Some Petitions You Should Know About

On October 17, 2011 at Unioto High School in Chillicothe, Ohio a 15yr old boy was attacked in class for being gay.  Though his identity has been kept anonymous, you can clearly see the teenager not only being beaten in his classroom but you can also see that there is no one trying to stop his attacker. 

The victim's mom, Rebecca, says this wasn't the first time her son was bullied for being gay. In fact, just two days before the beating, Rebecca's son posted a picture of himself on Facebook, and the boy who later beat him up commented that the picture was "the definition of a fag."

The Union-Scioto school district has an anti-bullying policy that protects for gender, race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, and disability -- but not sexual orientation or gender identity.  Thus resulting in the attacker receiving only three days suspension

 The incident took place last week at Unioto High School in Chillicothe, Ohio. In the video, there’s a skinny 15-year-old boy in a classroom full of students. A much bigger boy says something to him. The smaller boy tries to walk away, but the bigger boy punches him. First once. Then again. Then over and over while the smaller boy curls on the ground, writhing in pain....

"I covered myself, I shielded my body, and he just kept hitting me," the victim said later. "Nobody did anything [to help me]."

There is now a petition on Change.org demanding that the Union-Scioto school district enact an anti-bullying policy that will protect LGBT students to prevent future beatings like this one.  You can sign the petition and see the cell phone video of the attack at: http://www.change.org/petitions/bully-beats-up-gay-student-on-video-tell-ohio-school-district-to-protect-lgbt-students-from-assault


“It’s just too hard” wrote Jamie “I don’t want to wait 3 more years, this hurts too much. How do you even know it will get better? It’s not.” This was one of the last documented statements by Jamie Hubley, a gay youth from Ottawa, Canada, who took his life on Friday, October 14.

Whether the fact that he was bullied played a factor in his suicide or not is still unknown, it is obvious that "We need to come together as community leaders, educators and concerned citizens and stand up against this injustice. We cannot continue to take small steps to end these ongoing tragedies. Discrimination and bullying must stop and we must all speak up!"

Jamie's father, Allan Hubley, released a statement saying that his son was bullied in school and that his family believes it was a factor in his suicide. Refeering to a "Rainbow Club" that Jamie tried to start at his high school to promote acceptance of others, Allan Hubley said:

"The posters were torn down and he was called vicious names in the hallways and online... We will not say that the bullying was the only reason for James's decision to take his own life but it was definitely a factor...We hope from our tragedy others will become more active in stopping this cruelty towards children."

Its hard enough living as an outcast, no one should have to live in fear as well.  Find out more about the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/end-bullying-and-discrimination-in-our-schools

There is Hope

With all the tragedy that seems to surround gay and lesbian youth I wanted to let everyone know about some places they can go to get help.  Suicide should never be an option and if you feel like life has gotten to be too much to bear than please talk to someone.  Nothing is worth taking your life over. Nothing and no one.

The Trevor Project was actually created in 1998 by James Lecesne, Peggy Rajski, and Randy Stone after creating Trevor, a dramedy about Trevor, a gay thirteen-year-old boy who, when rejected by friends because of his sexuality, makes an attempt to take his life. The Trevor Lifeline was formed and it became the first nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for LGBTQ youth.  They also provide online support as well as resources for parents and educators.   Since then it has been supported by celebrities ranging from Neil Patrick Harris and Chris Colfer to Daniel Radcliffe and James Marsden.
The Trevor Lifeline is a nationwide, around the clock, toll free, confidential service with trained counselors that will listen without judgement.  866-4-U-TREVOR/(866-488-7386)
Ask Trevor is a online non-time sensitive, Question & Answer resource for young people with questions surrounding sexual orientation and gender identity. http://thetrevorproject.org/node/add/dear-trevor
TrevorChat is a free, confidential, secure online messaging service that provides live help through this website.  TrevorChat is only intended to assist those who are not at risk for suicide.  It's available on Fridays between the hours of 1:00 PM Pacific (4 PM Eastern) and 5:00 PM Pacific (7:00 PM Eastern).  There you can connect with a volunteer who can support you with your concerns and questions.
TrevorSpace is a social networking site for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth ages 13 through 24 and their friends and allies. http://trevorspace.org
The Trevor Project also provides resources and facts about how you can help someone you feel may be contemplating suicide as well as many ways to participate in the project from volunteering to donations ranging from $5.00 to $500.00
You can check out the Trevor Project and each of its services at http://www.thetrevorproject.org/

