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Lance Bass explains:
Thanks, Lance.
As for me, it's hard to know what to say about the National Day of Silence. Generally, I don't feel that silenced minorities should be silent in order to point out that they're being silenced in general. But as an opportunity for people to take note and for allies to stand up and be silent in concert with their peers who are being bullied or harassed for their perceived sexual orientation, and in the spirit of the non-violent civil disobedience of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Gandhi, I can see the value in the National Day of Silence.
As for that Silence, I think there are a lot of other things you can do when you're not talking.
You can:
Read
Think
Write
Plan
And then as soon as the day is over, go TALK. Talk to the librarian. Talk to that friendly teacher. Talk to other students who were silent or who wondered why YOU were silent.
Try to create allies on this journey of ours, because the more people that ultimately stand up and speak out for equality for all of us - gay and straight, black and white, and everything in-between, the more we'll achieve that equality.
So okay, we can be silent for one day. And then, for the other 364 days of the year, let's raise our voices together.
As Bob Marley sang, "Get Up. Stand Up. Stand Up For Your Rights!" (Click here to sing along!)
His rights. Your rights. Our rights.
Join me, and Lance. Together, we'll move our world forward.
