TRUE COLORS: Good morning from the foot of the Fuego volcano and beyond (don't be afraid)

IT GETS BETTER--THE BOOK: ¨Every story will touch you, move you and encourage you to do better for LGBT youth...¨

¨Nearly 10,000 of you have filmed videos which have been watched over 30 million times across the globe. Now the It Gets Better Project is ready to publish "It Gets Better: The Book" on March 22nd, six months after the launch of the project.

The book is a collection of stories from many people you recognize and some people you don't, but each and every story will touch you, move you and encourage you to do better for LGBT youth.

It Gets Better Project (TM) has turned into a worldwide movement, inspiring nearly 10,000 user-created videos and over 30 million views.

Order the book today to ensure you get a first edition copy! HERE

Then spread the word to all: IT GETS BETTER!

Dan Savage is contributing his earnings from It Gets Better, the book, in support of LGBT youth and the more than 100 authors with essays in the book have contributed that work gratis.

TAKE THE IT GETS BETTER PROJECT PLEDGE:

Everyone deserves to be respected for who they are. I pledge to spread this message to my friends, family and neighbors. I'll speak up against hate and intolerance whenever I see it, at school and at work. I'll provide hope for lesbian, gay, bi, trans and other bullied teens by letting them know that "It Gets Better."What is the It Gets Better Project?¨ HERE

IT GETS BETTER: Everyday life is overflowing with healthy human beings equipped with various sexual orientations

In the beginning--my road to self-acceptance started at Grant School, age 5, front row/right

It´s always a temptation and sometimes even necessary to attempt to  ¨pass for heterosexual¨ and not allow the world around us to know us or to know the details of our most private thoughts/lives.  It can be a matter of personal security and most of us intuitively know the danger signs that lurk around us.

I was fortunate to grow up in a loving family, Christmas, age 16

Everyday life is overflowing with healthy human beings of various sexual orientations in our families, at school, at work and socially too. But sometimes in a hostile environment ¨Gay people¨ are forced to deal with blind rage, selective Scriptural demonizing , wild superstitions, blatant lies, uninformed opinions and plain fear/loathing that generates hate against us...all of these factors, habits/taboos and human ¨quirky¨ threatened forces are sometimes difficult to ¨live with¨ as we try to figure out how to ¨cope with¨ them in a culture that includes us, your LGBT family members.

Silence/humility/secrets/guilt seem the only options when awkward confusion, life vs. death confrontations, discrimination/persecution or abusive--self or outside--acts impact LGBT lives.  Alternative possible solutions for our frustration and choices ought appear before us but rarely do.  Dead silence!  It´s seems relationships ought to make sense just like they would in ¨heterosexual¨ peoples lives, but, hell, they don´t, what is it that life wants from us?     It´s not like someone shared real life experience with us as we¨go it¨ alone (mostly) and piece together a life for ourselves from the far outside part of the loop!


My first year at College--San Francisco Area (It Gets Better), age 18, Yearbook Picture

Now I´m experienced enough to know that sometimes my own apparent inauthenticity isn´t  always a reflection of intentional deceit.  However, I think it´s important that my ¨insides¨ and most personal character must attempt to remain clear on who I am as a ¨Gay person.¨ Attempting to not allow my personal character to be tainted by outside/twisted understandings of who and what others may think I AM is essential as I strive to be self-accountable, self-accepting and a generally responsible full-fledged citizen.  I strive for those ¨good¨ character qualities for my own peace of mind plus a added eager desire to successfully live out ¨my part¨ in life/society with my extended family, friends and loved ones.

Visitng a friend at Santiago, Atitlan, Solola, Guatemala, age 65

There seems little hope of genuine happiness if ones life is under the constant threat of intimidation and bullying by others....darkness before the dawn!

Now I don´t accept unwise ¨street talk/religious ignorance¨ as emotionally stable verdicts about people like me.  I didn´t always know who was right and who was wrong about me and people like me. Gossip or preaching laced with bigotry, blame/shame, fear and hate is not ¨wise¨ or ¨just¨ or ¨true¨ reflections of most reality. Life is sometimes difficult/unjust for everyone/anyone and doesn´t always make sense. However, becoming a LGBT willing victim of other peoples prejudices,  mental/spiritual illness by accepting lies/nonsense and slander as valid judgements against Gay people is cowardly or plain warped thinking. Learning HOW to grow and deal against outside negative pressure, false information directed against LGBT people, is key to discovering and accepting the authentic and positive version of myself that God created.  This is my challenge, this is my ongoing quest and I become more courageous along the way as I know more about me.