As many of you know there is an online campaign called the "It Gets Better Project" which has over 22,000 videos of hope and encouragement; many of them by celebrities such as True Blood's Ryan Kwanten and Chris Bauer to politician Jim Morgan and even the Tampa Bay Rays and the Phillies. For more information you can read our post about it It Gets Better Project or go to http://www.itgetsbetter.org/ and check it out for yourself.

The 'Stop Bullying: Speak Up' campaign is another project in which you can pledge to do your part by speaking out against bullies and to speak up when you suspect someone is being treated improperly. It has been endorsed by everyone from Anderson Cooper to Selena Gomez and even has CNN, Cartoon Network and Sports Illustrated involved. You can get a better idea about the pledge by visiting Stop Bullying: Speak Up or jump right in and take the pledge at http://facebook.com/stopbullyingspeakup The 'It Gets Better' campaign has a similar pledge on their site as well.

Teen contributor to 'It Gets Better Project' takes his own life

On Sunday Sept 18th 14yr old Jamey Rodemeyer committed suicide.  Jamey had been questioning his sexuality and was constantly harassed for it, not only in school but online as well. He was told things such as "JAMIE IS STUPID, GAY, FAT ANND UGLY. HE MUST DIE!” and “I wouldn't care if you died. No one would. So just do it :) It would make everyone WAY more happier!”
Despite all he was going through Jamey still tried to make the world better for other people going through the same difficulties.  He participated in the 'It Gets Better Project' his video reaching over 700,000 views.  Unfortunately for Jamey it did not get better and during Suicide Prevention Week (Sept. 4-10) he posted "No one in my school cares about preventing suicide, while you're the ones calling me [gay slur] and tearing me down."
"I always say how bullied I am, but no one listens, "What do I have to do so people will listen to me?"
Less than two weeks later he was found dead outside his New York home.  Police have decided to open a criminal investigation about the case and the Amherst Police Department's Special Victims Unit has said it will determine whether to charge some students with harassment, cyber-harassment or hate crimes. Police said three students in particular might have been involved.

When will we realize that despite our differences, no matter what they may be, that bullying just isnt an option anymore?  How many years will it take for us to stop seeing skin color, sexual prefence, religious views, etc.. and see the person underneath it all?  Are we just going to keep going in circles, because we were supposed to be better than this. One day when these ignorant kids grow up they're going lie awake in bed and realize the pain they've caused, old and alone they're going to realize that their hatered drove people to their death and I can promise that that will be worse than any punishment the law can dish out.  I know that I certainly wouldn't want to live with that on my shoulders, I can't imagine anyone would.


I leave you with Jamey's video and one final thought: If it were you being treated this way, or your sister/brother/best friend, would you stand by and watch them become so worn down and alone that the only option for them is to take their own life, or would you stand up and do something? 
http://www.youtube.com/user/itgetsbetterproject#p/f/13/-Pb1CaGMdWk
 

Recap Of God H8's

Here’s a recap of the way we feel about the video we posted earlier today. After watching the video again the only thing we can say that makes any sense is this. The people of The Westboro Baptist Church who made this video are uneducated and looking to create drama. They are more of a cult than they are a church. Obviously this is easy to see because they are trying to tell you how God feels. They’re telling you God hates all of these people when the bible clearly states that God hates no one. If anything “God H8’s” people who try to claim they know the thoughts of God and those who hurt people with their words. This is a “church” that is only looking to start drama because they have nothing better to do. If they were a real church they wouldn’t be wasting their time making childish videos with parody music and calling gay people “Fags” like a teenage bully. I only have a few things to the people who participated in this video. Get a life and get a clue. No one cares about your judgment and it’s not your place to be telling people what your uneducated minds think is right. Thanks for your effort on this dense and incorrect video. I’ll make sure to attend the Razzie’s when your video is chosen to win worst movie of the year. 

