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Originally Posted by brandon9
I was told I was homophobic because I do not support the "Day of Silence" event that is upcoming in several weeks, and it pissed me off so much that I decided to write an article anonymously to submit to my local newspaper and school officials. I don't bash here, am not homophobic at all, I just want feedback on my article and on this very troubling event / labeling of my beliefs. Thanks to all who may read this, I realize it is a bit long!
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I'm sorry if this pisses you off but I'm going to tell you exactly what I think you are - I think you are a typewriter. Did you get mad when I called you a typewriter? Didn't think so. Might have even cracked a smile...a little one maybe? So my question to you is, why is calling you something you are clearly not so offensive sometimes and not other times?
Incidentally, I agree with those who suggest not sending this letter. The purpose of speaking is to communicate. Communication requires action on the part of the one who is speaking as well as the one they are speaking to. Since you are not going to be heard by the folks that you are directing this at, there is no point in saying it. imo, of course. But let's say that you are going to send it anyway, which is your prerogative...
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Originally Posted by brandon9
DISCLAIMER: Before I even begin this article, I would like to immediately make clear that I am in NO WAY a homophobic individual.
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People are going to make up their own mind on this as they read the article, your opinion on the matter means nothing to them. In fact, it does damage to your argument. What's the first thing you're going to think if you begin an article that starts this way:
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DISCLAIMER: Before I even begin this article, I would like to immediately make clear that I am in NO WAY a pedophile.
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Ah-huh, exactly.
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Originally Posted by brandon9
I am not trying to bash anybody in any way in writing this.
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Same argument - they are going to make up their own minds on this. If they can't tell that you're not trying to bash anyone by reading your article, this isn't going to convince them.
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Originally Posted by brandon9
I am merely going to express my opinion and stance following an event that happened to me, in which I was accused of being a homophobic/anti-homosexual individual simply because I stated my view on the “National Day of Silence” event to a gay student attempting to get me to participate in it. My views are my own, I speak for nobody else in this, and I have a right to express those views, just as the reader has the right to disagree with them. When reading this, please approach it with as much of an open mentality as possible.
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Of course you are going to express your opinion - that's what letters to the editor/articles are for. Of course your views are your own. Of course you do not speak for anyone else. Of course you have a right to express your views and of course the reader can disagree.
There's a tremendous amount of information in here that takes away form your point. Almost nothing here needs to be said. I am not saying this unkindly - I have been an editor and am an author - albeit an author on sleep meds at the moment.
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Originally Posted by brandon9
I was in school the other day and the upcoming “Day of Silence” came up as a topic of conversation in my second period class –
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Here is how the letter should, in my opinion, start. Everything up to this point is superfluous.
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Originally Posted by brandon9
...a student in the class was passing out sign-up forms of some sort for it. I was not particularly happy with this but I just kept my head down and did my work, talked to the person next to me, just went about my business. When this student came to me, he attempted to hand me a sign-up form and I told him “No thanks, I’ll pass man.” Nothing hateful, not a barbed remark, simply a polite refusal. Instead of accepting this refusal and moving on, the student proceeded to question me as to why I didn’t want a form.
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Incidentally, I'd like to say that I thought you handled this well and I believe that he should have let it go immediately. He handled it poorly; you did not.
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Originally Posted by brandon9
We live in the United States of America, the one country in the world where individuals truly have opportunity to be whoever they want to be, to do whatever they want to do, and believe in whatever they choose to.
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This position is a pet peeve of mine, this idea of American exceptionalism - particularly when it is championed by someone who has never lived outside of this country. Perhaps that doesn't apply to you - but for those who have lived in countries like Canada, England, Sweden, etc., etc., such a statement is likely to color you in an unfavorable light. Frankly, a lot of folks' subconscious are going to start attaching labels like 'ignorant' or 'redneck' at such a comment, which wouldn't be so terrible but unless they value traits like ignorance, they're likely to unconsciously continue reading with those filters in place.
To be clear, I'm not calling you ignorant or a redneck.
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Originally Posted by brandon9
However, the Day of Silence is of great concern to me as an American. This event is primarily one in which the younger generation participates, which means it is present in schools across the nation. THIS is the critical issue for me in talking about the Day of Silence.
In recent years, society has seen a massive shift in the direction of being “politically correct” at all times, and this trend is no more prevalent than in the public school system. We can’t talk about politics, guns/gun control, religion, ideological beliefs, or even some holidays in school as a result of this, because they are almost considered “taboo topics”. <snipped a bunch>
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This is your point. If you're going to send a letter/article, send stuff like this.
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Originally Posted by brandon9
Again, I am not against homosexual individuals.
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Can you see how tiring this phrase is getting? Convince them with your argument, not your denials.
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Originally Posted by brandon9
Why should homosexual individuals (and those who support them, I realize I have missed that up to this point)
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From an editorial point of view only: when you realize that you've missed something up till this point - go back and fix it and make it right the first time.
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Originally Posted by brandon9
I am not trying to sound cold here, but heterosexual teenagers get bullied just as much.
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This is too easily fact checked and proven wrong. If you are going to make a wild claim - or even one you know to be true and know it is going to sound like a wild claim, offer some objective evidence. i.e. "According to the American Psychological Journal's excellent article "Homosexual Bullying" in their May, 2015 issue, heterosexual teens are bullied just as often as their LBGTQ peers." I completed fabricated that btw, no such article exists. A quick search shows this instead:
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86% of LGBT youth report being harassed at school. Compare this to 27.3% of all students being bullied at school as reported by the National Center for Educational Statistics in 2013.
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Anyway, let me close here and just say again, I think you're 'no thanks' should have been accepted.