Dan Savage has spoken repeatedly to this point, which has been brought up a lot in response to the It Gets Better Project.

If you are funny looking, or speak differently, you most likely go home to a supportive environment. Gay teens are more likely to be thrown out of the house, or more heartbreakingly, run away from home because they fear their parents' reaction. And certainly you never go to church and get told that you are sinning just for being yourself.

If you have red hair or a lisp, you don't face that kind of systemic bullying.

Gay bullying can be familial, societal, religious. Hence a suicide rate that is 4-6 times higher than teens in general.

And hence this particular It Gets Better Project.

So that is why isn't more encompassing. All folks who get bullied can take comfort from these videos -- after all, it will get better for them, too, when they get out of high school.

If you have three minutes, watch this short It Gets Better video.

http://videosift.com/video/It-Gets-Better-with-great-music-and-SHORT

It illustrates what Dan Savage means about family life. It has a happy ending though. Thank goodness.



>> ^spoco2:

This is entirely, and completely fucked up, and should never happen. But it is a little off that there is this campaign against anti gay bullying/bashing, when it should be anti bullying/bashing for any reason.
Do people who get bullied for being funny looking, or speaking differently, or just being 'different' get less support than someone who is gay?
I'm not suggesting that it isn't true that gays get bullied a lot more than non gays, but really shouldn't it be more encompassing?

Jeesh. I can't even get that right. Kinda proves my point, though... Some of us stink at AlphaStuff.



>> ^Payback:

>> ^bareboards2:
I have trouble remembering, too. And I really care about these folks. If I don't stop and think about it, it comes out LGA.
I suspect the Ladies Golf Association doesn't need anti-harassment legislation. They have NOW.
>> ^kingmob:
Anti LBGT Harassment?
Good video
But they gotta come up with a name i can remember.
Anti Bully
Anti Gay
just saying


You're thinking the LPGA.

>> ^bareboards2:
I have trouble remembering, too. And I really care about these folks. If I don't stop and think about it, it comes out LGA.
I suspect the Ladies Golf Association doesn't need anti-harassment legislation. They have NOW.
>> ^kingmob:
Anti LBGT Harassment?
Good video
But they gotta come up with a name i can remember.
Anti Bully
Anti Gay
just saying



You're thinking the LPGA.

Have you listened to any gay people talk about their experience? It runs the gamut -- people who knew at age 5, people who didn't admit it to themselves until they were in their late 20's (I'd bet it would have been sooner, except for societal pressure).

Heterosexual kids are the same. Little boys who have girlfriends in kindergarten and boys who are in 9th grade and still think "cooties!!" as you say.

The human experience isn't rigid, it's fluid. The only test of "truth" is the person themselves.

Seth knew he was gay in the sixth grade. Certainly to be as abused as he was for so many years, if it wasn't true he had plenty of time to change his story.

I don't think it is for us to "argue" with someone about their personal self-knowledge.






>> ^VoodooV:

Uhm, that's my point. at that early of an age, I would argue it's generally too early to have any sexual identity. Even a hetero kid might think girls have "cooties," so to speak, at that age.
The hormones inside kids, hetero or homo are going nuts at that stage, making a determination at that age seems premature.

>> ^VoodooV:

How do you know you're gay at 13? I know everyone matures physically and emotionally at different rates, but isn't 13 a little early to be certain you're gay?
or is the point that the gay bashing is so bad that it doesn't even matter that you're gay or not. if the bashers think you're gay, then you're bashed.


How do you know you are heterosexual at 13?

I was responding to the person who couldn't bring themselves to watch Seth's mom read his last words.

I figure if Seth could write it, the least we might consider is listen to him.

And yeah. The whole situation is shitty. I agree.


>> ^Jinx:

>> ^bareboards2:
If it helps, this was Seth's last wish.
Not really.
He had to kill himself to make anybody notice. What kind of shitty take home message is that.

It's way better than the

Anti-LGBTQQI Harrassment

which stands for
Lesbian
Gay
Bisexual
Transexual
Queer
Questioning
Intersex

and, yes, it's very easy to remember.

>> ^kingmob:

Anti LBGT Harassment?
Good video
But they gotta come up with a name i can remember.
Anti Bully
Anti Gay
just saying

Done!

Great ideas. Thanks. I hope it helps.

DADT may be repealed! Yippee!

In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
The name Seth Walsh may not ring many bells, but people in the US are generally aware of the recent spate of gay teen suicides. Therefore I might re-title it:

Gay teen suicide: Seth Walsh speaks from the grave

In the description I would write: 13-yr old Seth Walsh committed suicide because of unrelenting gay-bashing by his peers. With this video, the ACLU begins begins its campaign for substantive and not BS anti-harrassment measures.

