Today is the national Day of Silence. It is a protest against LGBT bullying. It is also a protest of how the effected youth must stay silent about who they are. To protest we stay silent. This means to everyone.
In my writing I have incorporated themes relating to sexuality and gender identification. It is something I connect with and find easy to write about in a way that would connect with a reader. Something a reader could relate to is the opposition faced by the characters. Just today, as I am silent, people who I am friends with are making fun of my silence. I coughed and they said, "Isn't that breaking your silence?" It's quite rude.
But it's what happens in real life. Experiences like this fuel writing fires. They give the characters life. They aren't two dimensional anymore if they face real challenges. So though opposition on a peaceful day discourage me, I can still say, "At least I can write about this and not be alone."
On the Day of Silence I was thinking about you! I was thinking that it is a nice way to show support and solidarity/belonging/pride. Then I was thinking about when students enter the work place. Most work places probably wouldn't let an employee be silent for a day ... but why not? Jobs have to respect faith based practices (although the work place probably doesn't overlap with actual religious practice in most cases). I am wondering where the place for observance is in the work world, and if there are some who currently observe the Day of Silence at work. And that's my questioning brainstorm about society for the day...
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