Tag Archives: anti-gay bullying

LGBT Advocate Sean Avery On Why He Supports Equal Rights

Bullying of any kind incites a lot of passionate emotional responses. And it is a;ways welcome when we see a person turn such a negative aspect of their life into a positive and major leguage hockey player Sean Avery continues to do that. Now serving as an LGBT advocate, Avery wishes to expand his message of tolerance and acceptance by speaking out about his past. Here’s more:

“Maybe it’s because when I was such a bully when I had my uniform on, that when I took it off I felt the need to stand up against the bully,”

That’s how Sean Avery describes his decision to speak out in defense of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in recent years. The former New York Rangers star, known for his agitating playing style as well as controversial behavior off the ice, discusses his LGBT advocacy stance at length in a Dec. 8 interview with the New York Daily News.

The 32-year-old, who publicly backed marriage equality in 2011, also claims to have been subjected to a number of anti-gay slurs in recent years. That same year, he was slammed by Wayne Simmons of the Philadelphia Flyers. Also, Avery pointed that the use of anti-gay language by players has yet to be addressed at the NHL labor negotiations.

“My belief is the responsibility lies with the leagues, the way they discipline players, the position they take and use it in every-day incidents, One guy’ll get slapped with a fine, the next day nothing will happen. There needs to be consistency.”

We need more inspired leaders that are inspired to stop these harmful acts upon one another.

Johnson & Johnson Corporation Launches Anti-Bullying Program “Care with Pride” To Support PFLAG

Fortune 500 company and consumer giant Johnson & Johnson whose well-known products include Band-Aid, Tylenol, Johnson’s baby products,, and many more in association with Walgreens is launching a nationwide anti-bullying program called Care with Pride to support Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and its anti-bullying efforts in schools across the country.

With half of all children bullied at some point in their school years, including 90% of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender) youth, Care with Pride will address these staggering statistics through national media, regional events and digital resources that raise awareness and promote the Safe Schools Action Pack.

As a Corporation that is committed to the health and care for all people, the Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies is focused on continuing to uphold diversity and equality through a range of efforts externally as well as within our own organization,” said Scott Creighton, Global Vice President, Marketing Excellence Group, Johnson & Johnson Family of Consumer Companies.  “By partnering with PFLAG, we are helping to further their very important work to end bullying and create safer schools for all children.”  

As part of the program:

  • Johnson & Johnson will provide a minimum of $200K, and up to $300K to PFLAG’s Cultivating Respect, Safe Schools for All initiative
  • Johnson & Johnson is providing a Safe Schools Action Pack that provides $65 in coupons/rebates for multiple Johnson & Johnson brands — a dollar from each redeemed at Walgreens goes to PFLAG, check this site for more info
  • Walgreens will set up Care with Pride retail displays in 500 stores across the country — high visibility outside of typical “gay spaces” for a program like this
  • A significant presence at 40+ Pride festivals through Johnson & Johnson, Walgreens and PFLAG booths

This is the first time that not one, but two Fortune 50 companies have stepped forward to rasise funds for an LGBT organization and is a great response from both Johnson & Johnson and Walgreens on the issue of bullying in schools, especially among LGBT youth.

Click HERE to visit the Care With Pride Website

Video – “Christian” Jounalism Students Walk Out On Dan Savage Speech About Anti-Gay Bullying & The Bible

About a dozen or so “christian” high school journalism students walked out of a lecture by Dan Savage when he talked about the relationship between anti-gay bullying and the bible at the National High School Journalist Conference in Seattle.

Savage whose keynote address was presented in a large lecture hall for over a thousand journaliss students offended the dozen or so walkouts when he started talking about the ‘bullshit in the bible about gay people.’ despite the fact that it was met by applause by the majority of conference goers.

‘People often say that they can’t help with the anti-gay bullying acts because it says right there in Leviticus, it says right there in Timothy, it says right there in Romans. We can learn to ignore the bullsh*t in the Bible and what it says about gay people.’

Savage noticed the students disappearance and addressed it head on head on.

‘The bible guys in the hall can come back now because I’m done beating up the bible,‘ he said. ‘It’s funny, as someone who’s on the receiving end of beatings that are justified by the bible, how pansy-assed some people react when you push back. 

