You may have heard of A Day of Silence on the Blogosphere". (I learned about it today from Lorelle. Because of the recent Virginia Tech (college) massacre, bloggers are asked to go silent (not post, I guess) on Monday, April 30th.
(For the record, I haven't visited the site yet.)
I have two problems with this.
First, why just Virginia? I know it was horrible. Any type of violence like that is. But we live in a violent world. Watch Canada's evening news, where they tell you what's going on. (America's evening news is a joke and really worthless.)
Thousands die each day needlessly. And people do nothing about it.
What happened in Virginia was terrible, but it's not all the deaths of that day in the world. It's rather self-centered of us (Americans) to think that.
Second, a Bloggers Day of Silence does nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's about as worthless as it gets.
Imagine if all the bloggers all over the world don't post anything for a day. What'll happen?
People wont get to read new posts that day.
That's it.
Days of Silence or Silent rallies only work if a lot of people are gathered together in one place. (If there are TV cameras near by, all the better. If a thousand people stood together in silence without tv cameras, would anyone know? Or care?) Whether it's christian students gathering at the flag pole once a year, or gay/gay friendly students not talking for a day, it's only effective if others see it.
People not posting for a day isn't "seen." It'll be barely felt.
Instead, talk.
Write about what the world needs to see changed.
Talk to your friends.
Instead of a Day of Blog silence, communities should gather together on April 30th and be silent together. Or loud together.
Silence is stronger with others.