~A&L

GodH8's

I am truly disgusted.  I have so many things to say about this video that I don't even know where to start.  Instead I'll let you all decide for yourselves what to think and perhaps I will comment another day.




"The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him;"
Daniel 9:9 New International Version
Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

It Gets Better

http://www.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject

A video channel that provides support and encouragement to gay teens who face adversity, discrimination and bullying in high school.

Created by Dan Savage and his husband, each video will feature a role model sharing personal experiences that illustrate that life for gays and lesbians improves beyond high school.  He’s also soliciting videos from fans who want to provide support and encouragement to gay teens who face adversity, discrimination and bullying in high school.
This is their debut video:



~A&L

NIck Kelo

Most people haven't even heard about this but on Feb 23 Nick Kelo a 13 year old boy from Akron, Ohio, allegedly shot him self in his home due to gay bullying. He was picked on terribly because he switched from football to band in his school, so people thought he "must be gay." How does joining band make someone gay? His family assured the public that he was not gay and that he was just a 13year old having a hard time. His mother said this to a Queerty;

"As the mother of Nick, I am asking you to take this story down immediately. You have plagiarized the well written report by Kim in the Akron Beacon Journal, you misinterpreted facts and you have wrongly accused my son of being gay. I am outraged and horrified. As the daughter of a gay mother I know the struggles of the gay community well. I do not appreciate you using my son as a poster child for your cause, there are enough good honest gay people who need your help, my son was not one of them.
My son's death was a tragic accident the resulted from his frustration of repeated bullying, yes, but it goes back years and is related more to his intellectual gifts and abilities. He was in no way suicidal or depressed. He was too smart for that. He was frustrated and angry and made an impulsive 13 year old error in judgment which led to a tragic accident due to the report from the lab that shows no gun powder residue on his hands. My son was not gay, your story is inaccurate and you are doing a huge disservice to both him, the children in this school who are bullied still today and the gay community.
Please retract this story immediately."

He was spit on and picked on to a terrible degree and what i don't understand is why his story is so unheard to the public. We heard so much about the other stories like this but most people didn't even hear about Nick and it feels like he has been forgotten about. Nick Kelo is just as important as anyone of the other tragic cases of  bullying and he deserves to have his story told and not forgotten about. I would like Nick's mom to know that we are not saying or assuming that her son was gay in any form and believe her when she says he was not. But we feel his story is incredibly important and we just want people to know how terrible gay bullying is even when you're using it against someone who is not gay such as Nick Kelo. No one should feel as if they need to take their own life. So this is Nick's story and we hope all of you will read it and not misinterpret it into something it's not. 

At the tender age of 13, Nicholas Kelo Jr. knew what it was like to be relentlessly bullied. It may have been what persuaded him to pry open a safe inside his Rittman home and remove the gun that killed him.
Each night when Nick's mother, Jacqueline, left the University of Akron, where she worked in the political science department, she would call her son and chat on her way home. When she came through the door, he routinely welcomed her with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and carrots. But something was terribly wrong Feb. 23.
''I called at 6:30 and there was no answer,'' said the grieving mother, her voice fading. ''And I kept calling. There was no answer.''
When she arrived home, she found Nick near death from a gunshot wound, lying on the living room floor.
''Deep down in our hearts, this was not a child who would have planned to take his life,'' said the boy's father, Nicholas Sr. ''He may have been bullied to the point that he felt like he needed to protect himself.''

