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Numerous student groups at the University of Notre Dame are urging members of the campus community to observe a "Day of Silence" on April 18th. According to organizers, those who choose to participate in the Day of Silence can carry a card and wear a button to explain why they are not speaking.
And why aren't they speaking? Is it to remember the students murdered at Virginia Tech today? Is it to remember the victims of radical Islamist terror worldwide? Or the brave soldiers who have died in the fight against terror? Is it to honor Jackie Robinson on the 60th anniversary of his breaking the color barrier in Major League baseball?
Nope.
The "Day of Silence" is part of the "Stand Against Hate," a full week of activities designed to spread awareness about issues faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) community - including harassment and discrimination against LGBTQ individuals - with the hope of bringing the issue back to the center of campus consciousness.
In addition to the "Day of Silence," the "Stand Against Hate" will include a display of the Holocaust memorial on South Quad (on Tuesday) that will include symbols used by Nazis during the Holocaust to label and identify their victims.
It's this type of brave stand against bigotry and oppression that makes me so proud to be a Domer. Not!
Are LGBTQ (what the heck does Q mean?) persons really subjected to harassment, discrimination and hate at the University of Notre Dame? Or are they instead subjected merely to disapproval? Because there is a big difference between the two. Notre Dame students, faculty, and administrators are an educated group, and the culture on campus is steeped in political correctness and tolerance. I find it hard to believe that any group of people is really subjected to harassment and hate on that campus. Well, I take that back. Republicans and conservatives might be subjected to hate and harassment, and have their freedoms of speech and expression curtailed. And sometimes the members of ROTC on campus are subjected to shoddy treatment (there was an anti-ROTC protest on campus just a few weeks ago).
Notre Dame is a Catholic University. It is open to persons of all persuasions, but it still remains true to it's Catholic roots, dedicated to religious belief no less than scientific knowledge. That's part of the package when you get off the bus. This is not a secret. And the Catholic church teaches that God's gift of sexuality is intended by God to be shared between husband and wife. Sexual relations outside of marriage (whether between man and woman, man and man, woman and woman, Q and Q, priest and child) is contrary to the Church's teachings. Thus, at a Catholic University, it is no surprise that sexual relations outside of marriage are not encouraged. Setting LGBTQ issues aside, the University goes to significant lengths to "harass" and sexually discriminate between its students in order to prevent heterosexual relations between non-married persons. Single-sex dorms, parietals, and University rules are all designed to impede heterosexual students from exercising sexual "freedom." LGBTQ students should expect no better. LGBTQ sexual practices and choices are contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church and contrary to the values of the University community. Because of that LGBTQ students will encounter, at times, disapproval of their chosen lifestyle. But disapproval is not hate. Jesus taught that he who is without sin should cast the first stone, thus Christ taught tolerance and forgiveness. Neither Christ nor the Church teaches hate. But tolerance does not always mean agreement or approval or endorsement.
I am also disturbed by the inclusion of the Holocaust memorial in this week's activities. Yes, homosexuals also suffered at the hands of the Nazis. But using the memorial as a prop this week trivializes what happened to the Jewish and homosexual victims of National Socialism. More than six million Jews were slaughtered in cold blood by the Nazis. Slaughtered not because of anything they actually did, but merely because of their ancestry. The Holocaust was Evil on a scale beyond imagining. To draw a parallel, however tenuous, between the victims of the Holocaust and the "victims" of "hate" at the University of Notre Dame is truly insulting. As noted above, LGBTQ students at Notre Dame may face disapproval, but they do not face hatred. Using the Holocaust memorial as a prop in the "Stand Against Hate" merely demonstrates that the LGBTQ community doesn't really understand what true hatred is. Of course, the subtle, unspoken message in using the Holocaust in this way is that while the LGBTQ students are victims of Nazi-style hatred, those who disagree with or disapprove of the LGBTQ lifestyle are the modern equivalent of the Nazis themselves.
Who's hating now?