Barack Obama to gay bullied teens: "It gets better. No homo."
By Ben ReiningaOctober 22nd, 2010, 9:40 amComments (16)
Ever since Dan Savage launched his "It Gets Better" campaign -- providing moral support for gay teenagers who are getting bullied -- there has been a wave of celebrity participation. Ellen DeGeneres made a video, as did Neil Patrick Harris, Anderson Cooper, Tim Gunn, and many others. Today, however, the movement was joined by its most prominent participant yet, the President of the United States.
The contents of the video are more or less what you'd expect. It's slow, stately, and well-enunciated. He describes bullying as a national epidemic, and compares what gay kids go through to his own childhood, growing up feeling "different." (In a quick, but deliberate aside, he also reminds us he's not gay). It might not be the most motivating thing ever, but for lonely high-school kids in Arkansas, it's got to be comforting to see. The fact that we have a president who's gay-friendly and YouTube-savvy is also pretty awesome.
Commentarium (16 Comments)
N.B. - That doesn't mean I support you having the right to get married. That's for straights, not queers.
@Obama he does support equal rights, but when he's trying to be a bipartisan leader of a partisan government trying to pull a country out of a recession, it would be suicide for him to stand up and make any sweeping declarations on such a polarising issue. Remember, this doesn't go down party lines - there are even Democrats who aren't pro-gay marriage. Unfortunately its just not the biggest issue he has to deal with during his first term.
I am proud of our president for addressing issues such as these.
@jd: Since when is doing the right thing a political calculus? Answer: When it's a politician doing it on an "ends justify the means" basis. I suppose you'd have given Lyndon Johnson a free pass if in 1965 he'd said, "I support equal rights for all people, but not interracial marriage," because he was busy trying to keep support for a war and for anti-poverty programs. If it's inconvenient to support civil rights for others, imagine how inconvenient it is to be one of the others who's lacking those civil rights.
he doesn't say "no homo" - your gay title is deceiving
I'm sorry. This is a non-issue with everything else going on. Straight kids get bullied too.
It is an issue. Children are killing themselves.
Saying this is a non-issue seems to be exposing a lack of not only compassion, but education. It is an issue anytime a child feels so desperate that they feel taking their own life is an option.
LOL, they will grow up to be just like him and throw a speech at it!
www.online-privacy.au.tc
there was no "NO HOMO" in that speech. misleading title is misleading.
Seems like I'm the only one that got that the "No Homo." was paraphrasing the short aside about him not being gay.
Learn to think about what you read before you say something.
"straight kids get bullied too" doesn't make it a non-issue, some of them commit suicide as well.
also, has anyone else noticed that Obama's speech patters occasionally remind them of Rod Serling, or that just me. Any way, good job, Mr. President, I'm really glad to see this get an endorsement from the top.
the only reason i watched this is cause i thought obama said no homo. lol this is lame
lol stop crying like a bunch of little bitches, everyone has dealt with it before. Stand up for yourself if your being bullied, dont go "Tell a Adult" thats just gonna make it worse cuz then ur not just the fagget but your the snitch lol, you people are so stupid. Also the kids are gonna have to learn how to stand up for themselfs any way, if your gay as a kid its not like people will only make fun of you while your a kid, your gonna get fucking picked on for the rest of ur life it dosnt end after the school yard lol. peace bitches, smoke sum
CLASSY.