It Gets Better comes to NOLA.

Last weekend I spent the better part of a morning on the It Gets Better project page, watching a lot of these videos. For those who don’t know about the campaign, check out Dan Savage’s column here -

Billy Lucas was just 15 when he hanged himself in a barn on his grandmother’s property. He reportedly endured intense bullying at the hands of his classmates—classmates who called him a fag and told him to kill himself. His mother found his body.

Nine out of 10 gay teenagers experience bullying and harassment at school, and gay teens are four times likelier to attempt suicide. Many LGBT kids who do kill themselves live in rural areas, exurbs, and suburban areas, places with no gay organizations or services for queer kids.

“My heart breaks for the pain and torment you went through, Billy Lucas,” a reader wrote after I posted about Billy Lucas to my blog. “I wish I could have told you that things get better.”

I had the same reaction: I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better.

But gay adults aren’t allowed to talk to these kids. Schools and churches don’t bring us in to talk to teenagers who are being bullied. Many of these kids have homophobic parents who believe that they can prevent their gay children from growing up to be gay—or from ever coming out—by depriving them of information, resources, and positive role models.

Why are we waiting for permission to talk to these kids? We have the ability to talk directly to them right now. We don’t have to wait for permission to let them know that it gets better. We can reach these kids.

So here’s what you can do, GBVWS: Make a video. Tell them it gets better.

I’m not LGBT, but I have close family and friends that are. One of my close friends in high school – who I now keep in touch with through Facebook – went through some gay bashing while we were in school together and I remember my fury, confusion, and sadness at his treatment. That was back in the early 90s. The fact that it is now over 15 years later and these queer kids are going through the same bigotry and hatred is saddening – and the fact that they felt that their only way out was suicide breaks my heart.

This weekend, the It Gets Better project is coming to New Orleans. This Saturday, there will be cameras set up on the patio of Cure on Freret Street from 5pm-7pm. Anyone is welcome to come and record their stories to be shared. Let’s all show these kids – either by telling our stories or giving our support – that suicide is not the answer, and that there’s so much more to live for. Let’s show them that it gets better.

For more details, visit the event’s Facebook page.

(originally seen both on New Orleans Metblogs and Blog of New Orleans)