From what I can see on twitter, today seems to be the National Day of Silence. I used to participate in high school, and if I remember correctly it was a day where you would be silent to bring attention to those that have to live their life in silence for fear of repercussions. While the concept is nice, I always felt it was a little flawed. The people that really need to be reached by this movement are probably too close-minded to realize what is going on. The people that are indifferent won’t really care, and the people that understand what the day is trying to achieve are most likely already involved.
The other problem I have with the Day of Silence is that silence is apparently a very subjective term. Back when I was in high school, people wouldn’t talk, but they would sit there passing notes all day. It eventually got to the point where people would “participate” so they could have, in their minds, a day off from school. Now, on twitter, I am seeing people who in one tweet say they are participating in the day of silence then turn around and send out a bevy of their normal day-to-day tweets. I am sure Myspace and Facebook are the same way.
What really constitutes silence? Is it simply the act of not talking for a day? I am sure that for some people that is really difficult, but if the only change you are making for a day is not talking, yet still communicating, is the purpose of the day really getting through? If you are still writing notes, tweeting, sending texts, writing blogs, and doing everything you would normally do in a day, are you really doing anything different?
Maybe it is just because I was raised Roman Catholic, but I feel like there needs to be some sort of struggle and sacrifice for something like the Day of Silence to have meaning. While the main goal is to bring attention to the silence some people have to live in, I feel that it should also remind the people participating of the difficulties others have to live through day-to-day. To me, silence means just that… silence. No communication.
At my high school the Day of Silence was nice much because it allowed those people who might not be traditionally strong allies, but who want it to be known that they are opposed to violence/bullying towards people because of their sexual orientation.
So that it isn’t just about ending letting our silence speak for those who have been silenced, but also about showing those youths who are out or still in the closet that there is a strong group of people willing to support them. (Including those who did speak, but still were happy to explain the Day of Silence to those who wanted to discuss it.)
Walking past someone in the hallway on the Day of Silence meant something, because even though you didn’t speak there was a greater understanding and comfort than there would be if you did.
Certainly refraining from online communication would do nothing, because no one would notice you were gone. But by not talking to people, that does send a message. (Maybe that message is damaged by the fact that people still write, or maybe it’s enhanced.)