Day Without a Gay-The Protest

Hey, everybody! I’m gonna go ahead and cut to the chase, folks: it’s time for some activism!

On Wednesday, December 10, is a nation-wide protest against Proposition 8. This protest, called Day Without A Gay, is an attempt to show the nation the impact the gay community has on the economy, society, and other aspects of life by excluding ourselves from society for a day. LGBTs are encouraged to call into work “gay” and not make any purchases as to stimulate the economy. Instead, they are encouraged to volunteer with gay-rights programs. I’m very excited to participate. I’ve taken off from work and plan a silent protest in school that day. Hopefully I can find an opportunity to volunteer my time instead of work.

I was a little wary about this effort at first. After all, for me to just skip school would have such little impact, not to mention the fact that missing school would seriously be a bad idea with finals and the school I’ve missed so far. So, I decided I would do my own little thing and come to school anyway.

This is my goal: I will attend school as usual. However, I will be completely rainbowed-out. I mean head to toe. I’ll do it a lot like Day of Silence: I will not speak or communicate with my teachers or peers in any way. My only form of communication will be a slip of paper that explains my silence so I won’t get in (as much) trouble. I think I’ll be alone on this (unlike last year during Day of Silence when I had others participating) but I don’t care. It will be tough, but I can handle it. I am anticipating some resistance from our administration, but that’s nothing I can’t handle.

Hopefully, I can get the literature (information cards explaining the day) on the site before Wednesday so you all can use it. I’ll be doing those either tonight or tomorrow. I also have to make a shirt and gather my other supplies.

If you are interested in participating within your school, I have a few tips to make your protest successful:
1. Make sure your apparel is within the school dress code. If it’s not, it’s an easy way for your administration to shut you down without infringing your rights.
2. The point of a silent protest is so it doesn’t create a “distraction”. That’s another way administrations stop protests.
3. If you can get some friends to help, that’s always a plus. There is strength in numbers. If you can’t find anyone, at least find someone to defend you if a peer or teacher antagonizes you.
4. Don’t use this as an excuse to not do school work. Part of the point of doing a protest in this form is being able to be at school and complete schoolwork. That is the only thing you should be doing unless the circumstances require otherwise.

Hopefully, this will be a success. It’s the first year this has been done. For more information, visit www.daywithoutagay.com. It gives details on how to successfully protest (they don’t explain my methods, but there’s other helpful hints) and list different volunteer opportunities in your area. GOOD LUCK!