Much has been written lately about the bullying of gay youth. I've read every word, since I once knew a gay youth who was bullied. Me.
But the stakes have been raised lately with a spate of suicides after such bullying. Along with millions of others, I was beyond saddened when I read about the Rutgers student who jumped off the George Washington Bridge after "friends" posted a secretly filmed webcam of him being intimate with another man.
What has happened since is nothing short of amazing, an outpouring of support for gay youth. Even President Obama has weighed in against bullying, using YouTube to get his message out. Good for him.
But perhaps the most poignant moment came when Fort Worth City Councilman Joel Burns broke down talking about his own childhood. And then he said what has become the mantra for young gays: "It gets better."
And it does.
Of course, if you had told me 50 years ago that I was going to write a column for a national newspaper — as an openly gay man in a long-term relationship, no less — I would have doubted your sanity.
Read complete report:
Challenges Of Growing Up Gay
October 14, 2010 – wbur.org Boston - NPR
“What, am I gonna teach them how to lie?”
Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin reveals he ‘cried like a baby’ after coming out
– November 2, 2010 – PinkNews.co.uk
Ricky Martin has told Oprah Winfrey about the moment he decided to announce he was gay.
The Puerto Rican star posted a message on his website declaring himself to be a “fortunate gay man” but says he broke down in tears afterwards.
He said: “When I realised, okay, I just pressed send, whoo… I was alone.
“I was in my studio alone for a minute. My assistant walked in and I just started crying like a little baby. I started crying.”
The 38-year-old said he decided to be open about his sexuality to set a good example to his twin sons, Valentine and Matteo, two.
He said: “I couldn’t take it anymore, it was too painful.
“But I guess the most important thing is my children… When I was holding them in my arms I was like, ‘What, am I gonna teach them how to lie?’ Whoa, that is my blessing right there. Then, when I was holding my children I said, ‘Okay, it’s time to tell the world’.”
Read more:
Ricky Martin cried 'like a baby' after revealing his sexuality
– November 2, 2010
CNN.com
Madonna Talks LGBT Teen Suicide and Bullying on 'Ellen': Video
- by Tracy E. Gilchris,
November 9. 2010 – SheWired.com
Madonna goes 'on a rampage' on Ellen's show
– November 9, 2010 –
USA TODAY.com
TEACH (Teens Educating And Confronting Homophobia).
- Portuguese business federation offering scholarships to eligible students,
- November 9, 2010 - InsideToronto.com
400,000 Anti-gay marriage DVDs - $1 million Nienstedt
“Minnesota Bishops on Gay Marriage”
October 29, 2010
- RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY PBS – video (NP)
Someday,
maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well considered and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of
all possible sins is the mutilation of a child’s spirit.”
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