EDITORS NOTE: Our friends in the NOH8 (http://www.facebook.com/pages/NOH8-Campaign/123679657677353?ref=ts) stated that there were a few suicides of gay, bi and trans teens due to harassment and bullying this past month. ITP also states, stay strong, check your head and think nothing of going to your local psych ward, and report all cases of bullying to police as all both gay and straight need to unite against cowardly bullying. If you see something, do something, don't let these bullies get away with hate crimes. Believe me, with love, compassion, tolerance and respect, it gets waay better..
Canadian female nu metal band KITTIE have made a statement against bullying and gay bashing.
FROM KITTIE and BLABBERMOUTH.NET:
Drummer Mercedes Lander of the Canadian all-girl metal band KITTIE has released a video message (see below) in response to reports of several suicides in recent weeks by young gay teenagers who had been harassed by classmates, both in person and online. A transcript of her message follow below.
"I just wanted to talk to you guys about something super-important to us in the band.
"Recently I've been reading on [gosip web site] Perez Hilton, because I'm such a big Perez Hilton fan, about the recent teen suicides. It's definitely been a big shock to everyone. So I figured I would reach out for the metal community , 'cause nobody has stepped up. 'Cause we do have some of the best and the most amazing gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual fans in the universe. So I wanted to reach out to you guys for the metal community and just let you guys know that it does get better — a lot better. Trust me, trust me, trust me...
"Everybody's been in high school, everybody got made fun of. But I know it's especially hard for you guys because some of you guys aren't out of the closet or you haven't told your parents or what-not, but just so you guys know, it does get better. And if someone is bullying you or bashing you, just keep in mind that they're probably going through the exact same thing and don't know how to deal with their own feelings.
"To be honest with you, it's really upsetting to know that people are taking their lives because of this. I can't even put into words how upsetting it is. I know our fans, personally... I know you guys are all strong, proud, gay, lesbian, bisexual people.
"Just remember to be strong if you're getting bashed in high school, or at work... anywhere. Don't worry about it. At the end of the day, you are who you are, there is nothing that you can do about it except embrace yourself and just remember that it does get better. And when things are looking down, there is always a way up.
FROM AOL.COM NEWS:
n September, five teenage boys killed themselves after being physically or verbally (or both) assaulted for being gay. The suicides of Tyler Clementi, 18, Billy Lucas, 15, Asher Brown, 13, Justin Aaberg, 15, and Seth Walsh, 13, have brought national attention to the epidemic of bullying in American schools.
Now, a number of stars, many of whom have personal experience with anti-gay bullying, are speaking out in hopes of raising awareness and providing support to teens and young adults who are being victimized or who are having trouble dealing with their sexuality. The topic is also addressed in a cover story for this week's PEOPLE magazine and in a week-long series on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360.
Most recently, 'Project Runway' mentor Tim Gunn spoke candidly about his own suicide attempt and his support for The Trevor Project, a national 24-hour, toll-free confidential suicide hotline for gay and questioning youth. "I understand the desperation. I understand the despair," an emotional Gunn said with tears in his eyes. "And I understand how isolated you can feel ... It will get better. I promise."
Following Billy Lucas' death, well-known columnist and author Dan Savage launched the "It Gets Better" campaign – a series of user-created YouTube videos in which gay adults openly discuss the torment they incurred in high school and encourage GLBT youth to stick it out because "it gets better." Clementi's death has inspired an overwhelming response to the campaign, which has since been flooded with videos from men and women across the world sharing their stories.
"When a gay teenager commits suicide, it's because he can't picture a life for himself that's filled with joy and family and pleasure and is worth sticking around for," Savage told MTV a week after Clementi's death. "So I felt it was really important that, as gay adults, we show them that our lives are good and happy and healthy and that there's a life worth sticking around for after high school."
Savage's "It Gets Better" message has seemingly become the rallying cry around which a movement against anti-gay bullying has centered, with Anne Hathaway, Jenny McCarthy, Ian Somerhalder and Kristin Cavallari recording a PSA for The Trevor Project that uses the motto. 'Harry Potter' star Daniel Radcliffe also recently spoke to MTV about the importance of the Trevor Project.
