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A High Schooler’s Request: Observe the Day of Silence this Friday

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A Request From an Out High School Student

Happy Passover, Happy Easter, Happy Spring! 

I’ve been privileged to work with LGBTQ teens across the country, and they constantly inspire and amaze me. Over the weekend, Zachary Bernstein, a high school student from Michigan I’ve been lucky to get to know over the past few years posted a request to his friends and family to observe the Day of Silence this coming Friday. 

For many folks the Day of Silence can be quite controversial – some disagree with the tactic of staying silent instead of giving voice to the discrimination LGBTQ people face. I found Zachary’s request to be quite compelling, so I asked him for permission to share it here. 

As always, please feel free to respond or share your thoughts on NCRM’s Facebook page – I think this is a really worthwhile discussion, especially as we move into the next phase in the fight for full LGBTQ equality.

  – Robbie

Zachary wrote:

This Friday, I will be participating in GLSEN’s annual Day Of Silence for the third time. The purpose of the Day of Silence is to bring awareness to the silencing effects of anti-LGBTQ name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. LGBTQ people and allies are encouraged to participate.

Why is this important? According to GLSEN’s 2015 National School Climate Survey, 85% of LGBTQ students have experienced verbal harassment in school. 64% of LGBTQ students have heard homophobic or transphobic remarks from staff members, not just other students. 58% of LGBTQ students feel unsafe at school, and 32% of LGBTQ students skipped at least one day of school last year due to feeling unsafe. Over a quarter of LGBTQ students have faced physical violence due to their sexuality, gender identity, or how their sexuality or gender identity is perceived. For LGBTQ students, bullying is real. Safety concerns are real.

These aren’t issues of the past. 

I would like to emphasize that support from ALLIES on this day is very meaningful and important. Seeing people who aren’t part of this marginalized community stand up for those who are is powerful and inspiring to people who feel unsafe, insecure, or marginalized. We have a responsibility to all our fellow humans, not just the ones who fall in the same demographic groups as us.

If you are an ally, staying silent yourself, flashing a smile or thumbs-up to LGBTQ students you know who are observing the Day of Silence, or otherwise showing support for LGBTQ students may make someone feel much more secure and comfortable than they otherwise would have. 

I know that among LGBTQ people, Day of Silence is controversial. Is it important for us to raise awareness by being silent, or is it our day to proclaim loudly what we feel must be heard, hopefully with more allies quiet around us so that our voices are easier to make out? LGBTQ people I deeply respect have argued for both sides of this issue, and I can see this both ways. I, however, will be silent, for these reasons:

1. I am loud the other 364 days of the year. I use social media very frequently to advocate for LGBTQ issues and other political issues and civil rights issues. I spent much of the summer of 2016 working on a congressional campaign. There is nothing wrong with that, and I am proud of my activism. However, I feel like being silent on Friday will be more striking to people than just another Facebook post, and thereby will raise more awareness.

2. I want to make the Day of Silence easier for people who feel a little less comfortable participating in it than I do. For someone who is nervous about coming out, or nervous about participating in Day of Silence, I believe that seeing as many people as possible being silent and supporting the LGBTQ community could be very helpful. This was certainly the case for me. In my freshman year of high school, I wasn’t yet out publicly. Seeing the number of people, especially allies, who were wearing rainbow wristbands, not talking, and showing solidarity with LGBTQ people made me feel less scared about participating in it the following year, a month after I came out.

3. There is power in numbers. The more people who are silent, the more powerful the messages of pride, concern, and determination that we send. This day is about making a statement. The most people who unite, and the quieter the school hallways, the more noticeable the silence we create. Only by making the silence notable do we bring any awareness to the issues we care about.

 

Zachary Bernstein is a high school student in Michigan. Robbie Medwed is an Atlanta-based LGBTQ activist, writer, and educator. Follow him on Twitter: @rjmedwed

To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.

 

Image via GLSEN

 

 

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News

Fox News Host Suggests Trump ‘Force’ Court to Throw Him in Jail – by Quoting Him

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17 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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The Fox News host who targeted a juror serving on Donald Trump’s criminal New York trial is now suggesting the ex-president should violate his gag order and “force” the court to throw him in jail, by quoting the Fox News host.

Jesse Watters came under fire earlier this week for profiling juror number two, sharing possibly identifying information published by a myriad of reporters but then using that information to pass judgment on her ability to serve.

“I’m not so sure about juror number two,” Watters concluded on Fox News.

Jurors, at the judge’s direction, were to remain anonymous, for their protection and the protection of the trial.

The judge excused her, after she said she felt she was not able to be impartial because friends and family were calling her asking if she had been chosen to serve on the Trump trial, after the media blitz.

New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan admonished the press for reporting the information, but some news outlets appeared to ignore his warning.

Watters on Wednesday “did a segment with a jury consultant, revealing details about people who had been seated on the jury and questioning whether some were ‘stealth liberals’ who would be out to convict Trump,” the Associated Press reported.

READ MORE: Gaetz: ‘Corrupt’ Republicans Could ‘Take a Bribe’ and Throw House to Dems, Blocking Trump Run

Trump later posted Watters’ quote on his Truth Social platform, leading some, including New York prosecutors, to ask the judge to cite him for allegedly breaking his gag order.

