{"id":4604,"date":"2010-09-22T09:07:18","date_gmt":"2010-09-22T09:07:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.transversalmedia.eu\/dan-savage-it-gets-better-from-the-introduction\/"},"modified":"2010-09-22T09:07:18","modified_gmt":"2010-09-22T09:07:18","slug":"dan-savage-it-gets-better-from-the-introduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theresearchpapers.org\/archive\/dan-savage-it-gets-better-from-the-introduction\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Dan Savage: It gets better<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the introduction of the “It gets better” video project:<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Another gay teenager in another small town has killed himself\u2014hope you’re pleased with yourselves, Tony Perkins and all the other “Christians” out there who oppose anti-bullying programs (and give actual Christians a bad name).<\/p>\n

Billy Lucas was just 15 when he hanged himself in a barn on his grandmother’s property. He reportedly endured intense bullying at the hands of his classmates\u2014classmates who called him a fag and told him to kill himself. His mother found his body.<\/p>\n

Nine out of 10 gay teenagers experience bullying and harassment at school, and gay teens are four times likelier to attempt suicide. Many LGBT kids who do kill themselves live in rural areas, exurbs, and suburban areas, places with no gay organizations or services for queer kids.<\/p>\n

“My heart breaks for the pain and torment you went through, Billy Lucas,” a reader wrote after I posted about Billy Lucas to my blog. “I wish I could have told you that things get better.”<\/p>\n

I had the same reaction: I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better<\/em>. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better<\/em>.<\/p>\n

But gay adults aren’t allowed to talk to these kids. Schools and churches don’t bring us in to talk to teenagers who are being bullied. Many of these kids have homophobic parents who believe that they can prevent their gay children from growing up to be gay\u2014or from ever coming out\u2014by depriving them of information, resources, and positive role models.<\/p>\n

Why are we waiting for permission to talk to these kids? We have the ability to talk directly to them right now. We don’t have to wait for permission to let them know that it gets better<\/em>. We can reach these kids.<\/p>\n

So here’s what you can do, GBVWS: Make a video. Tell them it gets better.<\/p>\n

I’ve launched a channel on YouTube\u2014www \u00ad.youtube.com\/itgetsbetterproject\u2014to host these videos. My normally camera-shy husband and I already posted one. We both went to Christian schools and we were both bullied\u2014he had it a lot worse than I did\u2014and we are living proof that it gets better. We don’t dwell too much on the past. Instead, we talk mostly about all the meaningful things in our lives now<\/em>\u2014our families, our friends (gay and<\/em> straight), the places we’ve gone and things we’ve experienced\u2014that we would’ve missed out on if we’d killed ourselves then<\/em>.<\/p>\n

“You gotta give ‘em hope,” Harvey Milk said.<\/p>\n

Today we have the power to give these kids hope. We have the tools to reach out to them and tell our stories and let them know that it does get better. Online support groups are great, GLSEN does amazing work, the Trevor Project is invaluable. But many LGBT youth can’t picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can’t imagine a future for themselves. So let’s show them what our lives are like, let’s show them what the future may hold in store for them.<\/p>\n

The video my husband and I made is up now\u2014all by itself. I’d like to add submissions from other gay and lesbian adults\u2014singles and couples, with kids or without, established in careers or just starting out, urban and rural, of all races and religious backgrounds. (Go to www.youtube.com\/itgetsbetterproject<\/a> to find instructions for submitting your video.) If you’re gay or lesbian or bi or trans and you’ve ever read about a kid like Billy Lucas and thought, “Fuck, I wish I could’ve told him that it gets better<\/em>,” this is your chance. We can’t help Billy, but there are lots of other Billys out there\u2014other despairing LGBT kids who are being bullied and harassed, kids who don’t think they have a future\u2014and we can help them<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

They need to know that it gets better. Submit a video. Give them hope.<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Source:<\/span> https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/<\/a>)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dan Savage: It gets better From the introduction of the “It gets better” video project: Another gay teenager in another small town has killed himself\u2014hope you’re pleased with yourselves, Tony Perkins and all the other “Christians” out there who oppose anti-bullying programs (and give actual Christians a bad name). Billy Lucas was just 15 when …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"loftocean_post_format_gallery":"","loftocean_post_format_gallery_ids":"","loftocean_post_format_gallery_urls":"","loftocean_post_format_video_id":0,"loftocean_post_format_video_url":"","loftocean_post_format_video_type":"","loftocean_post_format_video":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_type":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_url":"","loftocean_post_format_audio_id":0,"loftocean_post_format_audio":"","loftocean-featured-post":"","loftocean-like-count":0,"loftocean-view-count":983,"loftocean_coauthors":"","alpaca_post_content_reading_setting":"","alpaca_reading_speed_per_minute":0,"alpaca_reading_speed_unit":"","alpaca_single_post_template_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[353,6,1261],"class_list":["post-4604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bullying","tag-human-rights","tag-lgbtq","post_format-post-format-video"],"yoast_head":"\n- The Research Papers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theresearchpapers.org\/archive\/dan-savage-it-gets-better-from-the-introduction\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"- The Research Papers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dan Savage: It gets better From the introduction of the “It gets better” video project: Another gay teenager in another small town has killed himself\u2014hope you’re pleased with yourselves, Tony Perkins and all the other “Christians” out there who oppose anti-bullying programs (and give actual Christians a bad name). 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