Now Nick's mother said that the gun went off by accident and that Kelo never really meant to commit suicide but we do not know if that is true or not. Either way he was picked on because others thought he was gay and it's not fair for anyone to be treated like that. So whether he was gay or not or whether he really meant to hurt himself or not, he should have not been treated the way he was and his death was absolutely tragic. I will not be posting links to any of the stories about him due to the sensitivity of his mother saying that what other websites are posting are untrue. We do not want to post anything false or tell a story that is taken out of context. We feel horrible for his family and we wish his mother and the rest of his family the best in this tragic time of their lives. 
A&L

Clint McCance apologizes and says he will resign from school board.

Clint McCance apology

Clint McCance apology part 2

What an absolutely pathetic apology! He isn’t sorry, he is just sorry he got caught! If he really didn’t believe in what he said then he wouldn’t have said it. I have no respect for his apology and I’m extremely grateful that he is resigning from the school board.  In this video he states that he is not the monster he’s been made out to be, wrong! I’d say anyone who makes such ignorant comments and says such awful heartrending things is a monster.

Though I’m truly upset he has made these comments I DO NOT commend the death threats he and his family have been getting. We are upset that he said he wanted people to take their lives and that he wanted people to die, so let’s not mock the fact that we don’t believe in such statements by sending him death threats and making basically that same mistake that he did. In my last post I stated that I wanted all people named Clint McCance to commit suicide and I didn’t mean that at all. As I’m sure most of you know I simply was trying to make a point by asking him how he would feel if it was said about him. None of us want anyone to commit suicide or feel bad because someone said something like that, and that is exactly the point I was trying to make. But looking back on the statement I wanted to clarify that up for everyone so that there was no chance of it being taken the wrong way.

Also the parents of Asher Brown one of the victims of suicide due to gay bullying were in these videos. I think that they dealt with McCance’s statements with grace and showed him much compassion. I feel just absolutely terrible for them. I can’t imagine having to go through something so traumatic and I wish the best for them!

Asher Brown

Board member of the Arkansas Department of Education makes anti-gay comments on facebook

Some of you may have heard about the Vice President of the Arkansas Department of Education (Clint McCance) writing anti-gay things on his facebook page. It is reported that he used the terms “queer” and “fag” throughout his post. He also said he wanted gay people to commit suicide and said he would disown his children if they were gay. He stated that he enjoys “the fact that gay people often give each other AIDS and die”

On “sprit day” a day were people wore purple in remembrance of the 5 who had committed suicide he reportedly wrote "Seriously they want me to wear purple because five queers committed suicide. The only way im wearin it for them is if they all commit suicide. I cant believe the people of this world have gotten this stupid. We are honoring the fact that they sinned and killed therselves because of their sin.” We’re trying to stop gay bullying yet we have a bully working in our own schools. How could the school board have over looked something like this when they were in the hiring process? His actions were just hateful and disgusting, and personally I hope he is fired from the board of education. He doesn’t deserve to have a job working with children when he could possibly be endangering them. Who knows how many of the gay students that he has harassed and bullied?

How could anyone even say that they would disown their children if they were gay. If he found out his children were gay would he tell them to go kill themselves? This man isn’t even fit to be a parent! He is teaching his children hate and anger towards gays and we have already seen how much trouble and hurt anti-gay bullying can cause. What if the roles were reversed and someone who was gay posted on their facebook that they wanted straight people to commit suicide? I’m sure that McCance would be furious and say that their actions were hurtful and childish.

It absolutely pains me to see gay bullying and it’s even worse when it comes from someone who is supposed to make teens feel safe. When he posted this was he hoping gay people would read it and go commit suicide? He thinks that being gay is a sin but isn’t saying hurtful things to try and make someone want to kill themselves a sin to? Hey McCance you’re not so peachy perfect yourself! If you can say these kinds of things and think you’re the one doing the right thing then you’re obviously mixed up and need a serious wakeup call!

As I said before I hope he is shunned from the school board and can never work in a school or anywhere that people might have feelings. He obviously has way to much fun trying to hurt them. And I’ll end this post flipping the roles just for you McCance, I want all guys named Clint McCance to commit suicide. How does it feel to hear that about you?