Tags for this video have been changed from 'church, altar call' to 'church, altar call, homosexual devil, homosexuality, lgbt, madness of crowds' - edited by burdturgler

Just to be clear, I love the project, love Dan Savage, and I've even seen a reply that a young gay fan of the Giants wrote thanking them for doing this video. So I guess that trumps my opinion since I'm not LGBT. I just don't get how a few straight jocks can be making any assurances (true or naively optimistic) since they haven't had the experience.

I'm saying there should be a parallel project, "Stop the Fucking Bullying You Shameful Assholes" where straight celebrities can bring their fame and influence to bear on the real problem. "It Gets Better" is a fantastic short term aid, but shouldn't we be focusing on cutting down on bullies? And wouldn't sports stars be perfect for that?

The NBA has already gotten a bit of a start on it: Think B4 You Speak

yes, you are right. i just think "it gets better" itself isn't necessarily accurate -- but everything else is great.
>> ^peggedbea:

mmm i don't know, i'm not usually a fan of PSA's or PR campaigns in general, but i do really like this one. maybe it's just because i love everything dan savage does.
but i also think the point is not only to let lgbt kids know that high school sucks and then you move on and A LOT of people in the big big world actually do support you, but also to let other kids know that homophobia isn't cool and in that context i think this campaign has the potential to be effective.
i saw dan savage speak live recently and he talked a bit about the 'it gets better' project and the letters he gets from gay kids all over the place. one story made me cry, this 15 year old girl watches 'it gets better' videos on youtube under her covers, on her phone, after everyone in the house is asleep so she doesn't have to feel alone. she can watch literally thousands of videos from people telling her there is nothing wrong with her, the world outside of her tiny little high school kid box supports her and after she turns 18 she can leave and be whoever she wants, i think that is a measure of success. >> ^berticus:
Ok. I know I'm a cynical fucker, but.. I'm getting sick of hearing this message, because frankly, it just isn't always true. But I guess it's not quite as powerful to say "for some people it gets better but for other people things will still be shit!"
Plus what rottenseed and MaxWilder said.
Having said that, I still think it's a good message. I don't know if it will actually have any measurable positive impact (e.g. reduction in suicides) but I hope so.

mmm i don't know, i'm not usually a fan of PSA's or PR campaigns in general, but i do really like this one. maybe it's just because i love everything dan savage does.

but i also think the point is not only to let lgbt kids know that high school sucks and then you move on and A LOT of people in the big big world actually do support you, but also to let other kids know that homophobia isn't cool and in that context i think this campaign has the potential to be effective.

i saw dan savage speak live recently and he talked a bit about the 'it gets better' project and the letters he gets from gay kids all over the place. one story made me cry, this 15 year old girl watches 'it gets better' videos on youtube under her covers, on her phone, after everyone in the house is asleep so she doesn't have to feel alone. she can watch literally thousands of videos from people telling her there is nothing wrong with her, the world outside of her tiny little high school kid box supports her and after she turns 18 she can leave and be whoever she wants, i think that is a measure of success. >> ^berticus:

Ok. I know I'm a cynical fucker, but.. I'm getting sick of hearing this message, because frankly, it just isn't always true. But I guess it's not quite as powerful to say "for some people it gets better but for other people things will still be shit!"
Plus what rottenseed and MaxWilder said.
Having said that, I still think it's a good message. I don't know if it will actually have any measurable positive impact (e.g. reduction in suicides) but I hope so.

Like I said...the Giants were bullied into that stupid video. If not bullied, they did it for PR. There's no way the word "fag" hasn't come out of each one of those baseball players' mouths at some point in their lives. I'd bet most have them have said it since this video was made.

>> ^MaxWilder:

Are those guys gay? I'm not a big sports fan, so this video didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Seems to me the only people who can really say it gets better with any kind of authority are LGBTs who endured the teen years. Can guys who were very likely the stars of their high school baseball teams really be of any use here? Might be better if they were talking to the other high school sports players to tell them to cut that bullying shit out. Then again, they're playing for San Fransisco, so that might not help either.
I'm also not sure about the whole "we promise you" aspect. There are some pretty shitty places to be a gay adult. But maybe the ability to move somewhere else is part of the promise.

Are those guys gay? I'm not a big sports fan, so this video didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Seems to me the only people who can really say it gets better with any kind of authority are LGBTs who endured the teen years. Can guys who were very likely the stars of their high school baseball teams really be of any use here? Might be better if they were talking to the other high school sports players to tell them to cut that bullying shit out. Then again, they're playing for San Fransisco, so that might not help either.

I'm also not sure about the whole "we promise you" aspect. There are some pretty shitty places to be a gay adult. But maybe the ability to move somewhere else is part of the promise.

Probably shitty. Long story short about the Padres: Cox cable owned rights to show them exclusively. I didn't have Cox cable, so I couldn't watch the game anymore. AT&T since sued Cox and now anybody can watch the Padres games, but I got rid of cable altogether (until football season).

Plus, the Giants were bullied into that stupid video. If not bullied, they did it for PR. There's no way the word "fag" hasn't come out of each one of those baseball players' mouths at some point in their lives.
In reply to this comment by eric3579:
Why you gotta hate? How those Padres doin'?

In reply to this comment by rottenseed:
...and it only took the bullying of GLAAD and the LGBT community (more GLAAD) to do it.

Why you gotta hate? How those Padres doin'?

In reply to this comment by rottenseed:
...and it only took the bullying of GLAAD and the LGBT community (more GLAAD) to do it.

...and it only took the bullying of GLAAD and the LGBT community (more GLAAD) to do it.

"We the LGBT community will stronghold, even bully, the SF Giants organization into making a video explaining how it gets better. We the LGBT community understand, that as baseball players, most of you have been on the receiving end of this kind of harassment. We also acknowledge that as baseball players, you all hold a code of conduct that respects the feelings of others including, but not limited to, not making fun of anybody, opponents or otherwise."