TV stars Ellen DeGeneres and Neil Patrick Harris have also spoken out against anti-gay bullying. "This needs to be a wake up call to everyone ... One life lost in this senseless way is tragic; four lives lost is a crisis," DeGeneres said in an emotional message taped on the set of her daytime talk show. "My heart is breaking for their families, for their friends and for our society that continues to let this happen. These kids needed us, and we have an obligation to change this. We can't let intolerance and ignorance to take another kid's life."
Harris, who is openly gay and will welcome twins via surrogate with his partner of over six years, actor David Burtka, this fall, pleaded with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth to focus on their futures, which he sees as bright and full of possibility. "For the love of Pete, there's no need to harm yourself if something is going bad. You can act with strength, you can act with courage, you can act with class," Harris said in the MTV PSA. "Stand tall, be proud of who you are. This is a good time that we live in, and we're being granted more and more rights. And that's awesome, and it will continue in that direction. Yeah – be proud."
Clementi, a freshman at Rutgers University, jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge after his roommate, Dharun Ravi, 18, allegedly used a web cam in their dorm room to secretly stream a romantic encounter between Clementi and another man. Ravi's alleged behavior inspired disgust from conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly, who, when responding to analyst Gretchen Carlson's assertion on FOX News' 'The O'Reilly Factor' that Ravi and his accomplice, Molly Wei, 18, "are probably good kids who did an immensely stupid thing," said, "I don't believe that. I don't think you can be a good kid and plan that kind of stuff out in the cruel nature that they did ... I think they're bad kids. They're bad kids, and they should have been raised better."
Comedienne Sarah Silverman has inspired some controversy by positing that a national atmosphere of institutionalized homophobia, as exemplified by the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy as well as campaigns for constitutional amendments to ban civil marriage for same-sex couples, are at the heart of this epidemic.
(Warning: Explicit Language)
And former NSYNC singer Lance Bass, who came out as gay on the cover of PEOPLE in 2006, surprised many when he admitted to having been a bully himself. "If people can look at me and see that I was one of those bullies that always made fun of gay people, and I had this huge secret, so there's always a bigger story than what you see."
MTV Shows
What has been made abundantly clear -- regardless of personal opinions on the religious and/or moral implications of homosexuality -- is that there is a problem, and no child (no person) deserves to be harassed or made to feel worthless because of who they are. If you or someone you know is suffering in silence, encourage them to get help by visiting The Trevor Project or calling 866-4-U-TREVOR.
"Anyway... I hope that this video starts maybe a chain reaction within the metal community because I really do feel us as a community need to embrace everyone, no matter what your gender or sexual preference are."
FROM ROB HALFORD AND JUDAS PRIEST:
In a brand new interview with About.com, JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford was asked about the recent string of highly publicized suicides by gay teenagers and what he thinks can be done to help prevent them. "I think, more than anything, it's a picture of the way life is," Halford replied. "You have all this sexting going on, and cyberbullying going on. It's absolutely heartbreaking when people are driven to the point where they are taking their own lives.
"I'm pleased that talented people like Ellen Degeneres and Neil Patrick Harris are speaking out. They are far more articulate than I am.
"The most imporant thing is to show the love and support that is out there for everybody, whether you're being bullied or not. It's important to look after each other and to nurture each other, especially in your school years.
"I saw bullying when I was a kid growing up in school. It has always been there.
"It's a very peculiar thing.
"It's a shame that it takes horrible tragedies like this to bring the spotlight back on. It has to stay there now. It can't just fizzle out in a couple weeks, like things tend to do in the media.
"Programs need to be installed in schools, or reinforced. Parents need to keep an eye on their kids a little bit more. The social interaction that's available 24 hours a day has to be utilized in a strong, educating, promotional way to let people who are going through those periods of their lives know that there's always somebody you can talk to.
"Don't feel alone. There's a way we can help each other get through these types of difficulties."
Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-GAY PRIDE-\m/ -l-
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