Latest News . . .

Last year's Day of Silence was more dogmatic -- and militant -- than ever

Here's our report from last year.
http://massresistance.org/docs/events06/day_of_silence_2006/
(Also in that report: Parent ordered off school grounds by principal and police: On the Day of Silence last year, Lexington parent Bob Bennett was ordered off the school grounds by the Lexington High principal when he came to distribute some literature to tell kids the other side of the argument. They even had the police make sure he didn't get back on school grounds!  Here's Bob's account of what happened, on MassResistance radio)

List of schools: Last year, we called high schools across Massachusetts to ask if they were going to have the Day of Silence. Here's what they told us:
http://massresistance.org/docs/events06/day_of_silence_2006/schoollist.html
 

And now this year . . .

"Day of Silence silences opposing views" - from MassResistance blog
http://massresistance.blogspot.com/2007/04/day-of-silence-silences-opposing-views.html

Here's Mission America's list of schools across the country that are participating in the Day of Silence this year:
http://www.missionamerica.com/agenda.php?articlenum=68

Great website "NotOurKids.com" telling parents to keep your kids home from school that day:
http://www.notourkids.com/

From GLSEN's Day of Silence website . . .

Here's this year's Day of Silence national web site:
http://www.dayofsilence.org

Day of Silence press release:
http://www.dayofsilence.org/content/news.html

Day of Silence organizing manual - here's what we're up against:
http://www.massresistance.org/docs/events07/day_of_silence/DOS_2007_organizing_manual.pdf

Join family advocates for the fourth worldwide gathering of the World Congress of Families.

The fourth annual World Congress of Families international convention in Warsaw, Poland May 11-13 will feature speakers from five continents to meet and help devise an international pro-family agenda.

Family advocates from more than 65 countries are expected to gather to discuss strategies for combating abortion, gay marriage and pornography worldwide. And for less than a similar trip to Washington, D.C., you could be among them.

It's hard to imagine these days, that the most family-friendly government in Europe is Poland. But it's true. The President of Poland is opening the conference, with people from 65 countries coming. If you're serious about your pro-family activism, you should consider attending this. It's surprisingly inexpensive. (We've been told the whole package is around $1300.)

World of Congress website
http://www.worldcongress.org/

Press release
http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/884192489.html

FIGHTING BACK: High school students organizing "Day of Defiance" in several Massachusetts high schools to confront "Day of Silence"! Parents and others also invited to get involved on Wednesday April 25.

In Massachusetts the dreaded "Day of Silence" takes place in schools on Wednesday April 25 -- a week later than the rest of the country (because of Patriots Day and school vacation week).

And here in Massachusetts, it's not only the parents who've had enough -- it's the students. And they are organizing to fight back. A group is mobilizing for a "Day of Defiance" at five of state's most aggressively pro-homosexual high schools, as all-day events at the same time the Day of Silence is taking place.

The "Day of Defiance Website" ( http://www.DayOfDefiance.org ) is up and running. Plans include demonstrations, speeches, handouts, and more!! This is the kind of spirit we've been looking for!! Rather than begging for equal time, or to be opted out, they're fighting back.

Here's from the email that was sent out across Massachusetts last week to announce the event:

My name is xxxx xxxxx, I am a hostage of the public education system . . . I am writing to let you know about an event which I am organizing on Wednesday, April 25th, called the Day of Defiance. The Day of Defiance is a day of protest and civil disobedience in response to the Day of Silence occurring on the same day in each of Massachusetts' public high schools. The annual Day of Silence disrupts the taxpayer-funded school day with a promotion of the radical homosexual agenda, and consists of silence throughout the school day, with a Breaking the Silence event featuring GLBT speakers afterwards, urging students to publicly come out as gay/lesbian/bi/transgender! . . .

The Day of Defiance will feature events outside of a number of Massachusetts high schools with picketers, sign holders, and guest speakers during free periods, lunch time, and after school (when the Breaking the Silence event commences). Supportive conservative students, parents, and teachers, please join us in this effort to protest the rampant cases of educational malpractice in our public schools, while also providing students with the other half of the story on family issues and conservative ideas which have been censored, stereotyped, and belittled during the course of their 'education'.

We would very much appreciate your help in preparation for this event, mainly consisting of making phone calls to potential volunteers using a list which we could send to you. We would also appreciate if you could spread the word and join us on the Day of Defiance yourself! Please let us know if you could help us out in some or all of these areas.

We have chosen to concentrate our efforts for April 25th on the following 5 schools which we have labeled as the 'belly of the beast' schools in terms of their record of support for the radical homosexual agenda:

Brookline High School
Chelmsford High School (both DOS & DOD on Friday, April 27)
Lexington High School
Newton North High School
Newton South High School

Each school will have one or more coordinators overseeing the event on the Day of Defiance, the coordinator(s) will also be responsible for handing out literature, stickers, and signs to you once you arrive at the event. Please let us know if you may be interesting in serving as a coordinator. If not, we will soon let you know who the coordinators for each school will be, and get them in contact with you.

Hard-hitting letter to school officials from a mother regarding Day of Silence in her child's school.

