I hope most of you have heard that tomorrow Weds, October 20th has been named spirit day to show support to the families and also take time to remember Tyler Clementi, Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase and Billy Lucas, the six gay teens that committed suicide recently. Many organizations and media sources have come out to support this day. Some of these media outlets include GLAAD, The Advocate Magazine, It Gets Better Campaign, Love is Louder, and several others. There is even a group on Facebook dedicated to the movement. I personally plan to to wear purple tomorrow. I believe all people regardless of their sexual orientation should take part in this tomorrow. This is not just for gay people. This is for anyone who believes that people should not be treated differently just because of the way they were born. I obviously think this stems even further than the gay community, but issues at hand I suppose. If you wish to know more about tomorrow and what you can do to show support visit the following link and also do not forget to check out the links on the right regularly for info on what you can do to help the community.
http://www.glaad.org/spiritday
The Trevor Project is an American non-profit organization that operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. The Trevor Helpline, a toll-free number, is a confidential service that offers trained counselors. The Trevor Project also provides guidance and vital resources to parents and educators in order to foster safe, accepting and inclusive environments for all youth, at home and at school. If you or someone you know has had or is having thoughts of suicide please refer them to this organization. You can reach one of their trained counselors by calling 1-866-4-U-Trevor (1.866.488.7386)
My name is Andrew. I am 26 and gay. I am starting this blog as a forum to not only express my own thoughts and Ideas, but also for others to express their own. In the last 3 weeks their has been 5 suicides of gay teens. This is unacceptable. As my friend Sam Stansell said,
"I think this country is sad. All of this discrimination, basically, becasue of Love. WHO you love. This needs to stop. There are way too many close minded, ignorant people out there. Hopefully one day they will wake up. I am NO different than anyone else. Who i sleep with, is MY personal choice. And I refuse to be something I am not to pacify these ignorant bigots. I feel terrible for the familys of these kids. It just shouldnt have happened. Not in America."
I couldn't agree more with this statement. I hope this can be a wakeup call to America. Homosexuality is not a choice. We cannot change who we are...just hide it. My heart breaks for those who are struggling with their sexuality. It hasn't been too long since I had my own struggle. I was lucky that enough people loved and cared about me that when I finally did come "out of the closest" I was relatively welcomed out. My parents still do not take it well, but they are getting better. They are learning to live with it. I hope one day they will come to their senses and realize what I have been saying all this time.
Another goal of this blog is to help educate myself and subsequently any readers on what is going on in the GLBTQ world. Ignorance is no excuse for lack of action. Elections are coming and I plan to do what I can in my state to make sure more and more GLBTQ sympathizers are elected.
I am lucky that I live in a state that has stated barring gays from marriage is unconstitutional, but not everyone is so lucky. Even now Iowa, my home state, has groups wishing to amend our constitution to overturn that decision. I am going to do all that I can...will you?
I know this blog is a bit scattered, but I have a lot of ideas that I wanted to get out.
