matters is that you're absolutely right. I'd also add education to our arsenal, since a lot of hate is (as you said) motivated by ignorance.
ReplyDeleteThank you for inspiring me to fight harder.
-Kaitlyn