America marks its Day of Silence today, bringing attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. The annual event has grown each year, and this year is using social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter to get the message out. "Hundreds of thousands of students are coming together to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behaviour," say the organisers. Day of Silence participants are encouraged to talk about the issue of anti-LGBT bullying, or "be silent" - either in classrooms or using their online profiles. This year's Day of Silence is particular poignant as participants remember 11-year-old Massachusetts boy Carl Walker-Hoover, who took his own life last week after ongoing anti-gay bullying by his classmates. He would have turned 12 today. Openly-gay pop singer Lance Bass supports today's Day of Silence on the video clip shown below.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Friday, 17th April 2009 - 3:20pm