Hi, Mallory. I wanted to personally thank you for writing about the Day of Silence, and adversely, the Day of Truth.
I had the good fortune to play some original music at a "Break the Silence" open mic in Battle Creek, Mich., on Friday evening, and the room was filled with GLBT high schoolers, their parents, friends and allies. They had within them a fervor and hope that was not available to me in high school, and I am glad the Day of Silence gave them that. Today, one day too late, I found out about the Day of Truth.
I went to the Day of Truth Web site after a friend of mine told me that he was disgusted by the premise. I wanted to see for myself what it was all about. Initially, the campaign sounded promising and open-minded. It talked about an "honest conversation about homosexuality." It talked about having respect for people whose beliefs differ from your own. But, invariably, there was also the dichotomy between thought and action, because the fundamentalist agenda to judge and change others was ever embedded within words that were manipulated to sound neutral.
You are courageous in your attempts to use biblical pacifism to fight the cruel behavior that continues in the town in which I grew up, and in which you currently reside. I applaud you. Don't be discouraged when your efforts seem useless.
When I lived in Warsaw, I used to write letters to the editor that were attacked, much like I heard yours was. I didn't bother to check. My Mom said reading the responses would not be worth my time.
I used to feel like none of my efforts mattered. But, things changed. Individuals changed. Just a few years ago, WCHS didn't even have a GSA, much less an organized Day of Silence. So maybe my words counted. I believe yours do.
The GLBT residents of Warsaw, as well as their friends, family and allies are lucky to have you on their side.
