This course is about the seemingly limitless ways we can communicate and connect with people. I was moved by the article that described an effective method of reaching out that included no spoken or written words, no graphics, no charts, or art or music. The Day of Silence, a project of the Gay -Straight Alliance, was a time for people to refrain from talking, to demonstrate the powerlessness that gay people often feel in the presence of hateful and demeaning speech.
The more I thought about this Day of Silence, the more I realized its power. We spend our days, and sometimes nights, thinking about communicating; Emails and text messages to send; telephone calls; blog posts, and the old-fashined but ever popular in person discussion. Imagine having this taken away. Imagine the thoughts, opinions, agreements, protests, suggestions, empathy, arrangements, advice, and love we cannot express when we are silent.
I tried to put myself in the shoes of someone who is margainilzed due to sexual orientation – or disability,or being a minority, and unable to speak up. It is a frightening and demeaning place. If our success in the 21st century world depends so much on our ability to successfully communicate with the world wide web of people and ideas, then we had better work harder on erasing the prejudices and unthinking behavior that serves only to divide and silence us.
1 response so far ↓
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Patty Nathan
// Oct 11, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I agree with you that the Day of Silence is very powerful. It certainly makes us stop and think about our ability to communicate and the meaning of what we say. What an outstanding exercise for children of all ages to experience and think about how, what ,where and why they communicate.
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