Recovering from multiple eye surgeries this year--A trip to beautiful/hospitable Mexico, age 66

LGBT human beings live side by side with our heterosexual brothers and sisters. Many of us, ¨straight and gay¨ aspire to love/befriend all others regardless of the possible dangers and acting-out directed against us.  We take our chances, we trust ourselves as we are mostly a well-meaning, unpunishing/non-vindictive, forgiving lot of human beings who have learned how ¨to be¨  generous of spirit under many, often difficult, REAL LIFE circumstances...¨it gets better¨ for people like me/us...it really does get better and I think the same is true for most everyone else who endures and survives real life difficulties while refusing to accept lies generated against them...ANY flat out willful ignorance, bigotry, fear or hate that comes our way has suddenly become more about the real and flawed character of  ¨those who  humiliate¨ than about us!   Now it´s time to be ¨tolerant¨ of them...what an order, I don´t know if I can go through with it as Bishop V. Gene Robinson/New Hampshire quietly suggests we are called to  ¨love them anyway.¨   Damn, this is hard but I´m glad I finally get to read about all of YOU and what YOU DO via ¨It Get´s Better¨ project. HERE

· Thanks to Dan Savage
· Thanks to The Advocate
· Thanks to The Daily News
· Thanks to ¨It Gets Better¨
· Thanks to Bishop V. Gene Robinson/New Hampshire
· Thanks to David Green, Pride Shield
· Thanks to The Episcopal Church (Welcomes Everyone)
· Thanks to My Nephew Jeff, Photos

"The religious right is seeing the fruit of their efforts: DEAD CHILDREN." Dan Savage

Dan says to gay kids: "Don't believe the lies of the bigoted children of bigoted adults. HERE

Dan Savage Blasts Religious Right As Culpable In Rash Of Gay Teen Suicides

¨Support and other resources for gay young people are out there, sometimes only a click or a phone call away, but advocates said the recent suicide of Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi and other teens who were believed to have been victims of anti-gay bullying point to the need for even more widespread help.

In a country of about 12,000 public school districts, the education network known as GLSEN (glsen.org) counts about 4,000 Gay-Straight Alliances, the name for school clubs – mostly in high schools – that register with the group,

“Youth in general are not very help-seeking,” said the organization’s executive director, Eliza Byard. “Getting people to reach out is one of the big challenges.” HERE

Another non-profit focused on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, the Trevor Project, operates a free, confidential hotline (866 4-U-Trevor) for counselling and suicide prevention around the clock. The hotline, among many crisis lines available, takes an average of about 30,000 calls a year, said a Trevor spokeswoman, Laura McGinnis.

Trevor (thetrevorproject.org) also offers “TrevorChat,” a free, secure online messaging service for counselling between 4 p.m. and midnight Eastern time. The organization’s Trevor Space, a monitored social networking service for gay youth, has about 13,000 registered users, McGinnis said.

“So if your town has only 300 people in it, you’re not alone,” she said.

A search engine on the Trevor website allows users looking for resources or support to search by key word, state, city or zip code. HERE

Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or PFLAG (pflag.org) is a national support, education and advocacy organization with local affiliates in more than 500 communities around the country and abroad. Support group meetings are available through PFLAG chapters for loved ones or whole communities.

“PFLAG has grown as more Gen X parents are learning about their kids or figuring it out before their kids do. They’re getting more involved,” McGinnis said. HERE

For youth not ready to seek help offline, an outpouring of videos from members of the gay community who have survived bullying and hatred as young people have been posted on a new YouTube channel set up by syndicated columnist Dan Savage, called It Gets Better (youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject). HERE

On college campuses, Campus Pride is non-profit organization of student leaders and groups of gay students and their allies, including an effort focused on fraternities and sororities, lambda10.org. HERE

Off campus, CenterLink (lgbtcenters.org) supports LGBT community centers and helps new centers get started. The organization serves more than 168 centers in 45 states and the District of Columbia. The group’s website provides a directory of centers. HERE

“The single most important line of defence for young people in crisis is a network of visibly supportive adults, in their own community, in school, at home,” Byard said. “We’re talking about a very big country, and far too few young people have access to those supports.” HERE

NOTE:  The Episcopal Church has Gay and Lesbian Bishops as well as Clergy as well as LGBT Laity Leadership (look for the Episcopal Church Parish in your town and ask them if they are ¨inclusive¨) 

· Thanks to Dan Savage, ¨It Gets Better¨, sidebar
· Thanks to 365 Gay, sidebar
· Thanks to LGBT Centers, worldwide
· Thanks to PFLAG
· Thanks to The Trevor Project
· Thanks to GLSEN
· Thanks to Joe. My. God., sidebar
· Thanks to The Canadian Press
· Thanks to The Episcopal Church, United States and Abroad