Day of Silence today, Fri, April 16

Today, Friday, April 16, is the National Day of Silence and The Valley's Other Fruit sends love to all youth, teachers, administrators and other supporters of this bold movement.

For those who are new to the Day of Silence, I'll recap what I printed last year:

The National Day of Silence brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools...Hundreds of thousands of students will come together on April 16 to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior. Silent students hand out cards to speak for them:

Please understand my reasons for not speaking today. I am participating in the Day of Silence (DOS), a national youth movement bringing attention to the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies. My deliberate silence echoes that silence, which is caused by anti-LGBT bullying, name-calling and harassment. I believe that ending the silence is the first step toward building awareness and making a commitment to address these injustices. Think about the voices you are not hearing today. What are you going to do to end the Silence?

A sort-of reverse approach to the National Coming Out Day, of course this amazing, student-led, hope-building, nation-wide event has the haters all pissed and counter-protesting by having their kids walk out in protest of tolerance, love and health. The National Day of Silence site has a great article on 8 Tips for facing opposition.

I'd love to know: are you going silent today? Please share reports of what's happening at your school or in your community in the comments section.