April 15, 2011

Day of Silence

As you know, thanks to TASC's Diversity Committee, NFS is participating in the National Day of Silence.  Technically, today is the National Day of Silence, but due to 6th grade being at Echo Hill, we will have ours on Tuesday. 

The web site for National Day of Silence is http://www.dayofsilence.org/.  It is sponsored by GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network).  You got to meet and learn from Jody Smith's friend who works for GLSEN during SPICES week last year.  I want you to spend 10-15 minutes exploring http://www.dayofsilence.org/.  There are videos, FAQs, blog links and much more.  You can go wherever you like.  Then, answer the questions below:

1.  What is the purpose of the National Day of Silence and how is it related to civil rights?

2.  What do you think about National Day of Silence as a method for social action?  How does it compare to other forms of protest we've learned about in American history?

3.  Lady Gaga is donating a portion of the proceeds from sales of Born This Way (Country Road version) to GLSEN.  How do her lyrics relate to Day of Silence?

18 comments:

  1. 1.) Day of Silence is a day for GLBT kids. (gay, lesbian, bysexual, transgender,) It's purpose is to be silent so that we can experience what they go through throughout their their life. It related to Civil Rights because their are laws against certain things such as marrige to the same sex.
    2.) I think that day of silence is a great way to advertise what GLTB kids are going through. By being silent we respect them and who they are.
    3.) Lady Gaga's lyrics talk about how it doesn't matter what other people think about you. All that matters is what you think about yourself. She also says that loving who you are is what makes you perfect. This lyric really stood out to me as a lyric that was a shout out to GLBT kids.

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  2. The point of National Day of Silence is to raise awareness for students who are lesbian, gay, bisexual who are silenced by bullying and harassment. It is related to Civil Rights, because gays, lesbian, and bisexuals do not have equal rights, and many are bullied and harassed because of their sexual orientation.

    The Day of Silence seems very different from other forms of protests in America's past. In the past, protests were usually very vocal, standing up for what you believed in in speeches, and sons, and chants, but this one is protesting by using silence, which is a different approach to protesting.

    Lady Gaga's song relates to Day of Silence, because her lyrics state, how you are born a certain way, and nobody can change that. If you are born lesbian, gay or bisexual, you should be proud of the person who you are.

    George

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  3. 1. What is the purpose of the National Day of Silence and how is it related to civil rights?

    The purpose is to stand up agaisnt bullying and harassment of GLBTQ people. People can choose to be silent to show their support. It is kind of like the Civil Rights movement of today. GLBTQ's do not recieve all the rights that they should, just like African Americans did in the 1960's.

    2. What do you think about National Day of Silence as a method for social action? How does it compare to other forms of protest we've learned about in American history?

    It is a very good way of protesting. People usually talk quite alot, and when someone is silent for an entire day, many people notice. People obstaining from speaking is almost like people obstaining from riding buses in the Civil Rights Movement, or people not buying goods from England in the 1700's.

    3. Lady Gaga is donating a portion of the proceeds from sales of Born This Way (Country Road version) to GLSEN. How do her lyrics relate to Day of Silence?

    In this song, Lady Gaga is talking about excepting yourself for who you are. one lyrics says, "No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgenderred life, I'm on the right track baby I was born to survive! This lyric really illistrates the whole meaning behind day of silence. The song also talks about bullying and how you should just ignore it because everyone is perfect the way they are.

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  4. The purpose of the Day of Silence is to spread awareness to the issues faced by LGBT people in schools. They are bullied frequently and sometimes worse. It is related to Civil Rights becuase it wants to promote and share that equal rights should be had for everyone, no matter if they are straight or not. I think this is an alright method of social action, but not the best. I believe it could help, however, I'm not sure the majority of people will think differently after it. There have definitely been better ways of protesting throughout history. The lyrics of "Born This Way" definitely deal a lot with this awareness promoted by Day of Silence. The title of the song absolutely relates to this day, for you should be allowed to be who you are and not have people treat you bad or "inferior."

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  5. 1. What is the purpose of the National Day of Silence and how is it related to civil rights?
    - The purpose of the National Day of Silence is to show what it would be like if a kid wasn't there, because of harassment for their sexuality. I think its related to civil rights, because just like African-Americans back in the day, GLBT's don't have as many rights as straight people.

    2. What do you think about National Day of Silence as a method for social action? How does it compare to other forms of protest we've learned about in American history?
    - I believe the National Day of Silence is a really effective day, since some kid's won't be talking, it gives other kids a chance to think twice about what would happen if they really "pushed someone to the edge" about their sexuality. Other protests in American history have really been violent, and all about shouting and getting a point across quickly. But this one is quite the opposite, besides getting the point across. Sometimes being silent is more effective than causing a sceen.

