Thanks to a glut of media coverage, everyone and their mom has heard about It Gets Better, a YouTube campaign that sends heartfelt messages of positivity and encouragement to turmoiled LGBT folk that might be contemplating suicide. Sex advice columnist Dan Savage was inspired to start the project after hearing about a spat of gay teen suicides.
A lot of people who submitted video have said similar things, but not many of the have been said in city council by politicians. We know 12 minutes and 55 seconds is a long time in Internet-land, but spare the time to watch Fort Worth, Tex., Councilman Joel Burns tell his story about growing up gay.
One dude has a (satirical, obviously scripted) message for the people who bully gay kids: It Gets Worse… for the bullies.
Of course, not everyone’s has warmed by the feel-good It Gets Better message. In a video response, Toronto writer Shawn Syms points out that many of the videos offer the same message: It gets better… once you leave for college, or get married, or have kids. But what if you can’t afford to escape to college? What if you never get married? What if you can’t afford to move out of your intolerant small town? What then — do things stay the same?
