It's the usual right-wing response to things they don't like. In this case co-opting someone else's idea for their own cause to create social tension and unrest.

What is the Day of Silence®?

The Day of Silence (www.dayofsilence.org), a project of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), is a student-led day of action when concerned students, from middle school to college, take some form of a vow of silence to bring attention to the name-calling, bullying and harassment -- in effect, the silencing -- experienced by LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) students and their allies.

The National Day of Silence brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. This year’s event [2008] was held in memory of Lawrence King, a California 8th-grader who was shot and killed Feb. 12 by a classmate because of his sexual orientation and gender expression. Hundreds of thousands of students came together on April 25 to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior.

The 2009 National Day of Silence is scheduled for April 17.

I'd like a national year of silence from the loony left and their gay mafia brethren.

Stop telling us you put your hand on another man's personal parts.

Stop telling us you put your head in another woman's lap.

We just don't need to hear that.

Stop calling yourselves victims. You have every right to do whatever you want, try going to Iran and being "that way".

This group isn't that special. If I were to wear one, it would have photos of the Hmong, Montagnards and religions that are being persecuted, wrongly imprisoned or outright murdered in primarily in Vietnam and also in Laos. Our govenment continues to deal with the Vietnemese poicy of brutal repression of these peoples and religions while looking the other way. Check your labels when shoipping and DO NOT BUY PRODUCTS imported from Vietnam...not until it's been verified that this persecution has stopped. Macy's now carries clothing from Vietnam.

Miuwtant; It would really chap your hide to see high school kids wearing those shirts on April 17th wouldn't it?

For that reason, I strongly recommend it.

We should not allow the liberal left to drive our national agenda. We, the hard-working, honest, compassionate, and caring people of this great nation, should drive it.

Miutwat...or whatever you call yourself. Do you really expect us to believe that gays are the only people called names? Wow...you are either extremely ignorant, which I have a tough time believing or you swallowed the Kool Aid. I am with you Common Sense and RT.

Oh...one more item that caught my eye... "In this case co-opting someone else's idea for their own cause to create social tension and unrest."

Kinda like pretending that homosexuality and the other sexual preferences are equivalent to race and demanding "civil rights" for their behavioral choices. The absurdity of wealthy white homosexuals in San Francisco demanding "equal rights" is stunning.

Rational_Thinker,

Interesting that you would promote students to "On that day, do not speak. Do not answer questions. Do not respond to taunts from your teachers, or threats from the principal."

Just another way of being disrespectful to school officials. Another way for teaching to be relegated to a social protest. And when test scores go down, then you'll complain that students are not being taught enough. You are a hypocrite!!!

Shame on you,

Robert Capp

What were you thinking? It's one thing to tell adults, but you specifically targeted children to do this, and then tell them to disrespect and disregard their teachers and the principal...I feel this is inappropriate and probably one of the worst blogs you've posted in a while.

The story of Lawrence King is absolutely heart breaking. And not one acknowledgment of it. I think it makes some of you happy even. Maybe you should encourage a protest against homosexuality at the school next, help perpetuate the b.s. that led to this boy being killed in the first place.

Christian hypocrites will protect your unborn fetus until it's born. Then they will abandon and ignore it. When finally grown, they will send it away to kill other people's kids - or die trying.

They call this “pro-life.”

RiverRat66,

Gosh, I can remember just yesterday they were VC commie gook zipperhead slope dink bas*ards and I was rewarded for killing and crippling as many of them as possible. What happened?

Thanks for the tip. Where can I find out more?

robertcapp: ordinarily, I would agree with you, but Rational has a point

everyone needs to stop playing victim or special interest

and just be humans

not even Americans

just plain humans

for a change

Religious fanatics (generally styling themselves charismatic Catholics or Protestant evangelicals) say that according to their theological beliefs human life begins at conception, so that refusing to host a zygote, blastocyst or fetus is the moral equivalent of murder. The interest of the fetus, according to these people, is equal to that of the pregnant woman or any other sentient human being.

