Day of Silence

Today is a Day of Silence. It was made originally as a way for students to show their support for LGBT members, but there were so many more people suffering in silence today.

There was a seventeen-year-old boy that I love, lying in a hospital bed and sick with a disease we never talk about. He's battled depression since we were kids, and when “Suck it up” didn't work anymore he tried to end all it instead.

There was a girl at school who refused to report her sexual abuse because she didn't want to cause drama. When I promised her I would go to support her, she turned to look at me with teary eyes and said, “The last time I reported him, nothing happened. Why should I do it again?”

There was a girl who giggled in my ear to tell me that Bobby is the straightest-looking fag she's ever met, and suddenly all of this boy's anger and sarcasm made sense to me. It wasn't his personality; it was his defense.

There was a man who snorted when my friend chose to buy a large Slurpee with money she'd worked hard to earn herself. As we were leaving, he muttered, “Maybe that's the reason you're a size twenty.” She grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the store before I could say anything back.

There are so, so many of us who are suffering silently every day. You're fat, you're gay, you're worthless. Don't say anything, don't respond, don't report it, don't egg them on. It will only get worse. It can only get better. Don't say anything, don't react. Don't let them know they hurt you. I chose not to participate in the Day of Silence for that exact reason: because there are so many people who don't have a voice, and I do.

-Amanda

Shining into the darkness

It's better to be good than evil,

but one achieves goodness

at a terrific cost.

~Stephen King

Today I am writing about the tragedy in Boston and what it means to me and about what it says about us all. This tragedy has shown me both good and evil, right and wrong, and the way I see the world has been forever changed because of it.

I try not to call people evil, because I don't often feel justified as I don't truly know why they did what they did. Were they misguided in their views? Did they truly feel that they were in the right? I don't know and so I try not to judge. Yesterday however I feel comfortable in calling both the act and those that did it as evil. Evil is placing two bombs filled with shrapnel at the finish line of a race that is surrounded by innocent bystanders. Evil is attacking men, women, and children, whose only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Evil is attacking not just those who felt the blast, but their loved ones who rushed to the hospitals unsure of the fate of those they love. Evil is trying to take away the innocence of a child, who after seeing what you did, can only ask "why?" "Why would someone do that?" "Why would someone try and hurt kids?"  Evil is trying to make us all afraid. Evil is trying to force us to let fear into our hearts. To whoever did this, I say two things: number one, you are evil, and number two, you failed.

You failed when men and women rushed towards the scene of the explosion not away from it. You failed when they tried to help others and not try and save themselves. You failed when runners kept running right to the hospitals to give blood. You failed when parents all across this nation talked to their children and gave them hope to defend against the fear. You failed before those bombs even went off, you failed because Good will always triumph over evil. That is what I will walk away from knowing most in my heart, and it will help me in the dark times. Good will win out in the end, it always has, and it always will.

I watched those men and women run into that smoke not caring about getting hurt, thinking only to help others. I watched doctors and nurses who thought the only thing they were going to treat that day was exhaustion and dehydration, immediately rush to provide medical care that saved many lives. I have watched the outpouring of love and support from strangers opening their homes in Boston to anyone who needed a bed to sleep in and a warm meal. I watched how in Moscow the outside of the U.S. Embassy became an impromptu memorial where people dropped off flowers and sent prayers to strangers halfway around the world.

These are the images I will keep in my heart. The images of hope, hope for all mankind. You tried to fill me with fear, instead all you did was fill me with hope, and showed me once again there are good people in this world, and that the good people far outnumber the evil. We will carry on, we will thrive in the face of adversity, we will continue to shine into the darkness and give hope to those who need it.