Dear Editor,
I was saddened and disappointed to read the letter from a group
of Gilroy High School staff members, some of whom are my friends.
If I follow the logic, the letter seems to suggest that if you
disagree with teacher participation in the Day of Silence, you must
hate homosexuals
Dear Editor,
I was saddened and disappointed to read the letter from a group of Gilroy High School staff members, some of whom are my friends. If I follow the logic, the letter seems to suggest that if you disagree with teacher participation in the Day of Silence, you must hate homosexuals.
The discussion surrounding the Day of Silence has created open discourse and community dialog which I think is healthy. This type of exchange of differing viewpoints usually educates and enlightens both sides. Therefore, I was disheartened to see this group of staff members resort to the exact type of humiliation and intimidation that the Day of Silence was trying to fight. You don’t call a person hateful because they don’t agree with you.
The original issue raised was whether teachers should participate in this type of student-sponsored activity. On the one hand, I don’t think it’s fair to say teachers can’t be silent and still teach. I had a professor in college with laryngitis whose lesson that day was much more interesting than the lectures we were accustomed to. Instead, it seems this situation is like when teachers were asked not to participate in the sit-ins of the Vietnam era or the walk-outs of the Civil Rights era.
But this leads to other questions – what type of an activity was this? Was it a political issue, a social statement or a demonstration against oppression of all people who are different (race, religion, ethnicity, lifestyle, etc.)? And why was the Gay/Lesbian Alliance offended by the suggestion that the Day of Silence defend against oppression of ALL differences and not just those with sexually divergent lifestyles?
I haven’t made up my mind yet about teacher participation, which is why I enjoy reading the differing opinions. But we need to get back to the original discussions and not shut down the exchange with emotional name calling.
Sandra Ogle, Gilroy
The Golden Quill is awarded occasionally for a
well-written letter.