The following letter was written last week by a mother whose child attends a high school in northeastern Massachusetts that has been holding the Day of Silence for several years. She and many others in the town have had enough. She composed this letter with the intent of getting signatures, and then delivering a copy of it to every school official in the town. It's a relatively long letter, but we were so impressed that we're presenting it here. THIS IS what parents across America ought to be doing (in addition to participating in their own Day of Defiance)!  Too many people are afraid of telling the truth; this letter is a breath of fresh air!

We are writing about the Day of Silence (DOS), an event which is scheduled for April 25 at xxxx High School. According to the GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) website for DOS (http://www.dayofsilence.org/), "Students and teachers nationwide will observe the day in silence to echo the silence that LGBT and ally students face everyday."

The DOS is an extremely controversial event, and although GLSEN repeatedly claims that the event is student-driven, it is evident from the extent of materials and the sophistication of the resources available on their website that it is GLSEN who is the mastermind behind this event, and not the students themselves. It is no secret that GLSEN's goal is to systematically desensitize students to homosexuality.

The DOS drives divisiveness into the school by forcing students, parents, and teachers to take sides on an issue that is not relevant to the goals of taxpayer-funded public education. It uses a neutral setting to politicize a highly controversial issue. An environment of intolerance is created when those who hold differing viewpoints on homosexuality or whose religious beliefs do not condone homosexuality are "silenced" and made to feel that they are being mean-spirited or bigoted. We know of teachers and staff who are uncomfortable with the DOS, but feel that there is no "safe" way to voice their concerns and convictions. This is not a healthy situation.

Most egregious, is the fact that students are not being told the truth about homosexuality. GLSEN is preying upon the vulnerability of young people - their innocence, empathy and compassion - to aggressively promote its own agenda. In an unethical and manipulative way, students are being led to believe that homosexuality is normal, that homosexuals have been victimized, and that they need to be defended. When students choose to participate in the DOS, they don't even begin to understand the magnitude of what it is they are stepping up to defend.

The sexual practices of homosexuals involve serious health risks and illnesses. Specifically, sodomy is associated with significant and life-threatening health problems. While unhealthy sexual behaviors occur among both heterosexuals and homosexuals, the medical and social science evidence confirm that homosexual behavior is uniformly unhealthy, and that many diseases and injuries specific to homosex are virtually unknown in the heterosexual population. Men having sex with men leads to greater health risks than men having sex with women, not only because of rampant levels of promiscuity, but also because of the nature of sex among men.

Those students who are struggling with same-sex attractions, but who do not embrace homosexuality, are often led to believe that homosexuality is inborn, a condition that cannot be changed. This can lead to a situation of despair, and fails to take into the account the fact that many have overcome same-sex attractions, as ex-gays will readily attest.

GLSEN has no intention of revealing to students the truth about homosexual behavior. Nowhere on their website or in their literature is there information about how to overcome same-sex attraction or about the risks and dangers of the homosexual lifestyle. The voice of science and the ex-gay perspective have been "silenced."

Nowhere does GLSEN give voice to testimonials from those who now suffer with AIDS, cancer, and other diseases which have resulted from homosexual behaviors. And of course, nowhere does GLSEN talk about those who have been "silenced" by premature death, an inevitable outcome for many homosexuals. When the school administration, its faculty and staff, go along with GLSEN's agenda, they become players in a game of master deception and coercion. This is unacceptable, and borders on the criminal.

When young people are led to believe that homosexuality is just an alternate lifestyle, they are more prone to experiment with it. Is the school administration ready to take on the liability of enticing students to experiment with behaviors that could cost them their health and well being?
We find it difficult to believe that any adult who cares about young people would be willing to be an accomplice in the DOS or in the promotion of homosexual behaviors.

It is obvious that a political agenda is being allowed to trump scientific fact and the well-being of our children. The school enables this to happen when it allows GLSEN to push its agenda via the DOS, when it includes books promoting the homosexual lifestyle in its library, and fails to provide students with information they need in order to make an informed decision. This is nothing more than indoctrination.

The DOS is an obstruction to the educational process. Our children are in school to receive an academic education. When even one student refuses to speak or interact verbally in class, the goals of classroom instruction are impaired. The situation is exacerbated when faculty and/or staff also participate in the DOS. How can a teacher possibly teach when s/he refuses to speak?

When the school agrees to have a day of silence for one group of people, there is no reason that other groups shouldn't be accommodated, as well. There are many types of people who could demand to be recognized - e.g., those who are mentally and/or physically handicapped, those who are persecuted for their religious beliefs, skin color, ancestry, etc. The time taken to do multiple "Days of Silence" calls into question the goal of public education and the activities which occur during the regular school day.

For the sake of the educational process, the safety and well being of our students, and for the faculty, staff and students who feel pressured to remain silent about their opposition to the homosexual agenda, we are asking the school administration, the superintendent, and the school committee to not allow the DOS at XHS. We are asking that the school maintain an environment which is conducive to academic learning, and free from coercion and political agendas.

We will be following up with you regarding the issues outlined in this letter, and next steps.

Sincerely,