    3. Lady Gaga is donating a portion of the proceeds from sales of Born This Way (Country Road version) to GLSEN. How do her lyrics relate to Day of Silence?
    - Lady Gaga's lyrics relate to Day of Silence because she says in her song, no matter who you are, its ok to love yourself because god made everyone perfect.

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  6. 1. What is the purpose of the National Day of Silence and how is it related to civil rights?

    The purpose of National Day of Silence is so that people can experience what it is like for Gay, Lesbian, etc. as they struggle because they can't tell anyone. Having the option to choose which gender you marry should be a given civil right, but in many states it isn't.

    2. What do you think about National Day of Silence as a method for social action? How does it compare to other forms of protest we've learned about in American history?

    Many protests in the past were voilent and demanding. This protest is just something so people will notice, and hopefully participate and show other people how wrong it is that someone who is gay can't be comfortable with telling other people. This protest is bound to get farther than a violent one.

    3. Lady Gaga is donating a portion of the proceeds from sales of Born This Way (Country Road version) to GLSEN. How do her lyrics relate to Day of Silence?

    In a verse she sings,
    No matter gay, straight or bi
    Lesbian, transgendered life
    I'm on the right track, baby
    I was born to survive.

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  7. Lady Gagas lyrics relate to the GLSEN because she is saying that she was born this way, and she can't do anything about it. To be who you are not someone your not.
    The purpose of the National Day of Silence is so that we can stop the bullying, and the name-calling. 1 out of 3 LGBT youth missed school because of safety concerns.
    I think that the National Day of Silence is a great way to protest, BEcause you are not harming anyone by being silent and you stand up for what you believe in by being silent.

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  8. 1. The day of silence, ironically named, is to promote the education of Gay or Lesbian people and encourage them to speak out for who they are. This is, in a sense, a part of Civil Rights, because it's all about standing up and believing in who you are.

    2. Well, compared to the protests a long time ago, this is considered a more peaceful action taken, considering the violence that happened in the Civil Rights Movement. I personally think this way is much better, because it turns people's attention to this issue and takes action to educate about it without getting quite as extreme as the protests back then.

    3. Well, I've heard this song before, and I've never really looked at it that way, but it does have something to do with the Day of Silence. For example, it encourages people to be yourself because "you were born this way." If you are gay or lesbian, it doesn't matter because there's nothing you can do to change that and no one should try to change you.

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  9. 1. This day is symbolic because in participating, you are experiencing what many GLBTQ poeple feel every day; not being able to speak about a major part of their lives because of fear. This day is trying to raise awareness of bullying and also show people in power that the kids of America want equal rights for gays.
    2. I think this is a really easy way to get kids involved and sympathetic to the feelings of others. It's much more simple and much less violent than most of the protests we have read about, and adults tend to respond well to kids speaking out about something that's unfair. I think it's very effective.
    3. Her lyrics say "I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way. Don't hide yourself in regret, just love yourself and you're set." It means that its okay to be whatever you are and you shouldn't feel ashamed or unhappy about it. She also sings, in another section of the song, the words "No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgendered life." Just to make sure you know exactly what she's talking about.

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  10. 1. The purpose of DOS is to get people to understand how anti-LGBT hurts millions of people all around the world. This is related to the Civil Rights movement, because many people are getting together to try and stop something that is happening to a certain group of people. This is kind of what happened during the Civil Rights Movement. People of all different color came together to help stop racism towards blacks. During DOS all different types of people are coming together to help stop racism and discrimination towards GLBTQ people.

    2. I think that DOS is very important. Though we may not have lots of racism in our school, it shows that we care about all different types of people. I think that it is indeed a method for social action. I think that by people being silent it is taking a greater stand then having people make a huge scene.

    3. Lady Gaga's lyrics from, born this way relate to DOS, especially in the line, "No matter gay, straight, or bi, lesbian, transgender life I’m on the right track baby I was born to survive." I think that one line really goes along with DOS. It really stood out to me.

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  11. The purpose of the National Day of Silence is to try to alert or protest the harrasment and bullying of homosexual people in a way that is complete silence. This national day realtes to the civil rights movement because it is also trying to give homosexuals more rights than they have now. It is almost like a civil rights movement, but not for Blacks. I think that a method in the Day of Silence that serves as social action would not be the pins, but the main thing; being silent. It shows bullies what it is like for homosexuals everyday. Lada Gaga's lyrics relate to the Day of Silence because she is saying (in the song) how she is just born that way and no one can do anything about that, and how her mom says that everyone is a superstar.

