Time's John Cloud Snarks
Savage's 'It Gets Better' Effort

From Seattle, gay writer and activist Dan Savage, along with his husband Terry Miller, launched a grassrootsy campaign on YouTube called It Gets Better.



They want to reach at-risk of suicide and bullying kids of all sexual orientations, and encourage them to seek help, while also enlisting others to create vids offering advice and hope to those who are bullied.

The campaign began news broke about a wave of teen suicides across the country, and is proving quite popular with a broad range of ordinary and famous folks. What I especially like about IGB is its simplicity, ripple-effect, and reach into the lives of so many people who are concerned over and talking about reducing bullying in America's schools.

One person who isn't impressed with Miller and Savage's effort is openly gay Time magazine writer John Cloud. He recently reactivated his dormant Twitter account and has opined on bullying and related matters. First up, Tweets about the piece he's working on:

Writing a story on bullying...Turns out the term "bully" derives from a Middle Dutch word meaning "lover." Makes sense if you think about it 11:13 AM Oct 4th 


Story done; bullying redefined. Time will no longer give you it free. Mixed feelings, but I guess someone does have to pay John Cloud. 6:49 PM Oct 6th 

Then he shares his thoughts on IGB:

The trouble with this whole "It Gets Better" thing—besides that it's self-congratulatory—is that for many gay kids, it's simply not true. 11:45 AM Oct 11th 

"It Gets Better" founder Dan Savage says on NPR that it got better for him in Paris. How nice for him. Meanwhile, reality check please? 2:30 PM Oct 12th

Obama attacks gay couples again today. I guess he and Dan Savage are in Paris. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE69B63U20101012  3:09 PM Oct 12th 

Cloud sure can dish out the snark, and I wonder what his larger problems are with the IGB vids and what suggestions he might make to improve the terrible and fearful times bullied youth have to content with.

Just a reminder that he has written diverse cover stories for Time, from one on gay teens in October 2005 . . .

. . . and one about anti-gay hater and toxic pundit Ann Coulter, in April 2005.

You have to pay a fee to read Cloud's current piece on bullying. Only the opening paragraph is posted on the mag's site.

WH's Jarrett: Dead Gay Bully Victim
Made 'Lifestyle Choice'

The last time I heard anyone use the obnoxious phrase "lifestyle choice" to describe a gay person's sexual orientation was during the Bill Clinton presidency when the gays were accused of wanting "special rights."

Today the Washington Post's gay kapo Jonathan Capehart shares a video interview he conducted on Monday with senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett. She clearly states a belief that Minnesota gay teen Justin Aarberg, who committed suicide in July after being bullied, made a "lifestyle choice."

Listen to Jarrett's nonsense at the 4:20 mark:



What an outrage to claim that the 15-year-old Aarberg made a choice to be gay, and that sexual orientation is a lifestyle. Did she get her talking points from Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council? It's doubly offensive that Capehart makes no effort to point out how dangerous Jarrett's thinking is.

If Capehart were willing to risk his White House access to events like a Latina Fiesta night, he might have taken his tongue off Jarrett and Obama's posteriors and challenged her employment of "lifestyle choice" in speaking about the support of the Aarberg family for their gay son and brother.

With friends like Jarrett and gay reporters such as Capehart, why worry about our enemies at the Family Research Council, National Organization for Marriage and the Mormon Church?

Here's a transcript of the pertinent section:

Capeheart: One of the things you've put a spotlight on, and to veer sharply away from infrastructure, and that was on the rash of suicides of gay youth. You gave a speech to the Human Rights Campaign annual dinner, where you named the victims. You talked about the President's committment to making a more inclusive, tolerant, accepting country. Why did you feel it was important to deliver that message, and deliver it there?

Jarrett: Well, I think what we've seen over the last few months are some very tragic deaths of young people, our children. And avoidable deaths. They were driven to committ suicide because they were being harassed in school, and driven to do something that no child should ever be driven to do. And in many cases, the parents are doing a good job. Their families are supportive. Before I spoke at the HRC dinner, I met backstage with Tammy Aarberg, her son Andrew. These are good people. They were aware that their son was gay. They embraced him. They loved him. They supported his lifestyle choice.

But yet when he left the home & he went to school, he was tortured by his classmates. What the President asked me to do was to go and deliver his message that this is an issue that's important and it needs to be addressed now. We've got to stop condoning this in the school, and acting like this is a rite of passage or something that we can't do anything about. [...]