The very same argument against abortion was recycled for use against embryonic stem cell research during the Bush administration. The suffering caused by the anti-abortion movement and the obstruction of medical research on, at best, christologically ambiguous premises is unacceptable if only in the interest of religious freedom.

common_sense,

While I believe in the freedom of all lives (even the un-born), I have no problem with the message, just the choice of messenger. Why should students be subjected to a lost day of instruction? Why should they do what we as adults are responsible to do? Why should we encourage them to be shills for this cause?

Rational_Thinker continually derides public education as well as teachers and principals. (the great liberal satans of our time) I think he actually believes that tripe, and castigates them at every opportunity he gets. Well, by his own admission, he has very little experience in public education and none of it professionally. If one were to call him an empty suit when it comes to the profession of educator and the daily operation of a school, they would do a great disservice to clothes hangers everywhere. He is blindly following the ultra-conservative mantra of disparaging public schools and employees of public schools. He will not acknowledge his ignorance of the subject and knows not of what he speaks. Plainly, on this subject, he is not RELEVANT. He is just as guilty of promoting the equally stupid idea of a student day of silence for those supporting agendas that he disagrees with.

This is the kindest way that I can find to speak about him regarding this particular posting.

Sincerely,

Robert Capp

Bob Capp,

You may be unaware, but a number of students on that day were planning to be silent, refuse to answer questions, and carry a card. This protest was already scheduled.

All I am saying is that if we are going to have a "Day of Silence", why not have one that addresses a truly horrific problem in our society?

I have to admit, the idea of using children in the protest was not mine. It was borrowed from the homosexuals who are indoctrinating our kids in the schools with their agenda to normalize their behavior. Unlike them, this protest actually brings our children to understand a bad thing that is happening and needs to change.

Kittyv: How do you know the reason that kid was killed? How do you know it was not because he said the wrong thing to the wrong kid? When I was in junior high, there were some tough kids who would knife you if you looked sideways at them. How do you know he did not just run up against the wrong kid? How do you know it had anything to do with being homosexual? You can't believe the homosexual lobby. They say Matthew Shepard was killed because he was a homosexual, but the story is that he was a prostitute and ran into the wrong guys. Many prostitutes end up dead and it has nothing to do with their sexuality. It has to do with hanging with bad people in dark places.

Folks, my vote for most sensible post goes to Robert Capp. Let schools be places where our children go to learn, not to protest. As a matter of fact, let children be children, their turn to grow up and deal with the problems in this Country and the world will come.

LR: Just between you and me, I agree with you and BC. On the other hand, I expect the DOS to happen in our schools. It would be good for the kids to see there is a much more serious reason to have a DOS than some kid wanting to engage in sex someone of the same gender.

Rational_Thinker,

Public schools have 180 short days to teach an impressive (sometimes overwhelming) amount of state standards. We need more days to teach, not fewer. The governor has suggested that schools cut back to 175 days for budgetary reasons. Without cutting back expectations. You are now promoting the stupid idea of expanding the Day of Silence. Don't you get it? Why do you and other adults want to shill our children into a responsibility that is ours? This tit for tat of co-opting your cause for another's is foolish. STOP it!!!! Anyone that promotes schools as a place of protest is a pea-wit.

Schools are not yours to play games with. Serious professionals want to teach to the state standards in all of the subject areas, we don't need another distraction to dissuade us from our duty. When student test scores drop because of these stupid ideas of protest and other distractions, the teachers and schools will be blamed by you. Well, I will not let that stupidity run rampant with your ill mannered posts. I will continue to write the truth about our public schools and the hard working individuals working there. This is not a conservative vs. liberal issue, it is simply right and wrong - and you sir are WRONG!!!! Now stop it, lest you do more harm.

Sincerely,

Robert Capp

Bob,

I am waiting for you to write a letter protesting the DOS in our schools. You cans say all of the same things.

To chastise me for suggesting a DOS for abortion victims, while ignoring the DOS for homosexual promotion, is hypocritical.

Rational_Thinker,

Re-read my post above. Especially the part that says "Anyone that promotes schools as a place of protest is a pea-wit." and "He is just as guilty of promoting the equally stupid idea of a student day of silence for those supporting agendas that he disagrees with." That encompasses anyone, yes even the DOS protesters of homosexual violence. Next time, read carefully my posts. Primarily I wrote to you since it was your original post and suggestion of a DOS for the un-born, though my comments are also a broad brush in support of education, not your hyper-partisan politics. Now is the time for you to repudiate all of the non-sense that you and others are promoting that detract from our kids' education and the then promote that children are in school to learn the state standards. Take your hypocritical non-sense and look in the mirror. Now, what do you have to say?

