Today’s post is actually going to have very little to do with video games or law, and a lot to do with an inspirational/educational outreach effort that is trying to combat the bullying and isolation that a lot of GLBT teenagers suffer through while they are still living at home. September saw a horrible series of suicides by teens who had been bullied at school and at home and in environments where they should have been safe, and this inspired Seattle Advice Columnist Dan Savage to start the “It Gets Better” project, asking for adult gays and lesbians to upload videos to Youtube.com that tell their story of being bullied and to remind teens that life after high school GETS BETTER.
Why am I writing about it? Because the message could just as well be aimed at at highly intelligent kids who consider themselves geeks or nerds and who don’t fit in where they are and whose family might not understand them, and who become depressed and potentially suicidal as a result. High school is a rough environment, and anyone who doesn’t fit in stands out, and not always in a good way.
I am lucky enough to live in the Seattle area where geeks congregate and support each other (as much as Seattle people can…that’s a whole other issue). The internet has allowed geeks to gather in a way that might have been unthinkable ten or fifteen years ago, but there are still areas of the state and the country and the world where people are mocked and degraded for being different. Being smart is neither more or less socially acceptable than being gay or straight or whatever, it’s just another facet of humanity, and we should be rejoicing in our differences, and not making young people conform to someone else’s idea of “normal.”
So if you or someone you know or love is isolated or being teased for being different, send them one of the videos being uploaded to the itgetsbetter channel on Youtube, post it on FaceBook, let them know that if they can just hold on until they get a little bit older…it gets better. Thank you for your attention, and please spread the word.