With 2 power points you can *promote your own video, so maybe you ought to give that a whirl. Maybe I'll throw another promote at it later.

In reply to this comment by bareboards2:
I'm disappointed that this video isn't getting more views. I can handle it not getting voted for -- getting people to watch is more important in the long run.

Can I empower you to make changes to the title or the description to grab more eyes? Write something snappy for the verbal recap? I don't feel proprietorial about it and you know the community better than I do.

It may be too late, of course.

I do have two power points that I haven't a clue how to use. Can you advise me on how to use them to gain my objective?

Taiko boy is stuck in low votes, too, which doesn't bother me. Except for how cool would it be to hit the top 15 with my first post? Not meant to be....

In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
*doublepromote *dark

I have trouble remembering, too. And I really care about these folks. If I don't stop and think about it, it comes out LGA.

I suspect the Ladies Golf Association doesn't need anti-harassment legislation. They have NOW.





>> ^kingmob:

Anti LBGT Harassment?
Good video
But they gotta come up with a name i can remember.
Anti Bully
Anti Gay
just saying

I'm disappointed that this video isn't getting more views. I can handle it not getting voted for -- getting people to watch is more important in the long run.

Can I empower you to make changes to the title or the description to grab more eyes? Write something snappy for the verbal recap? I don't feel proprietorial about it and you know the community better than I do.

It may be too late, of course.

I do have two power points that I haven't a clue how to use. Can you advise me on how to use them to gain my objective?

Taiko boy is stuck in low votes, too, which doesn't bother me. Except for how cool would it be to hit the top 15 with my first post? Not meant to be....

In reply to this comment by kronosposeidon:
*doublepromote *dark

Yeah, I know. Maybe you can just link through to Dan Savage's blog and read about it.

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/12/16/aclu-demands-change-at-school-where-seth-walsh-was-bullied

I can't hardly stand that Seth's mom is willing to share her grief so baldly. Oddly, it was Seth's last wish. If you can stand to go back and listen to the whole thing.

I understand if you can't.

In reply to this comment by eric3579:
Thirty-eight seconds in and it's way to hard to watch.

I got this video from Dan Savage's blog. He has a lot to say on the subject. You can read this instead of watching the video.

If it helps, this was Seth's last wish.

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2010/12/16/aclu-demands-change-at-school-where-seth-walsh-was-bullied

Christine O'Donnell is so dense, that light bends around her.

http://videosift.com/video/22-MInutes-Christine-O-Donnell-Ambushed-by-Mary-Walsh

Not First Legal Run-In For Video Teens

Cop assault, robbery, auto theft on rap sheets of viral "victims"

JUNE 17--One of the teenage girls seen tussling with a Seattle cop on a recent viral video was arrested last year for assaulting a sheriff's deputy, records show. Marilyn Levias, 19, was busted last February after cops were called to a residential treatment center where the young woman had been abusive to staff (Levias was scheduled to be transported to a foster home). According to the below probable cause affidavit sworn by King County Sheriff's Office Detective Eleanor Broggi, Levias became "loud an uncooperative" and told two deputies to "Fuck Off." At one point, she allegedly pushed Deputy Amy Zarelli, causing her to fall, with Levias landing atop her. After Levias was handcuffed, she kicked Zarelli in the stomach and called her a "bitch." The charge against Levias, a first-time offender, was dismissed on "deferred disposition" after she completed the terms of community supervision. The other young woman seen in the recent video, Angel Rosenthal, 17, has been arrested twice in the past two years. She was busted in early-2008 for auto theft, as detailed in a probable cause affidavit sworn by a Kent Police Department officer. In an interview with police, Rosenthal admitted using a screw driver to "break the ignition and start" a Dodge Caravan. The juvenile case against Rosenthal was dismissed after Rosenthal received a "deferred disposition." She was arrested again last August for allegedly punching and robbing a 14-year-old boy, according to a Seattle Police Department probable cause affidavit. The robbery case was dismissed earlier this year. Levias and Rosenthal were arrested Monday afternoon after tangling with Officer Ian Walsh, who tried to cite Levias for jaywalking outside a Seattle high school. As seen in the video shot by an onlooker, Rosenthal was punched in the face by Walsh after she pushed the cop and tried to intervene in his arrest of Levias.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2010/0617102punch1.html

Tags for this video have been changed from 'Seattle, officer, punches, girl, face, jaywalking, stop, confrontation' to 'Seattle, police, officer, ian walsh, punches, girl, face, jaywalking, stop, confrontation' - edited by kronosposeidon