It Gets Better Project receives backing of US president amid concerns
over spate of gay American teenagers killing themselves
Dan Glaister in Los Angeles
Saturday October 23 2010
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/22/barack-obama-supports-gay-teenagers
Barack Obama has released a video to draw attention to the pressures
facing gay teenagers, lending his weight to a campaign that has
attracted more than 2,000 video contributions and 10m views on
YouTube.
The campaign, prompted by a spate of gay American teenagers killing
themselves in recent weeks, received the backing of the secretary of
state, Hillary Clinton, on Tuesday, when she posted her own two-minute
video.
In his video posting, the president draws parallels with his own
upbringing.
"I don't know what it's like to be picked on for being gay. But I do
know what it's like to grow up feeling that sometimes you don't belong
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=geyAFbSDPVk&feature=player_embedded" title="]," he says. "It's
tough.
"When you're teased or bullied it can seem like somehow you brought it
on yourself ? With time you're going to see that your differences are
a source of pride, a source of strength."
The release of the video comes at a sensitive time for the
administration as it challenges a Californian judge's decision to put
a halt to the US military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy [http://
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/21/dont-ask-dont-tell-us-appeals-court-stay"
title="">challenges a Californian judge's decision to put a halt to
the US military's "don't ask, don't tell] regarding gay servicemen and
women. A government appeal of that decision was granted by a court
this week, and the policy effectively remains in place.
However with midterm elections two weeks away, and the Democrats
facing significant losses, the administration needs to appease its
liberal base and defuse anger over what some see as a betrayal of an
election pledge to remove the restriction.
The president's video was welcomed by campaigners on the issue.
Charles Robbins, executive director of the Trevor Project, a 24-hour
helpline for gay youths at risk, said: "I'm pleased that the president
has spoken directly to youths, letting them know that they are not
alone, that they didn't do anything wrong and don't deserve to be
bullied. These are powerful words coming from the leader of the free
world."
The video was posted on the White House website and linked to the It
Gets Better Project [www.itgetsbetterproject.com" title="], launched
last month by the activist and writer Dan Savage. He was moved to
action after reading about 15-year-olds Justin Aaberg, of Minnesota,
and Billy Lucas, of Indiana, who killed themselves. Savage's initial
reaction, which he wrote about in his blog, was to wish he had been
able to talk to the boys to help them. But as an activist, he had
found it impossible to gain access to schools to address children
about sexuality and bullying.
Then he realised he didn't need permission, that he could sidestep
education authorities by creating a website where people could share
their experiences. On 21 September, Savage and his partner, Terry,
posted the first It Gets Better Project video, an eight-minute segment
in which the two revisit the bullying they were subjected to at
school. By the end of that week, 200 videos had been posted from
around the world. There are now plans for a Spanish-language site.
The videos feature diverse figures from politicians and pop stars to
celebrities, via bloggers, comedians [www.youtube.com/user/
itgetsbetterproject" title="], and the sort of bizarre array of people
that only the internet could bring together.
One of the most viewed is a 12-minute speech by Joel Burns [http://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax96cghOnY4&feature=player_embedded"
title="], a council member in Fort Worth, Texas, who tells a council
meeting about the recent suicides, his own experiences as a young
homosexual and the lack of support and intervention in schools.
"One day, when I was in the ninth grade I was cornered by some older
kids who roughed me up," Burns said. "They said that I was a faggot,
and that I should die and go to hell where I belonged."
Brittany Swope says she's not going to indulge in false optimism. "I'm
here to tell you that it's really hard. It's going to be really hard,
it may get harder before it gets easier. But I promise you that it
will get better [http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=rlI0ZHn9jlI&feature=player_embedded" title="]."
guardian.co.uk Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2010
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