Every time we lose another LGBT teen to bullycide, we suffer another setback in our efforts to end this malignancy plaguing the LGBT community. Phillip Parker, 14, ended his young life last week after enduring bullying over a period of time at his Gordonsville, Tennessee high school. Tennessee is also the state where Jacob Rogers succumbed to bullycide in early December and the same state that I wrote about, here, earlier in the month. You may recall that Tennessee lawmakers are trying to pass a bill that will allow bullying as long as it is for religious, philosophical, or political beliefs. We're not going to let that happen. A petition needs to be up within the next 24 hours to present to the Tennessee legislation letting them know that we will no accept them sanctioning bullying against LGBT teens.
According to the news report, Phillip's family had gone to the school administrators numerous times to report that he was being bullied. Nothing changed. No, I'm wrong. Things DID change. Things actually got worse for him. The bullying increased. Finally, he'd had enough.
Knowing about these tragedies isn't nearly enough. What's needed is a continued concerted effort of many people, loudly and strongly stating the message that "We're mad as Hell, and we're NOT gonna take it anymore!" Every state legislature needs to be heavily petitioned until there are very strongly-worded laws on the books that will protect EVERY teen from the horrors of bullying. The penalties for bullying needs to be harsh. After all, the penalties against the families and friends of those who take their own lives because of bullying are as harsh as it gets. Further, school systems need to be penalized heavily for failure to a.) provide each student with a safe learning environment; and, b.) act upon complaints of bullying. No way should they be allowed a free pass when a family losses their loved ones.
It goes without saying that our deepest sympathies and heart-felt prayers go out to the family and friends of 14-year-old Phillip Parker. May you find peace in Paradise.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Online Support Groups: "You've Gotta Give 'Em Hope"
All over the World Wide Web and, in particular, within the 800,000,000+ community of facebook, there are people banding together like never before in an effort to exact change in our society. More specifically, these people, groups, and communities, are working feverishly to build a better world for the LGBT community. From working towards equality for all people, gay or straight, black or white, to dealing with the issue of bullying, to helping people young and not-so-young come out of the closet, we’re witnessing a lot of great things unfold right before our eyes.
There are some groups, led by some dynamic and driven people, that are leading the way for all of us. At the head of that class would have to be Kevin O’Neil’s creation, Wipeout Homophobia on Facebook. I became part of that community in October of last year, right as it was in the middle of “going viral”. From the membership of slightly under 100,000 when I joined, it has burgeoned to close to 300,000. In less than 3 months! That says that something really good is going on there. Says Kevin, or “Kel” as we know him, many of the people who post comments in the community wall thanks him, and Wipeout Homophobia on Facebook, for “giving me strength to go on”. People, young and old, growing from the support of knowing that such a positive and powerful group of people, gay and straight alike, from all over the world is there for them, giving them strength. And, the community is constantly growing by large numbers!
The Equality Mantra is a group that was started with the mission of glorifying "...the marvelous diversity of humanity while believing, fundamentally, that we're all the same." There, they share stories, pictures, valuable information. Most of all, they share love.
ABC: Anti-Bullying Coalition is one of my personal favorites. That's because bullying is a subject that's very critical to me. In their own words:
I recently did an entry on Charity Smith and her brilliant creation, Project: OUT. This is a project that is helping so many LGBT people, young and not-so-young, with their coming out process. For those who don't already know, the coming out process can be quite traumatic. We've lost too many teens to traumatic coming out processes, with the latest being 19-year-old- EricJames Borges. Here, they can do so anonymously which can be extremely therapeutic.
And, then there's Lyndsay Winegarden's gem of a group, STOP Teenage Suicide. I love this one so much. I did an entry on Lyndsay and her page, as well. She's a remarkable, very courageous lady who is doing great work in the area of trying to bring an end to teen suicide. That's my mission, as well.
That's just a handful of online resources that are paving the way to a much brighter, healthier, and safer world, not only for the LGBT community exclusively, but for all people. As the great people at The Equality Mantra put it:
ABC: Anti-Bullying Coalition is one of my personal favorites. That's because bullying is a subject that's very critical to me. In their own words:
We are passionate about implementing pro-active anti-bullying solutions into our school system and as far around the world as we can grow! We have found such need in our community to advocate for families as well as help change the belief that "kids will be kids" and "it makes them stronger" with the knowledge that even one bullying episode can have life long negative effects. And although our program is currently focused on school time bullying, we hope to spread the word; bullying is a personality and it spans all ages and crosses all boundaries; race, religion, size, gender, socioeconomic status, educational level, sexual orientation and does not stop in High School but continues on to the workplace, retirement homes, private clubs, organizations, it's everywhere. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support! Share the word!They've got the right message. Their work is helping many people.
I recently did an entry on Charity Smith and her brilliant creation, Project: OUT. This is a project that is helping so many LGBT people, young and not-so-young, with their coming out process. For those who don't already know, the coming out process can be quite traumatic. We've lost too many teens to traumatic coming out processes, with the latest being 19-year-old- EricJames Borges. Here, they can do so anonymously which can be extremely therapeutic.
And, then there's Lyndsay Winegarden's gem of a group, STOP Teenage Suicide. I love this one so much. I did an entry on Lyndsay and her page, as well. She's a remarkable, very courageous lady who is doing great work in the area of trying to bring an end to teen suicide. That's my mission, as well.
That's just a handful of online resources that are paving the way to a much brighter, healthier, and safer world, not only for the LGBT community exclusively, but for all people. As the great people at The Equality Mantra put it:
"We all bleed red when pricked. We all cry salty tears. We are all the same. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."That's the general theme of all of us as we band together to make a difference. The great news is there's always room for more dedicated people.
"If you "like" marriage equality...if you're encouraged by the six states that have passed marriage equality, and hope the other 44 will SOON follow suit...if you long for equality across the colors to be a reality...if you dream of the day when what we look like, how we worship, where we come from, and who we love are issues that no longer have a seat at the table...if you model love and compassion, and hope to make the world a little bit better by caring and sharing, rather than by denigrating and tearing down...please join [us], and suggest that your friends join. Share your stories, your pictures. Share yourselves. Share the love."
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