Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

misia did not advocate outing people. She mused about what it would be like, and a thousand people took it as encouragement to stand up themselves. If you look at other folks reassurances to the people who apologized for posting anonymously in the comments to misia's entry, I think you'll see that the need to respect each person's comfort level is respected. For that matter, if you look at her followup entry about her guidelines for creating buttons or T-shirts, she made it quite explicit that she considers it important to have a "non-outing" version.

So you're fretting about an interpretation I don't see anyone trying to apply.

The goal is "no pity, no shame, no silence", but these three goals are interconnected. The people who are able to live that goal now make it easier for the next to do so. Some won't be able to break silence until the culture changes the shame factor for them, and that will happen because of all the people who stood up unashamed before them. Some won't be able to break the shame barrier except by seeing how many others -- possibly even themselves -- break the silence. Different people need different orders of these things, and some are more ready for visibility than others.

As we work to change the world, someday we may reach the point where there are no pity, no shame, and no silence to overcome. Until that day, we each speak as loudly as we are prepared to and no softer, and respect those whose voices are louder or softer than our own for whatever reasons. Some people aren't emotionally ready for that step. Others would face fallout and feedback of an unacceptable nature. The rest of us try to remove those obstacles for them, but cannot pretend the obstacles don't exist in the first place.

Speaking up in person or on LiveJournal, or wearing a T-shirt or a button, is voluntary.