The Harry Potter Alliance

By Andrew Slack

April 24, 2008

A Day of Silence To End The Silence

Dumbledore was gay. Most of us realized that his being gay does not change him in the least. In fact, all it does is help us better understand his tormented relationship with Grindewald. But what about the experience of being silenced for being gay? What about the experience of living in a closet because of one’s identity.

Harry was literally forced to live in a closet because of his identity. And while the Dursley’s tried to stamp it out of him, they could not because that magic was part of who Harry was. And when people say they are going to love the sinner but hate the sin, it seems that the only difference between them and the Dursleys is that on the surface they sound more pleasant. But beneath the surface, there is something highly unpleasant. There is a wish to stamp out one’s sexuality, which is part of one’s very identity, part of one’s magic. People should have the right to feel comfortable being who they are. Their sexual orientation is something to be welcomed and celebrated not silenced. Not pushed into a closet.

We feel for those like Lupin and Hagrid who had to hide their identity for fear of ridicule and torment. And let us draw our attention to all those brave people among us whose sexual orientation is different than what our Muggle Minded culture considers “perfectly normal.” None of us are perfectly normal, thank you very much. But we have commonalities. And one of them is that we have sexual identities. They are part of who we are. And they should be free to come out of the silence, free to come out of the closet. Free to be welcomed and cherished for being one important facet of the beautiful and complex creatures that each one of us is.

Tomorrow, please take at least part (or all) of your day to recognize the National Day of Silence. We are going to be silent in honor of the silence that so many members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gendered communities are forced into on a daily basis.

We are going to be silent in honor of those who continue to get ridiculed because they don’t seem to follow “gender norms.” We are going to be silent in hopes that the silence will be broken.

And this year in particular, we are going to be silent in memory of Lawrence King.

Lawrence King was a 15-year-old student from Oxnard, California, who was shot and killed in class on February 12 by a 14-year-old classmate because of King’s sexual orientation and gender expression. The hate crime received little media attention but has served as a rallying cry for the need to address anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment. Organizers have registered more than 100 vigils across the country in remembrance of King at www.rememberinglawrence.org.

The Weapon We Have Is Love,

A-Slack