There's also a project on YouTube that's been going on since September, the It Gets Better Project, where dozens of celebrities have made videos telling LBGT youth that life gets better, that getting bullied right now sucks, but it's not worth killing yourself because as you get older, as the world becomes more accepting, and as you come into who you are and become proud of it, life does get better. I think it's part of or associated with The Trevor Project (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trevor_Project), which is also just amazing.
These projects are beautiful and awesome, and some of the videos in the It Gets Better project made me choke up a little, but the fact that they have to exist is sickening. The fact that children are killing themselves because their peers are so close-minded is just awful.
This subject makes me so angry. The people who say being gay is a choice, the people who don't want gays in the military or to be able to marry or adopt children, it's all just so frustrating. There are some things I'd like to say to those people:
First of all, IT IS NOT A CHOICE, YOU IDIOTS. Did you ever CHOOSE to be straight? When were you offered this choice? Birth? How can a baby make such an important decision? And I was never offered the choice - maybe I would have liked to be gay. God knows there are some things I would have liked to change, had I known we got a CHOICE. Were you also offered a choice on skin color, religion, gender? And why in the WORLD, with people like you walking around passing judgment on others for things they can't help, WHY would ANYONE choose to be gay? Or black? Or speak any other language besides English? With people like you making everyone who isn't JUST LIKE YOU feel like an abomination that doesn't deserve to be alive, WHY would anyone choose anything else? Also, sidebar - someone explain to me where the "God doesn't make mistakes" line of thought comes in.
Secondly, SHUT THE EFF UP ABOUT GAYS IN THE MILITARY, OH MY GOD. Seriously, there are people willing to go and die for their country, and you're going to tell them they can't? WHY? What could you POSSIBLY have to lose? I thought being in the military was just about the best thing an American could do, and here you guys are not letting everyone play. That's not fair. Women are allowed. Blacks are allowed. Asians are allowed. People not even from this COUNTRY are allowed, so why not gays? Woman isn't catching, and as far as I know neither are black, Asian, or foreign, so why are you so afraid that people will "turn" gay? Furthermore, what does being gay have to do with your ability to hold a gun, fly a plane, and drive a tank? The more people willingly signing up for war, the less likely your perfect straight-as-an-arrow sons will be drafted. Isn't this a good thing? Or do you just want to keep the glory of being in the military away from the gays? That's pretty selfish. =/
Third, Neil Patrick Harris and his boyfriend of like, five years, David Burtka, just adopted twins:
Look at these two. Just LOOK at them, and tell me that they shouldn't be allowed to be married, to be parents, to be IN LOVE. Look. Look at all the cute:
How can they possibly be wrong? :D <3 And there is just no argument about the babies turning out gay - I'm pretty sure NPH's parents aren't a gay couple. I don't think David's are either, actually. Hmm. How strange. I don't think Ellen DeGeneres was raised by two gay parents either, nor was her wife, Portia De Rossi. This is so weird! It's almost like the parents' sexualities make no difference on a child's sexuality! So, if we assume this is true, just, you know, based on all the evidence around us as seen in just about every single family in the world, then it simply CAN'T be true that gay parents would make a gay child! Wow. Learn something new every day, huh?
Seriously, though, it's just disgusting that there are people out there who treat their fellow human beings like this. In Sarah Silverman's It Gets Better video, she says that adults go around banning gay marriage and protesting adoption by gay couples and talking about gay people like they're the scum of the earth, and then they're all surprised when their children start bullying their gay peers. You're all shocked at the hatred and anger your children are expressing - WHERE DO YOU THINK THEY LEARNED IT? Why is it so bad to just let people be happy? Just let people love, whoever or whatever they want to love. How can it POSSIBLY hurt you if two men you don't know get married? What harm could POSSIBLY come to you and yours if two women decide to raise a child together? Do you really think that child will turn out any worse than your 14-year-old-daughter's kid?
I am so tired of hearing about these idiots. Listen, if there are any gay kids out there who happened upon this blog (thanks for reading, btw :D), pay attention: THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT HERE WHO LOVE YOU. There are people ON YOUR SIDE. There are people willing to fight for you, who've never met you but want you to be happy anyway, who never want to see you go through this pain. There are people you can talk to. Please, please, if you're a gay kid or teen being bullied at school, please don't hurt yourself. There are so many things out here to live for. And there's so much you could do. Please don't give up.
Personally, I am not homosexual, but inside, I am as close to a gay man as a woman can get. XD Many, many of my friends are LGBTs (is that a term? I guess it is now.), including one of my very best friends in the world. He is amazing and beautiful, and being gay is only a part of who he is, but without that part, he just wouldn't be the same glorious person. :D And neither would you. One of my other gay friends in high school once wore a dress to a football game, no joke. It was hilarious, and amazing, and he's just that kind of person. He actually dated my bff, and they were one of the only (possibly THE only) openly gay couples, and no one seemed to have an issue with it. And I live in South Carolina, y'all. =/
My point here is this: a) gay people are people, plain and simple; b) people who hate gays are stupid jerks and they make me sad and angry; c) The Trevor Project and It Gets Better are terrific projects and it makes me feel a little better seeing all the people who DO care; and d) if you are a gay teen being bullied, or, actually, ANYONE of ANY AGE being bullied and hurt, don't stand for it! And don't let them get you down! Talk to someone, tell on them, call the effing cops if you have to. Show them how much stronger you are than their close-minded words, and if they hurt you physically, I'm serious - go to the principal or even the police and get some help. And please, before you think about hurting yourself or someone else, please talk to someone. There are people who will listen, and people who care. Don't let the bullies win - if they keep winning, this world will never accept peoples' differences and we will all lose. =/
Go check out some of the It Gets Better videos on YouTube - Neil Patrick Harris's, Ellen's, and Sarah Silverman's are all good. Darren Hayes's (from Savage Garden) is good too, and YouTube's own Sassy Gay Friend made one as well. They are all pretty touching and emotional.
And here's the Trevor Project's site, where you can donate money, find helpful resources on suicide, and also find their suicide hotline number: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/
