Saturday, April 16, 2011

Day of Silence 2011

I did this today, and it went relatively well. I got a lot of stares, because I opted to put duct tape on my mouth. I wrote a short blurb on the back cover of my notebook, explaining why I wasn’t talking [that it was the day of silence, and what it was.] A guy on the bus asked to take a picture of me and my sign, and I didn’t see why not.

I went to the Just for Laughs road show, and it was pretty good.  The comedy was very heteronormative, but that’s to be expected. I preferred the host, actually, Tim Nutt, he had me laughing through my duct tape the most.

Anyways, while waiting to be able to go inside, I showed my explanation/sign to curious/confused looking people. A supervisor/manager came over, probably thinking I was just there to get attention, but I showed her the sign and my ticket and she was fine. And…one of the people in the crowd called campus security. [The show was in a theatre on my campus. And I know it was her because they talked to me and her group, and she looked over at me kind of weirdly.] I just showed them my sign, and my ticket to the show. They spoke to the woman, then came back to me, said that I was totally allowed to do what I was doing, to tell them if anyone bothered me, and that anyone I bothered would contact them as well. I nodded in understanding.

And in intermission, while I was walking around, two women stopped me to ask to see my sign. I showed them, and one of them thanked me for doing what I was doing, and said her fifteen year old niece was being bullied, at a school with three recent bullying-caused suicides.

So…I don’t know, I feel like I succeeded in the aim of the Day of Silence, which is to raise awareness, I feel very touched by that woman who thanked me, and I’m glad I decided to still do this today.

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