Clinton Cites Serb Police 'Bravery':
Omits Gay Marchers Courage

The American Secretary of State, Madame Hillary Rodham Clinton, had a few nice things to say about Serbian security forces for doing their jobs at Sunday's Gay Pride Parade. Her remarks were made after a private meeting with Serbia's top political leader yesterday:

I also thank President Tadic and your government for your commitment to protect the human rights of all the citizens of your country. I especially want to commend the bravery of the police who provided security for the event for last Sunday’s pride parade. It was not easy, and yet we watched as the official law enforcement forces demonstrated unequivocally your support for the rights of all.

The police on duty this Sunday in Belgrade did indeed act admirably, in an incredibly hostile and potentially-deadly urban street situation in a wartorn region.

But what concerns me here is that the Secretary did not offer a word of praise or honor for the courageous gay marchers and participants at the rally, including the straight allies which included our Ambassador, Mary Warlick.

Hey, Hillary! Give a shout to the brave young gay organizers for demanding respect of their human rights. They deserve high-level praise from America's top diplomat.

US Ambassador Joined Belgrade's
Gay Pride Rally

My friend Jamie Kirchick, the gay conservative writer, has been over in Belgrade covering Sunday's gay pride march for Radio Free Europe and Foreign Policy, and events related to the march. He wrote this after the weekend's clashes:

Though the Serbian government won plaudits from Western embassies for its cooperation with the gay-rights march -- the U.S. ambassador to Serbia, Mary Burce Warlick, who attended a pre-march rally, told RFE/RL that the United States “is very pleased with the government’s strong support in terms of security measures for the event” -- the intensity of the violence demonstrated the power of the ultranationalist right to cause instability.

Jamie snapped this photo of Ambassador Warlick shaking hands with Lazar Pavlovic, one of the brave young organizers of Belgrade's pride events.

And in this video, he interviewed her and I'm so pleased she articulates the full support of the U.S. government behind the gay marchers:



Kudos to Jamie for getting our ambassador to state our government's backing of gay rights in Serbia. By the way, he was socked by homophobic counter-demonstrator but was not harmed.

And I also extend lots of thanks to Ambassador Warlick for attending the rally and speaking for Serbia's gay people.

Finally, congratulations to Lazar, his fellow pride march and rally organizers, and all the courageous people who participated in the gay events on Sunday. Those events are just the start of gay Serbia's walk together toward tolerance and respect for the human rights of all of the country's citizens.

Cleve-Apalooza March on DC:
1-Year Later, Who Profited?

On this day a year ago, between 150,000 and 200,000 gay activists and allies flocked to Washington to participate in Cleve Jones' National Equality March. A fair number of critics, myself included, complained about the lack of democracy, public meetings and community engagement. We were all told to just come to the rally on the West Capitol grounds, listen to Cleve and his pals deliver speeches, revel in the cast of Broadway's "Hair" performing a number from the revival, and miraculously we would affect change in Congress and at the White House.

In response to his critics, Cleve said:

This march is an organizing vehicle to create a national grassroots movement to change votes in Congress. That's the purpose.

Sorry to say those votes didn't happen on ENDA, DADT or DOMA. Cleve and his principal co-organizers, Kip Williams and Robin McGehee, also promised they already had created "a network of decentralized organizers in every one of the 435 Congressional districts."

Of course, they had no such network nor was one created out of the event. But a few months after the march, Williams and McGehee directly profited from it when they were given more than half a million dollars from Democratic gay millionaire Jonathan Lewis, to start GetEQUAL and pay themselves robust 5-figure salaries.

Looking back on it all, I can't help thinking that if those egomaniacs had engaged in democratic community organizing, held open meetings, allowed ideas to bubble up, some lasting good might have come out of it all.

Imagine if the march included protesting at three of the largest organizations holding back gay rights - the Democrat Party, it's affiliate the Human Rights Campaign, the GOP - and we took our righteous anger to the headquarters of those orgs. I believe much good would have flowed back to us and our struggle if we had organized strategically, instead of participating in the Cleve-Apalooza.

Since the march, we've witnessed GetEQUAL's elitist leaders, and two dozen or so of their followers, trying to pressure the HRC and the Democrats to address our concerns. Basically, an entire year of decent community organizing didn't happen because of lousy job Cleve, Robin and Kip did leading up to and at the march.

A year later, Cleve has lots of news clippings for his archive, and Robin and Kip have fatter bank accounts. Not sure what else came from the National Equality March of 2009.