Dream on...idiots.

So it begins, oh wait. The US has a history of this sort of xenophobia.

See Japanese Internment Camps, also German Internment Camps. The long plain history of persecution of the "Red Man." The bullshit of segregation.

That's not even including the kind of bullshit that takes place with LGBT.

That pilot from delta can go fuck himself.

So I am someone who posts a lot of gay videos.

I am a 56 year old straight woman who is patently appalled by the way gays have been treated in our society and I am thrilled that some progress is being made towards full acceptance of LGBT folks as human beings.

You know how to get the "gay" videos to stop?

Repeal DOMA. Vote to allow gays to marry in all states. Support anti-bullying programs in your local schools. Be outraged by their treatment and tell your pastor and your friends that you are outraged.

I love this site. And I love that one of the biggest trolls here, someone who loves to rile someone with an inflammatory comment or two or three, is the easiest pushover for a cute kitten video. That sums this place up in a sentence -- smart, irreverent and has a heart.

I do feel sorry for religious folks on this site -- it can be pretty rough. I wince at some of the comment streams. But this is where you are, my friend. Move on to the next video. There is always a next video.

@quantumushroom: "I have the decency to speak for truth, as in: What happened to EQUAL protection under the law? "

Equal Protection does not give you the right to physically assault someone, regardless of their sex, color, race/ethnicity, etc...

This incident is shameful and as an unabashed Liberal/Progressive I hope these two women face the full consequences of their actions before the law. There is no "conflict" here; there is no need to pit racial politics with LGBT politics. That is a false dichotomy created by you and your inability to understand the facts here.

Also, for those who keep talking about the "useless" employees, they did the right thing. One cannot nor should not get involved in a physical altercation. It's an easy way to get oneself involved in it, if weapons are involved it could lead to further violence, not to mention legal repercussions for the business owner(s). The only thing the employees can do is to call the cops, which it appears they did.

Well, this must be a real conundrum for left-wingers. Ghetto trash versus an LGBT'er? How do you determine who's the bigger oppressed victim? Those hate crimes laws must read like D&D. Transgendered is +2 but Armor Class is 5. Berserker Weaves are +3 except against McCowards which is +8.

Maryland is a "may-issue" state, meaning you have to beg your local badge to exercise your 2nd Amendment Right. If I lived there I'd bring a copy of this vid to the station.

>> ^bareboards2:
As the person who wrote the description, let me assure you that you have interpreted the "they" incorrectly.
I meant crazy fundamentalists who have a deep need to control the world. Regardless of what religion.
I copied the wiki article and pointed out that this sentence was a deep relief to me: Although many authors have described such influence (particularly of Reconstructionism),full adherents to Reconstructionism are few and marginalized among conservative Christians.
So there is my proof that this is what I meant.
I am also not an atheist. I believe there are things we can't possibly understand with our puny restricted human brains. I respect the personal choices of individuals -- I would never argue someone out of their personal experience of the divine.
What I don't like is when someone uses their personal experience as an excuse to control others, to define "morality" for others. This guy. Mormons working tirelessly on Prop 8. Parents trying to keep any mention of homosexuality out of schools, which perpetuates the bullying and the shaming.
And I believe that when atheists attack someone's belief as irrational, it is no different than a Christian attempting to force their worldview on the atheist. I think atheists take their justifiable anger at Christians attempting to -- and succeeding at -- controlling others through shame, laws, wars and go too far with it -- I don't believe it is necessary to talk someone out of their personal religious experience, IF IF IF that personal religious experience isn't affecting the atheist in any way. I think atheists need to learn to let folks be, and focus on facts -- overturning Prop 8, booting fundamentalist School Board members out.
Them there's my two cents. Sorry you have felt beat up here. The Sift is a great place, with some really really REALLY smart and funny people. Including some, in my opinion, angry atheists. It is part of the Sift's charm, if you can treat it like entertainment.
>> ^shinyblurry:
>> ^quantumushroom:
From that link:

LGBT Activists in Uganda point to a virulently anti-gay March 2009 conference 2009 put on by three American Evangelical activists for inciting the latest round of violence and intimidation against the local LGBT community. Among the three were Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively, Exodus International board member Don Schmierer, and International Healing Foundation’s Caleb Lee Brundidge, who is a protege of ex-gay advocate Richard Cohen. Lively, who blamed gay men for the rise of Nazism and the Rwandan genocide, proudly declared his talk as being a “nuclear bomb” against LGBT advocacy in Africa. (You can read about all of the events of 2009 and early 2010 here.)
So atheists have no problem using these fringe kooks as representatives of true Christendom, but get insulted when it's pointed out 20th century mass murderers were all leaders of communist regimes? Death toll: 100 million and counting

The whole thread was created under that presumption. "I am flabbergasted. I keep thinking they can't go any more off the deep end." They as in all Christians. As in all Christians are kooks. I don't know if this site is just pro-atheist but there is a definite undertone of intolerance and bigotry here against Christians. What happened to civil discourse? Oh yeah, this is the internet. Nevermind.



That's cool.. thanks for enlightening me here. I didn't mean to cast aspersions but I guess that shows how easy it can be to misinterpet peoples intentions/beliefs, which really underscores your point I think. I wouldn't say I feel beat up, just that there seemed to be a tone here. I'll go with your assesment for now.

Personally, I don't tell people what to believe. That is what free will is for. It's up to them to draw their own conclusions. If someone asks, I will answer. If someone is mistating, I will correct. Other than that, to each his own. I will speak the truth as I know it, and hopefully someone will listen, but that's as far as I go. If you try to force something on someone, it just pushes them farther away.