Day of silent hypocrisy

The other day I read a blog post by my friend the Friendly Atheist on the hypocrisy over the pro-life day of silent solidarity.

On October 20th, people from all over the world “gave up their voices for a day in solidarity for these children” (meaning abortions). Participants wore red armbands, remained silent for the day, and handed out pro-life fliers.

I don’t have a problem with protesting, but I do have a problem with hypocrisy. The Friendly Atheist commented that he had not heard a single Christian group condemn this event:

No right-wing group said it was wrong for students to showcase their social “agenda” in the classroom.

None of them demanded that students not go to school on the day of the event because the classroom was being “hijacked” for political purposes.

Not one group asked people to call local school administrators and ask why they’re allowing this event to take place.

He urged his readers to remember this when LGBT and LGBT-friendly students participate in the Day Of Silence, which occurs every April. The Day of Silence is a day in which students remain silent on behalf of people who are gay, bisexual, homosexual or transsexual. The silence brings attention to anti LGBT bullying and harassment in schools. He also urged his readers to call Christian groups out on their blatant hypocrisy if they did condemn participation in the Day of Silence for LGBT people.

DONE.

Here is a list of members of the coalition of pro-family organizations who officially want their parents to keep kids home during the Day of Silence:

Abiding Truth Ministries; AFA Michigan; AFA Pennsylvania; AFA National; Americans for Truth; Association of Maryland Families; Called2Action; Campaign for Children and Families; Citizens for Community Values of Ohio; Coalition of Conscience; Community Issues Council; Concerned Women for America National; Concerned Women for America Washington; Culture Campaign; Faith2Action; Faith, Family & Freedom Alliance; Illinois Family Institute; Indiana Voice; Liberty Alliance Action; Liberty Counsel; Maine Family Policy Council; MassResistance; Mission America; Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX)

I looked them all up to see if any of them were supporting the Day of Silent Solidarity. Here is a list of coalition members who both oppose the Day of Silence while supporting the Day of Silent Solidarity:

Abiding Truth Ministries decried the Day of Silence for “political demonstration in the classrooms”. Americans For Truth supports keeping children home on the Day of Silence because it “disrupts the learning process” and “they are not unlike other nefarious ideological movements in their utilitarian misuse of schools to sway young minds”.

The American Family Association (AFA) called the “Day of Silence” a “public school classroom disruption” and said, “schools should not have to tolerate students remaining silent in class” and “You can help de-politicize the learning environment by calling your child out of school if your child’s school allows students to remain silent during instructional time” while simultaneously (and hypocritically) supporting the Day of Silent Solidarity as evidenced by this message (posted 10/20/09 on their official Facebook page):

“Today is Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity. Students in over 3,000 schools will place duct tape over their mouths and wear red armbands with the word “LIFE” to show support for the 4,000 human lives that are silenced very day by abortion. Students …will also distribute flyers telling people why they are silent. These students should be applauded for their silent yet very visible witness. God bless them!”

The other organizations on this list who opposed the Day of Silence for the reasons mentioned fell curiously silent with regard to the Day of Silent Solidarity. Now, I can understand supporting the Day of Silent Solidarity and opposing the Day if Silence for ideological reasons, but it is hypocritical to hate one for “hijacking the classroom for political reasons” while supporting the other, which does the exact same thing.