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The Day of Silence is today, 16th April. It is an effort to draw attention to the extreme problem of ant-GBLT bullying.
I have said so often that our young are extremely vulnerable. Homophobia is so ingrained in our culture as to be unavoidable – in the media, in our families and definitely in the school ground.
Growing up, I knew what gay meant, I knew what queer meant. They were insults. They were bad things. They were horrible things to be. They were guaranteed to start a fight. They were among the worst things you could call someone.
And I knew this before I knew what “gay” even meant. I knew this long before I realised that gay was me. How healthy do you think that is?
And it’s not changed. According to a survey of teachers I posted a while back 7-8 of the top 11 insults heard in the playground are anti-gay attacks. 8 out of 11 are BLATANTLY homophobic and the insults used most commonly.
What do you think this does to a child? To be belittled and attacked and demeaned every day? What do you think it does to them to live in fear of violence every day?
A 2007 study of students in the US found that almost 9 out of 10 GBLT kids suffered homophobic bullying. 60% were afraid to go to school. Closer to home, a study involving teachers in Liverpool found homophobic bullying to be a daily occurrence and “endemic.” This is not a small problem.
And to make it worse, who do you go to for help? Teachers are poorly trained to deal with homophobia to say the least – when they’re not carrying their own baggage of prejudice to boot. It wasn’t that long ago when teachers weren’t even legally ALLOWED to confront homophobia – and still aren’t in some places.
And even if you can approach a teacher or a parent or a friend – they’re probably straight. And you’re probably outing yourself seeking help. That in itself is dangerous and terrifying – so many don’t.
This is why the day is important. Literally, lives hang in the balance. Because this abuse of our young has to stop and it has to stop now.
Of course, there are objections – from our friendly religious haters all swarming together complaining that, damn it, them GBLT kids don’t get bullied enough.
Various groups out there seem to have come to a conclusion – gay kids just aren’t getting bullied enough. The religious right is outraged that the Day of Silence exists, furious that the pain and suffering of our children isn’t being ignored
They have actually organised a Day of Silence Walk Out. Where they encourage parents to keep their kids away from school during the Day of Silence – just in case they learn that their fellow human beings deserve respect and protection even when they are gay
Joe.My.God has a list of groups that are supporting the bullying of GBLT children unsurprisingly, those who support the abuse of GBLT children are all Christian groups, showing the love and respect we have long since come to expect from organised Christianit.
Our children have a right to live, to exist and to be accepted as who they are. This cruelty has to end – and the evil of these groups for opposing it cannot be emphasised enough