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  12. 1. What is the purpose of the National Day of Silence and how is it related to civil rights?
    I think the purpose of National Day of Silence is to spread awareness of what GLBT people are going through and the harassment they deal with every day in school or out of school. I think Day of Silence relates to the Civil Rights Movement because if people dont accept GLBTs then thats the same thing as not accepting blacks during the CRM.

    2. What do you think about National Day of Silence as a method for social action? How does it compare to other forms of protest we've learned about in American history?
    I think that Day of Silence is a good method for social action because it really makes people think about how someone might feel if they were being harassed because of their sexual orientation. I think Day of Silence is kind of protesting in a way but I think its more about spreading awareness.

    3. Lady Gaga is donating a portion of the proceeds from sales of Born This Way (Country Road version) to GLSEN. How do her lyrics relate to Day of Silence?
    Lady Gaga's lyrics relate to Day of Silence because they're saying that everyones perfect the way they are and that you shouldnt change who you are because of what other people think.

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  13. The purpose of Nation Day of Silence is to stop the harrasment of LGBT kids in schools. It is also designed to help make them feel safe at school, not like they have to hide who they really are. It is related to thwe Civil Rights Movement because it's overall purpose is to promote the equality of others.
    2) I think that it is a good method for social action because it really gets the point across to people who are opposed to LGBT kids in schools without any violence. This could also be related to African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement and how they refused to ride the buses. It was a form of peaceful protest
    3) lady Gaga's song Born This Way relates to Day of Silence because it promotes being yourself and who you really are.

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  14. 1. I think that Day of Silence relates to the Civil Rights because they are having a non-violent protest in that all they are doing is not talking, and you have the right to do that just like people had the right to not take the bus or means of public transportation if they didn't want to. So many people made a difference by just walking every where and how now people are making a difference by staying quiet for one day.

    2. Day of Silence is a method of social action because a lot of times in conversations someone will say something very homophobic and won't really care, but if everyone around that person is staying quiet it just makes them realize that some people are afraid to come out because of the everyday things they hear. The main intention for GLSEN is to stop anti-LGBT acts in the world, for me it is to see how some people want to come out but they feel that it would be wrong and they will be punished.

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  15. 1) The purpose of the Day of Silence is to "bring attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying, and harassment in schools." (Thompson)This is related to civil rights because it's taking a stand for the rights of others in our community.
    2)I think it's an effective method for social action. It is most certainly a civil and peaceful way of protesting, unlike other methods such as lynching.
    3)Lady Gaga's Born This Way (Country Road version) relates to Day of Silence because both the things are spreading awareness about not regretting who you are, and be proud of it instead and let it show.

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  16. Civil Rights has a lot to do with Day of Silence. A lot people have been discriminated against in the past and now it seems the target is anyone who is GLBT. I think Day of Silence is a from of protest because it is showing what people will do to have people be able to be themselves. Born This Way is a way of showing people that even though people who are GLBT are different then a lot of people it's the way that they are and theyb can't help it because it's the way that they were born they might not have chosen to be this way but they can't help it.

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  17. The purpose of NDS is for people to see what it would be like if those people were no longer in your life. This is related to civil rights because this is civil rights. This is the civil rights for people of all sexual orientation.

    I think NDS is a good way to show people what it would be like without all of the different people in their life. It is a good form of non-violent protest. It is different and similar to forms of protest that have happened in the past. When black people walked down the streets of Washington D they showed how many of them there are. When people don’t speak for NDS they are showing the holes in people’s lives.

    This song is all about being yourself and not caring what other people think about you. Not caring whether you are different or not. That is what is NDS is about. Not being self-conscious and not being afraid of how other people view you. Because you are fine just the way you are. If someone does not think so than there is something wrong with them.

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  18. 1. What is the purpose of the National Day of Silence and how is it related to civil rights?

    The day of silence is related to civil rights movement because its for GLBT kids. The purpose of the national day of silence is to be silent. National day of silence is realated to civil rights movement because of the law of America. their still are laws that are against marrige to the same sex.

    2. What do you think about National Day of Silence as a method for social action? How does it compare to other forms of protest we've learned about in American history?
    I think National day of silence is a great things for GLBT kids.By being silence we can respect the GLBT kids. So I think its a great thing to do for GLBT kids.
    3. Lady Gaga is donating a portion of the proceeds from sales of Born This Way (Country Road version) to GLSEN. How do her lyrics relate to Day of Silence?
    The song is about how it doesn't matter what other people think. Lady gaga also says that theres nothing wrong with love. That means even though they like same sex it doesnt matter.

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