National Coming Out Day

[commonpeople1]

I saw this video at jupiterjuniper and just had to share. The couple in it have been together for 16 years. wink_martindale and I will celebrate 12 years next week. Their first meeting involved a cheesy pick up line; Wink and I went to Bride of Chucky on our first date. They have an adopted son; I have a nephew I'm looking forward to spoiling rotten. I'm sensing a trend. ;-)

Everything they say is true (though our experience was different from theirs - we weren't bullied in high school). It DOES get better!

Comments

[jellyfish93.livejournal.com]

I watched this last night. Love.

Will you do a full post on the story of you & wink? Or have you already?

xoxo

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I have! It was some years ago. Will dig it out for you.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

<a href="http://commonpeople.livejournal.com/552573.html>There ya go</a>.

[wink-martindale.livejournal.com]

Not the full story! http://wink-martindale.livejournal.com/46218.html

[yearning.livejournal.com]

I watched all of the videos above (you know, eve etc) and think that it's really encouraging, wow. I was bullied in high school as well because I was different (not gay, but you know, too thin/not feminine and smarter than some of the bullies.. and it may sound really cheesy too, but it was the time of the Spice Girls and I think some of my feminist thinking originated from them, you know, be yourself and all that. And not only feminist thinking, also individualism and ego (in a good way).

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I feel bad for not standing up for some people who were picked on. There was nothing truly serious, but it must have felt horrible nevertheless for them. I hung out with a small group of girls and we kept to ourselves and didn't mix with anyone else - all our friends belonged to other schools so our lives were geared towards the weekends when we saw them.

That's cool you had something like the Spice Girls to fill you with inspiration and motivation to withstand those bullies. :-)

[naturalbornkaos.livejournal.com]

On posts like this, I think it's a shame that LJ doesn't have a "Like" button.

I have no input or anything particularly interesting to say about it but I definitely like it. :)

Something else you can't do on FB

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

[wink-martindale.livejournal.com]

Hey it's Dan Savage!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Really?! That's the Dan Savage?

Hmm... didn't realise he had sparked off a whole range of videos thanks to this one. Quite cool.

[jupiterjuniper.livejournal.com]

yep :) check out his column on the topic:
http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=4940874

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

All the videos are so great. I'm glad I saw this one in your journal!

[thirstypixel.livejournal.com]

Dan Savage seems to spend about 30% of his time being needlessly offensive to people who have asked his advice, and the other 70% getting it absolutely bang on right and communicating important things very effectively.

[olamina.livejournal.com]

agreed. that 30% still is enough for me not to be able to tolerate listening to his radio show (he comes from a very lefty out of touch dreamworld space), but his heart seems to be mostly in the right place.

[zenithed.livejournal.com]

Pretty much agreed on that - I tend to filter out some of his set positions and enjoy the more esoteric stuff that comes up on the radio show.

[kevyn-kronycles.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I watched this the other day too, good video.

[olamina.livejournal.com]

wow, this is a message for the masses! my life got better the moment i got to college. high school was hell. if i have kids i really don't know if i would make them go there. maybe home school them or send them to some sort of fun hippy school. someone needs to send messages to the parents of all the bullies. honestly!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I was thinking along those lines this morning - wondering if the bullies who pushed those boys to kill themselves felt any remorse. High schools in Britain have severe cases of bullying but also very strong commitment to fighting it (well, not all...) I know a large nearby school that has a great program that snips any shit like that going on - including homophobia. I'd like to think we are moving in the right direction. I like, for example, how it's easier now in some cases to be gay in high school because of more visibility in mainstream culture whereas there was none of that when I was a teenager (no role models, nothing to find some support in.)

[olamina.livejournal.com]

absolutely! i think the whole world is getting better in many regards! the teenage years are always going to be a fragile time in life and the more that the world is aware of that and sensitive to it, suicides like the recent ones will become rarer....at least i hope!

[meemeedarling.livejournal.com]

Congrats to you both for 12 years! That is absolutely wonderful and really an inspiration for all couples.
:-)

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Thank you darling!