Day of Silence

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

As part of Key Club's campaign against bigotry, seniors were photographed holding signs with their messages against hate. The photographs are on display in the cafeteria.

Students also shared their personal experiences with bigotry. Their stories have been read over the announcements all week. Here is a sampling:

"I have a friend who always makes fun of distinctively black names. Last week, we were having lunch at a restaurant, and our waitress was named Lakisha. As soon as she walked away from the table, he started repeating her name and laughing out loud, like it was somehow funny. I guess I didn't really see the humor in the situation. I wanted to say something, but I didn't want to start a fight by implying that he was racist. Maybe he didn't even know how ignorant his comments sounded. Either way, they really bothered me."

"I'm so sick of hearing people at school use the word 'gay' like it's an insult: 'Oh my gosh, that class is so gay.' 'Yuck, I'm so tired of these gay projects.' 'What a gay thing to say.' I have a good friend who is gay. Every time I hear someone use the word 'gay' like it means 'stupid,' I wonder what he would think if he could hear them. People say it without even thinking, and I know they don't really mean anything by it, but that doesn't make it okay."

"One of my friends always describes people by their race: 'the Asian substitute teacher,' 'the black guy who sits next to me in second block,' 'the white lady behind the counter.' Even when race has nothing to do with the story she's telling, she manages to work it in somehow. I don't even know if that counts as racism. But it's definitely weird and unnecessary, and it makes me really uncomfortable."

"I hate it when people try to justify gross generalizations about an entire racial or religious group by using that best friends line: 'I can say this because some of my best friends are Jewish' or 'some of my best friends are Hispanic' or whatever it is. People think they sound tolerant by allowing for exceptions, but you can't justify bigoted comments. Whenever I hear people use the best friends line, I just want to ask them: what would your so-called best friends think if they could hear you now?"


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HOME Back to Student Organizations Key Club Info Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Day of Silence		Day of Silence Wednesday, April 12, 2006 As part of Key Club's campaign against bigotry, seniors were photographed holding signs with their messages against hate. The photographs are on display in the cafeteria. Students also shared their personal experiences with bigotry. Their stories have been read over the announcements all week. Here is a sampling: "I have a friend who always makes fun of distinctively black names. Last week, we were having lunch at a restaurant, and our waitress was named Lakisha. As soon as she walked away from the table, he started repeating her name and laughing out loud, like it was somehow funny. I guess I didn't really see the humor in the situation. I wanted to say something, but I didn't want to start a fight by implying that he was racist. Maybe he didn't even know how ignorant his comments sounded. Either way, they really bothered me." "I'm so sick of hearing people at school use the word 'gay' like it's an insult: 'Oh my gosh, that class is so gay.' 'Yuck, I'm so tired of these gay projects.' 'What a gay thing to say.' I have a good friend who is gay. Every time I hear someone use the word 'gay' like it means 'stupid,' I wonder what he would think if he could hear them. People say it without even thinking, and I know they don't really mean anything by it, but that doesn't make it okay." "One of my friends always describes people by their race: 'the Asian substitute teacher,' 'the black guy who sits next to me in second block,' 'the white lady behind the counter.' Even when race has nothing to do with the story she's telling, she manages to work it in somehow. I don't even know if that counts as racism. But it's definitely weird and unnecessary, and it makes me really uncomfortable." "I hate it when people try to justify gross generalizations about an entire racial or religious group by using that best friends line: 'I can say this because some of my best friends are Jewish' or 'some of my best friends are Hispanic' or whatever it is. People think they sound tolerant by allowing for exceptions, but you can't justify bigoted comments. Whenever I hear people use the best friends line, I just want to ask them: what would your so-called best friends think if they could hear you now?"
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