Serbian UN Mission Meets With Gays

Over Belgrade's Pride March

Just under twenty activists and gay press folks staged a noontime rally yesterday at the Serbian Mission to the United Nations, located on 5th Avenue in Manhattan. The purpose of our action was to demand that Serbian police forces protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Serbians and their allies, when they stage their Gay Pride March on Sunday.

Among the activists were Gilbert Baker, creator of the rainbow flag, Brendan Fay, longtime global advocate, Bill Dobbs of Queer Watch, Craig Howell of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC, and a member of NYC's Congregation Beit Simchat Torah whose name I didn't catch.

[Update, from Andy Humm:  FYI, the guy from Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, the LGBT synagogue, who Michael could not identify was veteran gay activist Rick Landman who has been involved in the movement since the early 1970s.]

Also present were Andy Humm of Gay USA, and community photographers Louis Flores and Dan Cacace.

(Click here for more pics: Photo credit: Dan Cacace.)

After a few short speeches on the sidewalk, under the watchful eyes of 6-7 New York Police Department detectives and sargents, the cops informed us that the officials inside the mission were inviting us in to chat about our concerns.

Three of us went in; Gilbert, Brendan and myself. We had a friendly 15-minute chat with Marina Ivanovic, who is on the consular staff and with the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

We spoke about our concerns over the safety of Sunday's marchers, and Gilbert said it would help Serbian win membership in the European Union if the pride parade takes place without any violence, or if there is trouble, proper policing.

Brendan presented Marina Ivanovic with a letter from an American filmmaker which details the support pouring in from Serbian film directors and professionals, and many artists, all straight.

I handed her a cover letter and the solidarity letter signed by dozens of gay leaders from more than two dozen countries, and said it was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the thousands of people around the world who embrace the Serbian gay community, as they march for visibility and tolerance.

Marina Ivanovic assured our letters and concerns would be conveyed to her bosses back in Belgrade. She also mentioned a pro-gay move made by Cuba two-years ago at the United Nations, and that this represented how gay human rights were advancing in many different countries.

(Click here for more pics. Photo credit: Dan Flores.)

We were not allowed to snap any photos inside, but as soon as we left the mission we gave a few shouts of solidarity for the gay Serbs on the steps of the mission's entrance. My feeling is that we were invited inside for a chat because the Serbian government is responding positively to all of the global pressure and attention being generated for the gay marchers.

Many thanks to all who attended the rally, and huge expression of gratitude to Lazar Pavlovic, a key organizer of the Belgrade pride march, and all of our Serbian brothers and sisters for giving us Americans a chance to show our solidarity with you.

Solidarity with Belgrade's 10/10/10 Gay Pride March!

US Gay Leaders Rally Friday

for Serbian Pride Marchers

PRESS ADVISORY

DATE AND TIME:
Friday, October 8, 2010 at Noon

PLACE:
Serbian Mission to the UN, 845 Fifth Avenue at E. 67th Street, New York

EVENT:
American gay leaders and allies rally in support of LGBT Serbians who are set to mount their first LGBT Pride March in Belgrade this Sunday amidst threats from right-wing anti-gay groups who have prevented them from marching in past years. They will deliver a letter to the Serbian Mission in New York in support of the gay Serbian marchers signed by LGBT leaders from 23 countries around the world.

SPONSOR:
Gays Without Borders/USA

CONTACTS:
Michael Petrelis at 415-323-8205
Andy Humm at 917-972-9600

Fox News: 
Activist Decries Obama Silence on Bully Deaths

What will it take for Barack Obama to speak out on the bullying deaths of recent weeks? So many people, including the Education Department head Arne Duncan, have called on everyone to speak out about this spike in gay and questioning kids killing themselves. I would like to know why the President has nothing to say about these deaths.

From Fox News today:

But online outlets that focus on gay issues have accused the administration of not speaking out. San Francisco-based gay rights advocate and blogger Michael Petrelis repeatedly has urged top officials, including President Obama, to do more to address the suicides. He said in an e-mail to FoxNews.com that the administration is giving "the silent treatment" to the issue.

"Obama's silence harms all kids bullied -- gay, straight, or questioning," Petrelis said, adding that Jennings needs to demonstrate "regular public engagement."

"We cannot overlook the almost-invisible and nearly-mute Kevin Jennings," he said. "A good time for him to break his silence would be now, and to do so on the topic of how federal dollars will be used to address the bullying epidemic."

Jennings discussed the incidents in an interview Tuesday with Bay Windows, a gay-audience newspaper in New England. He said the recent suicides are not a new phenomenon and that the high rate of suicides among gay youth "is something that has been documented and known for a very long time." [...]

