Tuesday, September 20

Happier News--DADT Is History!


The Don't Ask, Don't Tell law was officially over starting today!  Gays and lesbians can now serve openly in the U.S. Military.  Below is a video I saw posted on the Maybe It's Just Me blog.  It shows a soldier calling his dad to tell him he is gay.  It brought back memories of my own coming out.  What is even more interesting (and amazing in a good way)  is that at the end, he tells his dad that everyone he serves with knows he is gay and it is not a problem.

14-Year-Old Bullying Victim Dead-Had Made "It Gets Better" Video

I saw the following story on the Joe. My. God. blog.  It is unbelievably sad, but it needs to be told. 

Heartbroken Buffalo, NY, parents Tracy and Tim Rodemeyer say they found their 14 year-old son Jamey dead yesterday morning in a presumed suicide. Jamey had long complained of vicious homophobic bullying at the hands of his classmates.

Jamey Rodemeyer needed help. At 14, he was grappling with adolescent demons that could torment grown men. And when he was online, he wrote about it. "I always say how bullied I am, but no one listens," he wrote Sept. 9. "What do I have to do so people will listen to me?" Just over one week later, Jamey was found dead outside his home of an apparent suicide. In the months prior, he routinely blogged about school bullying and thoughts of suicide in between upbeat posts about his pop star idol Lady Gaga and the ordinary types of teen rants typical for kids his age. On Sept. 8, he wrote: "No one in my school cares about preventing suicide, while you're the ones calling me [gay slur] and tearing me down."
Much of Jamey's tormenting came via cyber-bullying. His parents, who say they discussed and supported Jamey's questioning of his sexuality, intend to carry on his campaign against bullies.

VIDEO: Jamey actually recorded an "It Gets Better" clip back in May.