Lots of gay stuff on my Facebook today.
The really great news is that Tasmania is going to now recognize gay marriage. You can't actually get married in Tasmania (or anywhere else in Australia). But if you get married overseas, the Tasmanian government will recognize your marriage. That's pretty awesome. We're on a good path. It's funny that we have to take these small steps instead of one great leap. But that's fine. I think we'll get there eventually.
My cousin (sister of the sort-of Australian one) posted some not-so-happy news. Apparently, there's been some gay teenagers committing suicide because they've been bullied. It's hard enough to be a teenager period. If you're a gay kid living amongst small-minded bigoted monsters....it's ten times worse. I don't look down at the ones who have committed suicide. I look up with amazement at the ones who haven't. To me....they're heroes.
Ellen Degeneres has a heartfelt message about the suicides. Hopefully it reaches some of the right people. Maybe it will make some bullies think twice about what they're doing. Probably not. But maybe it WILL encourage bystanders to step in and stick up for the victim rather than cheering on the bully. And maybe it will encourage some teenagers to hang in there.
My cousin posted the Degeneres video on YouTube, and she also posted this video. It has two happily-together men talking about their earlier bad experiences. High School was hell for them. They were bullied. The school administration refused to do anything to help them. Then they finally left high school, and their life improved. They have the attitude of just tough it out. That's good advice. I might want to add....How about just skipping the whole school thing?! But I don't know if it's a just-school thing. If they don't go to school, they might get bullied by neighbors and kids in their homeschooling club.
Anyway, the whole message of the video (and the actual title) is It Gets Better. One story in the video that illustrates that is one of the guys talks about coming out to his parents. His mother told him she NEVER wants to meet any of his boyfriends. But later in life, she told her son that his partner was like a daughter to him. I love that. I love that people can change for the better. It gives me hope. I love having hope.
The really great news is that Tasmania is going to now recognize gay marriage. You can't actually get married in Tasmania (or anywhere else in Australia). But if you get married overseas, the Tasmanian government will recognize your marriage. That's pretty awesome. We're on a good path. It's funny that we have to take these small steps instead of one great leap. But that's fine. I think we'll get there eventually.
My cousin (sister of the sort-of Australian one) posted some not-so-happy news. Apparently, there's been some gay teenagers committing suicide because they've been bullied. It's hard enough to be a teenager period. If you're a gay kid living amongst small-minded bigoted monsters....it's ten times worse. I don't look down at the ones who have committed suicide. I look up with amazement at the ones who haven't. To me....they're heroes.
Ellen Degeneres has a heartfelt message about the suicides. Hopefully it reaches some of the right people. Maybe it will make some bullies think twice about what they're doing. Probably not. But maybe it WILL encourage bystanders to step in and stick up for the victim rather than cheering on the bully. And maybe it will encourage some teenagers to hang in there.
My cousin posted the Degeneres video on YouTube, and she also posted this video. It has two happily-together men talking about their earlier bad experiences. High School was hell for them. They were bullied. The school administration refused to do anything to help them. Then they finally left high school, and their life improved. They have the attitude of just tough it out. That's good advice. I might want to add....How about just skipping the whole school thing?! But I don't know if it's a just-school thing. If they don't go to school, they might get bullied by neighbors and kids in their homeschooling club.
Anyway, the whole message of the video (and the actual title) is It Gets Better. One story in the video that illustrates that is one of the guys talks about coming out to his parents. His mother told him she NEVER wants to meet any of his boyfriends. But later in life, she told her son that his partner was like a daughter to him. I love that. I love that people can change for the better. It gives me hope. I love having hope.