Gays From 23 Nations Sign 
Solidarity Letter for Serbian Pride March

[Update: New names at very bottom. We now have one more continent, two more trans groups, three new countries added to the letter. From Africa, Asian, Australia, the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South America, the message is clear: Protect the safety of pride marchers in Belgrade. Thanks to all who have made this solidarity possible.]

This coming Sunday brave gay Serbians and their allies will hold a march, in the face of extremist homo-hate, but with the police committed to protecting the safety of the pride participants. Our friends will face many bullies in Belgrade, but they will not stand alone, for we stand with them, as they make themselves more visible, loud and proud!

(Left to right: Ken, Molly and me. Credit: Bill Wilson.)

Today in San Francisco's United Nations Plaza, which honors the birth of the UN here, longtime activists Ken Hodnet, Molly McKay, Bill Wilson and yours truly, stood near the pillar marking the year Serbia was admitted into the UN, to read the solidarity letter and list of endorsers. Ken shot the video.



We plead with you to help launch of week of actions all over the world on behalf of the gay Serb, and to share the letter and list of endorsers, and our images on your web sites, blogs, listservs and with lots of your friends.

Many thanks to the 43 activists and politicians from 20 countries who endorse this letter of solidarity. This letter will be hand-delivered to the Serbian Mission to the UN at a press conference on October 8 at noon, located at 5th Avenue and E. 67th Street. Please join us.

The solidarity letter and list of endorsers:

LGBT Leaders Worldwide Call on Serbian Government to Protect Pride Marchers

We openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) leaders and elected officials from around the world are writing to express our deep solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Belgrade, Serbia, as they march in their October 10, 2010, Gay Pride Parade.

We call upon all Serbian political leaders and police forces to do all in their power to protect the human rights of the marchers to assemble peaceably and march as LGBT people as our supporters do throughout much of the world. We also call upon Serbian politicians, as ones responsible for building a democratic society, to send a message of tolerance, publicly support the Gay Pride Parade and join the march.

The October 10 parade will be the first Belgrade gay rights march since 2001 when anti-gay extremists attacked the participants and forced the event's cancellation. An attempt was made for a parade in 2009, but it was called off hours before it began because bodily harm was threatened against the participants.

The Serbian government must put itself on the side of those who peaceably assemble and not give in to those who would deny the marchers their human rights.

We applaud Serbian Minister of Interior Ivica Dacic for his public commitment to protect the safety of the gay marchers on October 10. We expect Minister Dacic to thwart any attempt to stop the march from proceeding to its conclusion.

Our eyes and the eyes of human rights defenders around the globe will be watching Belgrade on October 10, as we witness LGBT Serbians and their supporters peacefully exercising their human right to be visible in the streets, free from violence and fear.

Endorsed by:

Erwin Abbeloos
President, THE WARNING
Paris, FRANCE

Sahran Abeysundara
Chairperson EQUAL GROUND
Colombo, SRI LANKA

Nikolai Alekseev
Chief Organizer, Moscow Pride
Moscow, RUSSIA

Tom Ammiano
California State Assemblymember
San Francisco, USA

Oscar Atadero
Coordinator, ProGay Philippines
Manila, PHILIPPINES

Andrew Barr MLA
Minister for Education/Training, Australian Capital Territory
Canberra, AUSTRALIA

Stefano Bucaioni
Director for International Affairs, ARCIGAY
Bologna, ITALY

Pat Bumgardner
Reverend, Metropolitan Community Churches
New York, USA

Jan Benec
Chairman, Iniciativa Inakost
Bratislava, SLOVAKIA

George Broadhead
Secretary, Pink Triangle Trust
Kenilworth, UK

Florin Buhuceanu
President, Euroregional Center for Public Initiatives
Bucharest, ROMANIA

Stephan Corbin
President of Coordination InterPride France,
Angers, FRANCE

Tom Duane
New York State Senate
New York, USA

Hagai El-Ad
Director, Association for Civil Rights in Israel
Tel Aviv, ISRAEL

Linda Freimane and Martin K.I. Christensen
Co-Chairs, European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Intersex Association (ILGA)
Brussels, BELGIUM

Yonatan Gher
Director, Jerusalem Open House
Jerusalem, ISRAEL

Andrea Gilbert
Co-Administrator, Athens Pride
Athens, GREECE

Ian Hunter
Member of Parliament
Adelaide, AUSTRALIA

Olivier Jablonsky
Director, THE WARNING
Paris, FRANCE

Klaus Jetz
Director, Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany LSVD
Cologne, GERMANY