The executive director of the National Scholastic Press Association that sponsored the conference defended Savage in the following statement:

‘We appreciate the level of thoughtfulness and deliberation regarding Dan Savage’s keynote address. ‘Some audience members who felt hurt by his words and tone decided to leave in the middle of his speech, and to this, we want to make our point very clear: While as a journalist it’s important to be able to listen to speech that offends you, these students and advisers had simply reached their tolerance level for what they were willing to hear

Young people needed to ‘Speak Out’ against homophobic schools bullying

Whilst attending the opening event for UK’s LGBT History month in the Welsh Assembly at the start of this month, I was shocked to discover how few schools are actively stopping homophobic bullying. Less than a quarter of schools have told pupils that homophobic bullying is wrong. Half of teachers fail to respond to homophobic language when they hear it. And perhaps most shocking of all: 30% of lesbian and gay pupils say that adults – teachers or support staff – are responsible for homophobic incidents in their school. Unsurprisingly, the incidence of anti-gay bullying remains higher in ‘faith schools’.

I was reassured, however, to hear politicians presenting these statistics and to see a variety of LGBT campaigns groups motivated to make a change. These statistics come from a major survey carried out 5 years ago by Stonewall – the UK’s leading LGB campaigns organisation – where they revealed other key findings such as:

  • 65% of lesbian and gay pupils have experienced homophobic bullying
  • Of those, 92% have experienced verbal homophobic bullying, 41% physical bullying and 17% death threats
  • 97% of gay pupils hear derogatory phrases such as ‘dyke’, ‘queer’ and ‘rug-muncher’ used in school

The full report can be found here.

Now the research is being further explored. SPEAK OUT is a survey for young people in England, Scotland and Wales who are aged 11 to 19 and who are lesbian, gay or bisexual (or think they might be). Click here for more information and to take the survey.

I strongly encourage all those of the right age to take the survey in order to help the progress being made in tackling homophobia in schools. For those that aren’t, please advertise this amongst young people you know. By partaking in this survey, more concrete statistical evidence can be used to support the call for effective and active anti-homophobic-bullying policies across all schools in the UK.

Stonewall Cymru also provide additional information specific to Wales here.

WWE Wrestling Superstar Sheamus and Others Do Anti-Gay Bullying PSA

Well since GLAAD can’t bother itself to get its hands dirty fighting the rampant use of hate groups spokespeople on mainstream news broadcasts, or fight the negative stereotypes that our “own” gay entertainment channel LOGO TV puts forth with shows like the A List: Crapfest at least it can do a little something good by getting WWE Superstars Sheamus, Kofi Kingston and divas Eve Torres, Kelly Kelly and Alicia Fox to do an anti-gay bullying message for it’s Amplify Your Voice campaign

And as for for you Sheamus O’Shaunessy.  You go you Big Beefy Team Ginger Boy! Tell em to lay off those LGBT kids!

(P.S. Need a towel boy?)

 

SPLC to Sue Anoka-Hennepin, Minn School District Over LGBT Harrassment

From Minnesota Public Radio:

Two national civil rights groups say they will sue the Anoka-Hennepin school district if leaders there don’t properly address anti-gay harassment.

Lawyers for the Southern Poverty Law Center and National Center for Lesbian Rights say they have proof that Anoka-Hennepin students have been harassed for being gay or perceived as gay and that harassment violates federal law.

The letter explains that the two groups have been investigating the district and have found that students who are or perceived to be gay or lesbian are in jeopardy and in a hostile environment when they’re at school.

Sam Wolfe with the Southern Poverty Law Center said Anoka-Hennepin is breaking federal law by allowing such a culture to exist.

“On a daily basis they’re going into the schools and into the hallways — other kids are calling them names, such as ‘faggot’ and other names about either their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity,” Wolfe said. “And it’s a continual thing.”

Wolfe’s letter outlines examples of harassment of at least three unnamed current or former students, but he said it’s still open-ended as far as how many clients he’ll eventually have if a settlement can’t be reached.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta discusses the bullying and discrimination on CNN with Rosalind Wiseman, a bullying expert, and Candi Cushman, from hate-group Focus On The Family.

Read the letter from the Southern Poverty Law Center below:

SPLC to Sue Anoka-Hennepin, Minn School District over LGBT Harrassment

Video – Homophobic Tracy Morgan Did An Anti-Bullying PSA For The Ellen Degeneres Show!

Tracy Morgan who’s been spewing anti-gay comedy for years appeared on The Ellen Show after the the recent teen bullying outbreak and actually filmed an anti-bullying PSA for her about tolerance, acceptance, and being kind to each other.
And then he leaves the studio and at night and does the exact same hateful thing he talked against.
Incredible!