I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better.
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—or from ever coming out—by depriving them of information, resources, and positive role models.
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. We can reach these kids.
The It Gets Better Project was started by Dan Savage in response to the news that one more gay teen saw suicide as the only way to stop having to endure harassment in school. The project asks adults to submit videos talking about how "it got better" for them.
Thanks for keeping this out there. The only way I could have kids protected in public school was to bring in the ACLU.
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