Sharon Kleinbaum
Senior Rabbi Congregation Beit Simchat Torah
New York, USA

Mark Leno
California State Senator
San Francisco, USA

Jerimarie Liesegang, PhD
Executive Director, Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition
Hartford, USA

Molly McKay, Esq.
National Media Director, Marriage Equality USA
San Francisco, USA

Frank Mugisha
Director, Sexual Minorities Uganda - SMUG
Kampala, UGANDA

Irina Nita
Executive Director, ACCEPT Association
Bucharest, ROMANIA

David Norris
Senator Seanad Eireann [Parliament]
Dublin, IRELAND

Dédé Oetomo
Founder, Board of Trustees, GAYa NUSANTARA
Surabaya, INDONESIA

King Oey
Chairman, Board of Trustees, Arus Pelangi
Jakarta, INDONESIA

Herminio Adorno Ortega
Director, Centro de la Comunidad Gai Inc.
Puerto Rico, USA

Alexandr Paluyan
Chairman, Initiative for Sexual and Gender Equality
Minsk, BELARUS

Michael Petrelis
Organizer, Gays Without Borders/America
San Francisco, USA

Tracey Sandilands
Executive Director, Pride Toronto
Ontario, CANADA

Noa Sattath
Former Executive Director, Jerusalem Open House
Jerusalem, ISRAEL

Penny Sharpe
Member of the NSW Legislative Council
Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Richard Stern
Director, Asociation Agua Buena
San Jose, COSTA RICA

Sean Strub
Founder, POZ Magazine
Milford, USA

Peter Tatchell
Community Organizer, OutRage!
London, UK

Louis-Georges Tin
President, IDAHO = International Day Against Homophobia/Transphobia
Paris, FRANCE

Marco Tranchino
Campaigns Officer, Central London Humanist Group
London, UK

William Urich
Chair, InterPride Cmte on Int' GLBTI Human Rights
New Britain, USA

Gary Virginia
People With AIDS Caucus
San Francisco, USA

[UPDATE]

Tamara Adrián
Diversidad e Igualdadgualdad a través de la Ley DIVERLEX [Trans]
Caracas, VENEZUELA

Andres Rivera Duarte
Organización de Transexuales por la Dignidad de la Diversidad OTD
Santiago, CHILE

Howie Fuller
GLBTQ Jamaica
Kingston, JAMAICA

Adam Knowles
Chair, Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association
London, UK

List of 23 countries:

Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Greece, Jamaica, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Philippines, Romania, Russia, Sri Lanka, Slovakia, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States of America, Venezuela.

RI Gay Mayor Doesn't Want to 'Politicize'
Raymond Chase Bully Suicide

A man named Anthony Bowen left the following comment at my post about gay Providence Mayor David Cicilline, who is also trying to become a gay Democratic member of Congress this November.

I don't know Mr. Bowen, so I wanted to verify the email from the Cicilline for Congress committee was indeed genuine. Just got off the phone with the author of the note for the candidate, and told him this was not good enough. Frankly, it's the lamest excuse in the book for a politician, and a gay one at that, to allow his campaign manager to get away with avoiding speaking out about a tragedy because breaking silence would politicize an already politicized crisis.

My final word to the campaign manager was to tell his boss to follow Houston Mayor Annise Parker's example and make a direct statement on the bully suicide of gay youth Raymond Chase in Cicilline's hometown of Providence.

Let me say it again: SILENCE = DEATH. Gay kids deserve better than Cicilline deafening silence. Thank you, Mr. Bowen, for your important follow up with the silent candidate. We need more activists like you pressuring all politicians, especially the gay ones.

The note from Mr. Bowen:

Michael, I e-mailed the campaign about this issue and here's the response I got:

Tony,
Thanks for your email. I am David's campaign manager. I wanted to let you know that while this is certainly a very important issue to this campaign, we decided that the most respectful way to proceed was not to politicize the issue so soon after the incident, and offend the grieving parties with public statements. I hope you understand, and again, this is a very important issue to David and the campaign.
Thanks,
Eric Hyers
Campaign Manager

___________

Dear The Cicilline Committee,

Last month I made a modest donation to support the future Congressman. As a supporter, I would like to know why, in light of the recent five reported suicides of gay teens, I've been unable to see a comment from the campaign about how he will work to stop LGBT bullying, particuraly given that Raymond Chase, one of the teens, attended Johnson & Wales in Providence. Why has the campaign remained silent? Hopefully I'm mistaken and the future Congressman has already spoken on this topic. I do request a response to this inquiry.

Best,

Anthony Bowen