Day of Silence

Christian-Bashing Unabated Nationwide Study Shows

Three-quarters of students surveyed across America said that over the past year they heard derogatory remarks such as "Jesus freak" or "Bible basher" frequently or often at school, and nearly nine out of ten reported hearing "that's so Christian" or "you're so Christian" - meaning stupid or worthless - frequently or often. Over a third of students said they experienced physical harassment at school on the basis of religious orientation and more than a quarter on the basis of their religious expression. Nearly one-in-five students reported they had been physically assaulted because of their religious orientation and over a tenth because of their religious expression.

…The study also showed that bullying has had a negative impact on learning. Christian students were five times more likely to report having skipped school in the last month because of safety concerns than the general population of students. Students who experience more frequent physical harassment were more likely to report they did not plan to go to college, the study found. Overall, Christian students were twice as likely as the general population of students to report they were not planning to pursue any post-secondary education. In addition, the average GPA for Christian students who were frequently physically harassed was half a grade lower than that of Christian students experiencing less harassment.

This, of course, is total bullshit. It’s an article about gay students that I changed to make this point to conservative homobigot Christians who constantly whine about being persecuted: Shut the fuck up, you moany cunts!

It's gay-bashing that is unabated. It's LGBT kids who hear "faggot" and "dyke" and "that's so gay." It's LGBT kids who are bullied and assaulted. It's LGBT kids who skip school and whose grades suffer and whose futures are put at risk because of that to which they are subjected every day by peers who target them simply because they are different.

There are people who are genuinely persecuted in this country, kids who are harassed, who are hurt, who feel lost and marginalized and alone. They will grow up to be people who are disenfranchised from some of the rights and securities most of us take for granted. And there is no reason for it but insistent bigotry, social conservatives’ resolute determination to relegate the LGBT community to second-class citizenship and harass them with their vicious vitriol, issued in the moments they take a breather from the continual complaining about how oppressed they are.

But they are dinosaurs, and one day they will be extinct—and we will collect their bones and put them in a museum and tell our grandchildren about the freaks who once thought that the LGBT community didn’t deserve to be our equals. Our grandchildren will laugh and shake their heads, and we will remember bitterly when we had to be silent to make some noise.

Today marks the 10th annual National Day of Silence, launched by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network during which “those who support making anti-LGBT bullying and harassment unacceptable in schools participate in events to recognize and protest the discrimination and harassment—in effect, the silencing—experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and their allies.” This year, a half-million students in 4,000 schools and colleges were expected to participate in the National Day of Silence.

There are many different activities associated with the National Day of Silence now, but the primary action is silence. A perfect, still silence. Right now, there are thousands and thousands of kids—gay kids, transgendered kids, straight kids—moving through the halls of their schools, surrounded by the bustle of lockers being opened and closed, the boisterousness of their peers, the laughter and shoving and passing of notes, and they remain silent. They make eye contact with other participants, nodding, sharing solemn smiles, and they say nothing in support of one another. They are silent on this day so that the LGBT community may not have to be.

And this beautiful, moving silence will give each of them a stronger voice.