Robert Capp

So to make sure I get this right, RiverRat and Skeptic's positions ares to send soldiers (the ones that weren't aborted at birth, of course) to Vietnam and invade that county for their religious persecutions? I think that's what pot smokers call a flash back, maybe that's LSD users, I forget.

Robert Capp, as long as the CTA is involved in schools, I don't believe much serious learning will take place there.

Damn, loomis... that's twice in one day that I agree with you.

Leave the schools out of this. It's bad enough when people corrupt their own children.. much less others. Those that use K-12 for a protest are only making themselves look not only foolish but, in my opinion, rather sinister... on both sides.

I got your point RT. I don’t think RT would be promoting this if not for the DOS for homosexuality. Miutant says this is the “usual right-wing response to things they don’t like.” “In this case co-opting someone else’s idea for their own cause……” That is the farthest thing from the truth. Usually, the right is working and doesn’t take the time to “protest.” Protesting is something the left does regularly. Robert Capp, come on. I think you know what RT is doing. I agree that we should not interfere with children’s education and use them as our Pawns in our political schemes. However, it is even more disturbing that many teachers and administrations support this very thing, DOS; moreover, they even participate. I’ve never heard anyone cry out in protest about that.

Realist,

If you think that CTA runs schools and directs the teaching in class, then you are very sadly misinformed/mistaken. I have invested 30 years in public education and have never once had CTA tell me what to teach or influence my teaching or administration. You are wrong and fall into the same category as Rational_thinker, that of hyper-partisanship based on ultra-conservative talking points that demonize public schools and their faculties and administration. You believe the same tripe that he does about our public schools, what a pity for you.

Patrick50,

Re-read my posting, I abhor anything or anyone that does not allow schools to teach the standards and use children as shills for there own political purposes. And then to add insult to injury, blame the schools (teachers and administrators) for low test scores. Now you have heard someone protest about that!!!!! At least 3 times in my postings on the blog.

Sincerely,

Robert Capp

Patrick50: I am glad you got it. It was not that hard to see.

I actually agree with Bob Capp and hopefully, he is actively protesting the DOS using our school children for political pawns, rather than just going after my illumination of what has happened to our schools.

R_T - I'm not saying this to come to bcapp1's defense because I feel he has been clear how he feels and is quite capable of handling the discussion without my help, but I feel I have to disagree with P50 and say that I don't see your point at all. Your point is two wrongs make a right? Which is it, you don't believe there should be these types of protests in the schools, or you believe it is ok as long as it is a cause you believe in? Mr. Capp's position on this has been clear in all of his posts, why does he keep having to repeat it? You try to call him out by saying he should "protest" all of them; well,he is stating that he does, and there are no other blogs on here calling for it to happen except for yours, so to me, saying that to him is a roundabout way of avoiding scrutiny and some insight into what motivated you to post this. To illuminate what is happening in our schools? huh? so your call for students to do this is not meant to be taken seriously, it's just sarcasm, parody, fake, what?

I don't feel your point is clear, at least not in a way that doesn't make you sound like the very hypocrite you are accusing Mr. Capp of being. So please clarify for the readers of your blog post, you agree that the DOS is ok, you just want your cause represented as well, or you feel it is completely inappropriate, period?

I don't know why I said agree that it is ok, since I don't see anyone, including me, agreeing with it. How I should have worded it is - Do you feel that the DOS is ok, you just want your cause represented as well, or do you feel it is completely inappropriate, period?

kittyv: The DOS has been run in our schools for at least three years now. The schools allow it, and some teachers promote it.

You can read my blog post as one of three possible angles.

1) Actually call upon our youth to have a DOS for the unborn. If this was done, the schools would be in a very difficult predicament. They would have to oppose it... but this would expose their acceptance of the DOS for the last three years.

2) Raise the point with the hope that people will advocate halting DOS for all schools, BEFORE this year.

3) Demonstrate the absurdity of telling students that its OK to refuse to respond to teachers, perform their responsibilities, and disrupt the classroom.