Judge Merchan ordered Trump to not mention witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff, or the family members of prosecutors and court staff, CNN has reported.

New York prosecutors told Juge Merchan Trump has violated the gag order at least ten times.

“Prosecutor Christopher Conroy described the ‘most disturbing’ example as a social media message Trump posted on Wednesday evening quoting a Fox News host as saying, ‘They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury,'” Politico reports.

That host was Jesse Watters.

RELATED: ‘Afraid and Intimidated’: Trump Trial Juror Targeted by Fox News Dismissed

Friday afternoon, Watters appeared to egg Trump on, urging the ex-president to violate the gag order.

“I would make them put me in jail,” Watters said on Fox News. “I would have a tweet about something perhaps I said on ‘The Five’ or ‘Jesse Watters Primetime,’ and I would force them to throw me in jail.”

Watch Watters’ remark below or at this link.

 

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News

Gaetz: ‘Corrupt’ Republicans Could ‘Take a Bribe’ and Throw House to Dems, Blocking Trump Run

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19 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) says some of his fellow House Republicans would “take a bribe” to throw the razor-thin GOP majority to the Democrats if a far-right faction calls up a motion to oust Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, allowing Democrats to hand the gavel to the Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries. he warned if that happens, Democrats would immediately declare Trump ineligible to be President, pack the U.S. Supreme Court, and pass numerous laws like the American Rescue Plan.

“I do believe in a one seat majority there could be one or two or three of my colleagues who would take a bribe in one form or another in order to deprive the Republicans of a majority at all,” Gaetz said Friday on his podcast (video below.)

He added, “the risk that one or two of my corrupt Republican colleagues might take a bribe, take a walk, feign an ailment and flip this thing to the Democrats is a risk that is too high for me at this time.”

Gaetz’s fellow far-right Florida Republican member of Congress, Anna Paulina Luna, told listeners, “I heard that when, if and when the motion vacate is introduced, that there will be immediate resignations of a couple of more moderate members of Congress. And in the event that that happens, that ultimately means it does go to a Democrat speaker.”

RELATED: Jeffries Vows Democrats Will Ensure Ukraine Aid Passes as Johnson Defectors Grow

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) last month filed a “motion to vacate,” which she can use at any time to force a vote to oust the GOP Speaker, Mike Johnson. U.S. Rep. Tim Massie (R-KY) and just today, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) has signed on as co-sponsors.

Congressman Gaetz told listeners if Democrats do take the House through a force vote to remove Johnson, Democrats would “be declaring Donald Trump an insurrectionist and setting up a barrier to him being able to become the president United States.”

“That’ll be their leadoff hitter, and then the chaser to that shot will be a massive spending package that looks a lot more like the American Rescue Plan. They will blow past every concept of every cap ever imagined. You’ll be looking at Universal Basic Income, you could be looking at packing the Supreme Court.”

Watch a short clip of Gaetz’s remarks below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Stop Bringing Up Nazis and Hitler’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Smacked Down by Democrats

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Jeffries Vows Democrats Will Ensure Ukraine Aid Passes as Johnson Defectors Grow

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22 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed Friday the majority of Democrats will support Republicans’ Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and Gaza foreign aid legislation as Republican Speaker Mike Johnson lost support of another member of his conference to a faction determined to oust him.

“Democrats will provide a majority of our majority as it relates to funding Israel, humanitarian assistance, Ukraine, and our allies in the Indo Pacific,” Minority Leader Jeffries said. “It remains to be seen what Republicans will do in terms of meeting the national security needs of the American people, but it was important for House Democrats to ensure that the national security bills are going to be considered.”

Despite Republicans having a one-vote majority, more Democrats on Friday voted to move the critical and long-awaited foreign aid bills forward than did Republicans.

READ MORE: ‘Stop Bringing Up Nazis and Hitler’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Smacked Down by Democrats

The 316-94 vote included 165 Democrats and 151 Republicans voting yes, and 55 Republicans and 39 Democrats voting no.

Axios’ Juliegrace Brufke posted the list of Republicans voting against their party’s legislation.

Calling it a “rare” moment in modern congressional history to have to rely on opposition party votes to pass legislation, BBC News reports Speaker Johnson’s “hold on power is tenuous, and the legislators who oppose him – and his bid to provide aid to Ukraine – occupy some key positions within the House’s power structure.”

Amid the procedural vote to move the foreign aid funding bills forward, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, a far-right Republican of Arizona, announced he is joining Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Congressman Tim Massie (R-KY) in formally announcing their will vote to oust Speaker Johnson.

Gosar, like Greene, is reportedly a Christian nationalist. In 2022 CNN reported his “lengthy ties to White nationalists, [a] pro-Nazi blogger and far-right fringe received little pushback for years.”

RELATED: ‘Repercussions’: Democrats and Republicans Stand Against ‘Pro-Putin’ House GOP Faction

“We’ve been very honest in our assessment of the situation from the beginning,” Jeffries on Friday also declared. “At the appropriate time as House Democrats, we will have a conversation about how to deal with any hypothetical motion to vacate.”

“Moscow Marjorie Taylor Greene, Massie, and Gosar are quite a group. But central to our conversation is to make sure that the national security legislation in totality is passed by the House of Representatives.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

 

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