It gets better. ♥

[meitachi]

Sex advice columnist and gay rights activist Dan Savage began the "It Gets Better Project" after hearing of the September suicide of 15-year-old Billy Lucas in Greensburg, Ind. Bullies tormented him with gay slurs.

Only weeks later, the country was shocked when Rutgers student Tyler Clementi jumped off a bridge after classmates webcast a video of his romantic interlude with another man.

"I wish I could have talked to that kid for 5 minutes," Savage told me of yet another case. "And been able to tell them it gets better."

--Dan Savage: Gay Teens Need to Know it Gets Better @ Huffington Post

★ What is this about?
★ It Gets Better Project
★ The Youtube channel
★ The Trevor Project

ETA: So I can't say I am all that charmed by Dan Savage as a person, but I still respect this project and hope it brings more awareness (and needed action and change) to the problems surrounding bullying of gay kids. And if the videos might make an impression on even just one gay kid who is struggling, save just one life - ♥.

ETA 2: All this said (I wept at so many of the videos, at the stories, at the bravery--), this post does a really great job at breaking down some of the problems with this project, in that it is classist, in that it tells people their hardships are "just a phase", more or less, and in that it is ignoring each individual kid's situation and focusing instead on the people who already made it through. I love this post because it voiced a lot of niggling issues I had unformed in the back of my mind that I ignored when I was swept away by the emotion in the videos. I feel like I should disclaim every post that I am always, always learning and I really truly value that.

Comments

[jibrailis.livejournal.com]

I'm not always a huge fan of Dan Savage, but ♥.

[meiface.livejournal.com]

I really don't know enough about him to comment either way, but I am really glad at least about the It Gets Better project raising awareness. ♥

[meiface.livejournal.com]

Oh I still cry. ;_;

[herocountry.livejournal.com]

i'm really not a fan of dan savage, and i have problems with the limitations of the 'it gets better' project, but i do believe that at its core it means only the best, and i'm thankful to all these people who are willing and brave enough to share their stories

[meiface.livejournal.com]

I know that making a public statement of support and encouragement is never going to be enough if more isn't done to address the underlying problems that have caused the bullying or suicides - but at the same time, the project is still raising awareness and who knows just who might be helped by one of these messages and stories (and I can't imagine the bravery it takes to make something so personal into something public). Call me an optimist, I guess, but I hope that with the celebrity attention the project's gotten, it will be able to do something good and something useful. Or maybe call me a defeatist, because I think anything is better than nothing. :/

(I can't speak about Dan Savage in any role other than as the creator of this project.)

(come talk to me on msn about these things ♥)

[herocountry.livejournal.com]

yeah i think it's incredible that the project has reached these levels of publicity, but i wish that 'anything is better than nothing' didn't transist so often until 'just this is enough', you know? maybe i'm being idealistic in that i wish the project had expanded as it gained popularity. i mean i'm in no way trying to belittle the efforts of the people who did do this project, and i'm really not talking about the people at all or wishing they as individuals had done more or something, but but i don't think the project is invulnerable to criticism and i wish--i mean i absolutely believe this probably did help some kids out there, but i wish that there was a more vocal addressing of the kids that the project leaves out :( BASICALLY I FEEL LIKE PEOPLE TREAT THIS PROJECT AS THE BE-ALL-END-ALL AND IT MAKES ME :/

:( :( :( LIFE

[herocountry.livejournal.com]

*transist so often into

[meiface.livejournal.com]

Oh I definitely agree - I love this project a little bit because it's gotten so much attention and it makes me hopeful that that means more people are learning, more people are figuring out what's okay, what's not okay, more people are wondering what the hell are these even people talking about and maybe actually finding out--

But at the same time it is far from the easy end-all solution to the real problems that continue to exist. And glorifying the project rather than its goals or any other work being done right now will really not help the kids in need at the end.

I worry about myself a lot of times too, and try to check and make sure I'm not just talking a good talk or wearing purple on the right days, because it's easy too make the token gestures (and I do think they're better than nothing) but they amount to so very little if I don't follow through.

BUT ILU for the way you help keep me in check and keep me thinking too ♥

[regicidaldwarf.livejournal.com]

Shit. My throat is closed tight right now and my eyes are stinging. I don't think I can function properly for a little while now.

[meiface.livejournal.com]

His bravery is unquestionable and I really think he's reached a lot of people - not just gay kids but allies, people who might not have known or paid as much attention to these things before. I do love this video.

That said, please do take a look at the link I just added in ETA 2 because that opened up a new realm of thinky thoughts for me. Nothing is black and white.

[regicidaldwarf.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've read those caveats before. Doesn't change the emotional impact of the video though.

[meiface.livejournal.com]

Agreed, it chokes me up (what am I saying, it makes me weep) every time. ♥

[livingtea.livejournal.com]

BD wong's it gets better video is so lovely and full of joy.

[meiface.livejournal.com]

aldkghdj oh man. basically all of these make me a little ;__;! thanks for sharing this! it is always really cool for me to see asians get involved/speak up.