Take your pick. I hope to see you writing letters to the editor this year demanding that our schools not condone the DOS and put any students who participate on a three day suspension. OK?

Robert Capp,

I appreciate what you’re saying, and I’m certain we agree on this issue. I understand you don’t like that anyone uses the kids as pawns. I obviously agree with that. I believe you stated that you were an educator. I’m curious to know if you ever voiced your opposition to the Liberal activism that takes place on the school grounds of the K-12 grades with your superiors.

Thank you for the clarification. So you are telling kids to participate in the Day of Silence against abortion, and on the other side of your mouth telling adults to send letters to demand they be suspended for three days for it. This isn't a game. I'm tired of kids being used in both the abortion and the homosexual debate. If I am to go by all 3 of your reasons, the point of the abortion DOS has nothing to do with abortion. Do the kids you are telling to do this realize that? The LGBT DOS has stated their purpose as trying to end the name calling, bullying and harassment of gay kids, to hopefully prevent other kids from being shot in the back of the head in the middle of class because he had asked the 14 yr old shooter to be his Valentine, like what happened to Lawrence King. That boy is being tried as an adult, what an utterly tragic waste of two young lives. Both of these boys were completely failed every way you look at it. While I don't agree with the DOS because it is disruptive, and I recognize the agendas of some (just like with ANY cause) I think total silence on the subject hasn't been working either, something should be done to help curb the bullying that parents don't seem to be doing anything about, regarding ALL differences. Keep in mind, it's straight kids attached with the label too being bullied, if you can't muster any sympathy for the kids who are gay. Maybe this boy would have known who to turn to and how to solve the problem of an unwanted advance and the subsequent teasing from his peers, instead of resorting to murder. Neither of these boys knew how to handle what they were going through and total denial and ignoring it isn't going to help any of the kids who follow. I don't feel this type of protest is right to do during school, but I recognize the necessity of the message about bullying. So what is the answer? You have no idea how bad I wish I knew. But yours isn't it.

To the person who posted the last comment: Well, I read your blog and all of your comments and those from everybody else and I think your DOS POS is FOS. :D

To everyone else: It's perfectly clear. He is PO'd about the fact that the homosexuals and lesbians have come up with this Day of Silence idea. As we know from innumerable past comments and blogs this man is either a homophobe of the first order or maybe even a closet homosexual himself. He apparently thinks about what homosexuals do in their bedrooms constantly, well past the point of simply an interest in healthy debate. He could not let the upcoming DOS go without some form of protest, so hence this blog post.

However, instead of simply protesting the protest he thought he could kill two birds with one stone by trying to flip the DOS from what it is to make it anti-abortion. After getting called to the carpet for this transparent sham he is now backpedaling and saying he was just trying to protest the DOS.

Patrick50, the rational shark's very own Remora, usually just parrots the party line. When he tries to add his own original thought he says something like this:

Quote - Usually, the right is working and doesn’t take the time to “protest.” - Unquote

I guess he missed the millions of pages of protests about Bill Clinton written over the years. Or the protests at abortion clinics. Or the Terry Schiavo thing. Or the hue and cry over the court ruling on Prop 22. To name just a few. Stick to the Remora schtick. It suits you better.

So once again, with this blog, the rational one has exposed who he really is: A partisan shill who will leave the string or "rationalize" the gaping problems in his posts pointed out by others before he ever admits that just maybe most of his ideas are out of date and won't work--or are just plain wrong as in this case.

Thanks, Robert Capp, for your posts. Schools are and should be a place for learning. I can say that my kids have and are getting an outstanding education at one of our local public high schools. They have all learned how to think for themselves and don't need some homophobic adult to tell them what to be silent about. There were plenty of debates on campus about Prop 8 or the subject of gay marriage in general this year. These are healthy and allow our kids to learn how to think about the same kind of problems society is wrestling with as a whole. But the protests - be they the Day of Silence or otherwise - should never interfere with the learning process. The way I understand the program from a look at their website kids who choose to participate can determine when and how to be silent. In other words, they can choose to take part in classroom work as usual but remain silent during lunch and between classes. It doesn't - and shouldn't - impact the classroom. If it does I think that is wrong.

