Originally Posted by Donkey Jote

Simply put, you were wrong. I think that when you start chucking violence about, all it does is legitimize or justify the offensive words of the other guy. Honestly I think it takes a bigger man to shrug off the insults and verbal abuse than to take the mofo out.

On the other hand I absolutely support confronting this sort of behaviour, just not violently.

Originally Posted by themisfithitman

So today has been eventful for me. I was out of the house for a total of two (2) hours before being suspended from my school for two (2) days. As most of anyone who will read this knows, the Day of Silence was April 25th, 2008. But my school decided to have their official Day of Silence today , April 30th (I don't know why, but they did).

The Day of Silence, I feel, is a rather silly and counterintuitive concept, because it takes the gays (for want of a better word) and pulls them farther away from normal society. Don't get me wrong I support gay rights and all that, but that's to come in the story. I think that a day of silence for anything is really just a ridiculous idea that is nothing, and really accomplishes nothing either.

Moving on. I said I support gay rights, I think they should have all the rights and privileges and get the same respect that straight people get. They are people too. So this morning, I go into school, and I'm just wandering aimlessly around, because most of my friends are doing the Day of Silence, and I respect that. I see one friend who I know is not doing the Day, so I go over to ask him a question. He is standing near some kids who are playing hackysack, and there is one other kid there who is just firing rapid inappropriate things at these other kids who are playing hackysack (and who are also doing the Day). He called these kids "cocks" at least five or six times in the space of one or two minutes that I was there. It was extremely offensive, even to me, that he could be such an evil person that he would stoop so low.

So I told him so shut up... My turn, this kid rounds on me, and starts calling me a "f**g*t" (which I actually find funny, because of the gay awareness element of the day of silence) and a bunch of other derogatory/negative terms. But none of them really phased me that much.

Now this wasn't the first time this kid has decided to stir up trouble. This is the first time I've decided to finish it. I told him to shut up again, but he continued insulting me and the other kids there. So I punched him in the mouth. You may not see it as a noble story, but if you're going to go around mouthing off to people for their beliefs, and being a jackass in general. You better be damn ready to defend that.

If you're going to call people derogatory terms, you deserve to be punched, not once, but by every person you tried to degrade. If you have no value in the group other then being a jackass, you don't belong anywhere near that group of people. If you can honestly verbally berate someone while they can't defend themselves, you need to rethink your life.

I'm just trying to bring the fact that everyone needs respect, or at least the chance at respect. You can't make fun of people because they support one thing, and you just fear them so you make fun of them. You need to have an opinion and stick to it. You need to be ready to fight (whether or not it is physical) to defend your opinion. But if you are insulting gays and their friends and supporters because you are a homophobe. You need to go sit in the corner and mind your own damn business.

Thanks for listening, and seriously, the world will be a better place if we all just stopped picking on each other.

P.S. I got a split knuckle and a two-day suspension (I'm 16) as a result of my actions, but I am willing to accept that because I knew what I was getting into when I punched that kid, he deserved it and I willingly accepted the consequences.

(I want your opinions on this story!)

Originally Posted by Chan

First, I think schools should not be imposing a particular political view (in this case that of the gay rights faction) on students.

Second, free speech includes the right of people to say things that thoroughly piss everyone else off.

Third, you've tried the diplomatic approach and it didn't work; hopefully his mouth is sufficiently painful that it causes him to regret his choice of words.

While I don't agree with this Day of Silence crap and don't believe that rights or respect should be based on being part of a group (particularly part of a group that wants to promote perverse sexual proclivities; rights and respect are for individuals, not groups), I applaud you for how you handled the situation.