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Ellen on Changing the Message

By Fannie

A lot of people have posted about this already, but I want to keep this important message going.

Ellen DeGeneres rarely talks about being gay, but when she does, she is usually right on. As some of you have probably heard, 15-year-old Lawrence King was murdered by a classmate for being gay. On Ellen's talk show, she references the murder saying,

"[W]hen the message out there is so horrible, that to be gay you can get killed for it, we need to change the message."

She's right.

Those opposed to gay rights want to frame the "information about gay people in schools" debate as an issue of "recruiting kids into homosexuality." They must know that that's not true. From our perspective, it's about presenting gayness in a nonjudgmental or affirming way so that when kids do come out, because some always will no matter what, they won't be harassed, they won't be bullied, and they won't be murdered.

Lawrence's killer was just a kid. Yet from someone he learned that being gay was such a horrible thing that he had to kill because of it. I think even those against gay rights could agree that kids shouldn't learn that gayness is something to kill.

It is time to change the message.

Anyway, here's the clip:

Kudos Ellen, for using your very large platform to do good in this world.

Full post as published by Fannie's Room on March 04, 2008 (boomark / email).