An interesting story. One student at my kids' high school and a friend of my daughter, whose father is a very prominent figure in a very conservative local church, argued passionately in support of Prop 8 last fall. She debated. She argued with her friends. She even sent e-mails to her friends trying to convince them to convince their parents to vote for the proposition--e-mails full of "Yes on 8" talking points and those of her family's church. Well, after a series of discussions with her friends at school on this subject since the election she recently allowed that maybe she has been wrong and that the rights of real people who love each other have in fact been stampeded. She actually took the time to listen and think about what she was hearing and was not only willing to change her mind but to also admit that she had been wrong. Believe me when I tell you that for this young lady to change her mind given the indoctrination she gets at home and from her church is beyond startling.

If only some of the people who post here could be as open minded.

The first sentence of my comment above was aimed at the rational one, not kittyv.

Miuwtant; update in re Prop 8:

JUDICIARY COMMITTEE PASSES RESOLUTION OPPOSING PROP 8 [Source: Legislative Press Release- 02/17/09]

Sacramento - Today the members of the Assembly Judiciary Committee passed H. R. 5 (Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco) by a vote of 7 to 3, which resolves that the State Assembly is opposed to the implementation of Prop 8.

H.R. 5 notes that Prop 8 as an improper revision of the California Constitution. The resolution points out that a revision is a substantial change to the underlying principles of the California Constitution, or to the structure of California's basic governmental plan. Pursuant to the California Constitution the Legislature must initiate a change of this magnitude; it cannot be accomplished through the initiative process.

"I am proud of my colleagues and their unequivocal support of equal treatment for all Californians," said Assembly member Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco), the author of HR 5. "This resolution speaks directly to the fundamental rights of same-sex couples to have equal protection under the Constitution, rights that cannot be taken away by popular vote. I am confident that the Assembly will support the repeal of Proposition 8 and confirm the basic rights of all Californians."

S. R. 7, a similar measure, has been introduced by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco). This measure resolves that the California State Senate also oppose Prop 8 on constitutional grounds.

Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union, added, "The Legislature again affirmed the rights of the minority to have equal protection under the Constitution. If Prop 8 is upheld, it will have a devastating effect on the hard won rights for women, minorities and the disabled. We look to the court to extend equal protection of the law to all, as the Legislature had done with the passage of the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act."

The California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the legality of Prop 8 on 5 March 2009, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The court will issue its written opinion within 90 days following oral arguments.

On 15 January 2009, sixty-five current and former state legislators, including Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, filed an Amicus curiae brief seeking to invalidate Proposition 8 because it circumvents basic protections required by our Constitution and eliminates a fundamental right for a minority of Californians. [Source: Mercury News, 02/17/09]

The California Supreme Court web page on Proposition 8 (http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/supreme/highprofile/prop8.htm)

- Attorney General's Response to Amicus Curaie Briefs

- Interveners' Answer to Amicus Curiae Briefs and Response to Pages 75-90

- Petitioners' Karen Strauss et al., Answer to Amicus Curaie Briefs

- City and County of SF Consolidated Answer to Amicus Curaie Briefs

Prop 8 is several major steps closer to being overturned.

As usual, Miutant, you are the one to post the most abusive remarks. You say you don’t resort to name calling, what a joke. It seems you can’t make a point without attempting to humiliate others. If you are attempting to persuade us to think that the Right protests as much as the Left, good luck. Why can’t you just be honest for a change? No honest person is going to buy that *&^%. BTW, I don’t have a Blog here. I’m too busy earning a living. I barely have the time to enlighten you as I do.

Kittyv: You are twisting yourself into a pretzel to avoid the truth.

You cannot attack me for proposing a DOS, while praising the left for doing the same thing.

You cannot attack me for any of the reasons above, unless you refuse to recognize the reasons that the homosexual lobby is pushing their DOS.

You cannot attack me for using children as pawns, while praising the homosexual lobby for using children as pawns.

The only difference between what I proposed, and what they are doing..is that I have only proposed it. They have done it.

You go out of your way to pretend they have not been doing this, that it is not wrong, and that somehow I have constructed this terrible, sick and twisted idea all on my own.

If it really bothers you that our kids are being used as political pawns, that our schools are supporting it, and that we are sending the wrong lessons to our kids by doing so....don't attack me. Attack the DOS advocates who have been doing it for years.

Miuwtant: I have never reported an abusive post although yours made me consider it. Rather, I will allow it to stand as a testament to your character.

Rational_Thinker - You are twisting my words into a pretzel to avoid looking at yourself critically. I already know you are an intelligent man, so it's no use trying to play stupid with me now. I did not praise the left or the homosexual lobby, your tactics to deflect attention from yourself are nothing new but it's disappointing that you have chosen to lie in order to do so. "I don't feel this type of protest is right to do during school, but I recognize the necessity of the message about bullying." What I am saying is, something does need to be done about bullying, but the DOS isn't it in my opinion. Am I having to repeat myself like this because it wasn't clear or because it's more convenient to believe I'm saying something else? I am aware the original idea was not yours. But how exactly do you claim you find it wrong to do protest like this in the schools when you then try to create your own? Again, which is it, is it wrong, or is it ok in your eyes as long as you get equal coverage of your particular agenda? I've stated I don't feel the DOS is appropriate. How exactly would I be proving it if I then try to encourage children to have one for my own cause, like you did? "I have only proposed it" yes, that's right, in this forum, and I don't need to wait to criticize your lousy idea until after it actually happens. "You go out of your way to pretend they have not been doing this, that it is not wrong" Huh?

You can throw the label hypocrite on everyone else all you want, but it doesn't change the fact that you, yourself, are a shining example in this particular instance of a big HYPOCRITE, whether you want to admit it or not.

A hypocrite and someone who is constantly thinking about what other people do in their bedrooms. At one point during the run up to the election he must have been commenting on three or four gay marriage strings at once. We heard about men and boys; bestiality; polygamy; ...it was incredible. The repeated and increasingly shrill comments were very reminiscent of the hysterics from Ted Haggard and the like. People who protest too much.

And now he has the cajones to say that I'm the one abusing him because I am wondering about him like he has wondered about so many other people. Was I over the line? Yep. Has he been over the line? Without any doubt whatsoever. And it makes me wonder why.

The more I think about this the more it irks me. Someone who can project so many motivations on others, who does it almost every single day with almost every single blog post or comment, is shocked - SHOCKED, I tell you - when someone projects motives on him that he doesn't like one bit.

Examples of his own abuse:

"EJ... Don't these people have jobs? Don't tell me they are meth-heads living on SSI disability because their minds are fried!?!?"

"They want to teach our children that homosexuality is normal because they want more potential candidates when these children grow up. They do not like the odds today."

"In a room with 100 people, each man has a potential of 47 women to choose from, and vice versa. For homosexuals, they only have 1 or 2 or perhaps 3 possible mates. So, they want to "up the odds" by indoctrinating our children."

"...you should look in a mirror. You are the intolerant zealot."

"You are making it up, or you are brainwashed."

"Its all about emotion, deceit, and intimidation.

They claim a "civil right to marry anyone you want" and simultaneously limit that civil right to only two people who are unrelated because they know that nobody is going to support polygamy or incest."

"Many people have heard of Veterans for Peace. A small rag-tag organization of dissidents who have attacked the mission our troops are engaged in, strengthened the morale of our enemies, and undermined the morale of our troops."

Miutant, get a life.

Way to change the subject and show themselves as self-absorbed self-centered attitude! This not only diminishes the topic they are trying to draw attention to, and support; they show their true ignorance. There are no words to express the disappointment in any person that actually wears this shirt on the “Day of Silence!

They have truly demonstrated their ignorance as to the true meaning of human kindness and support and love of others. If they truly cared about all people who are victims of abuse; they would consider the children that are abused at the hands of bully’s because of who they were born to be.

It appears that these right-winger extremists, only care about hearing themselves speak! So to them I say to them, they should engage in a not only one day of silence, but a lifetime. They should always remember that if you do not care for all children and all humanity, then why pretend that you do! Oh, and by the way, why is it that the children represented as aborted on the shirts and posters are always white?? Don’t they care about black children who are aborted?

Anyone who identifies with this T-Shirt, you should be silent! Maybe if those people were quicker to be silent; they would be better able to listen to those who are truly forced to be silent. Then, maybe just maybe they would realize that forced silence speaks louder than words!!