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LGBT News Parents Disown Teen, Internet To The Rescue

Discussion in 'Current Events, World News, & LGBT News' started by Geek, Aug 28, 2014.

  1. Vaettfang

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  2. resu

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    Hearing the video was very upsetting, probably because I'm pretty sure I would have similar experiences from some of my very religious relatives. I hope it at least highlights there is still a lot of progress to be done.

    Yeah, and it's also allowing fundraising for Michael Brown memorial fund, now at over $290,000. I don't think Gofundme should be attacked just because people disagree with certain fundraising efforts.
     
  3. Chip

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    I have been having some thoughts similar to Gen's. It's great that we have so many people willing to donate to help this kid... but the reality is, how many thousand kids are out there that weren't so lucky as to have a video of their experience, and someone to set up the indigogo campaign (he apparently did not set it up himself.)

    And the cynical side says that we don't even know absolutely that the story is as advertised. There's no third-party documentation of his situation, no faces in the video to speak of, and it's possible (though not likely) the whole thing was staged, or that the money won't actually go to Daniel, or something of that nature.

    I think about, for example, what EC does every day on a budget of (literally) 0, and things that we could do with $40,000 or $100,000. (To be fair, we haven't yet started fundraising, as we're waiting for finalization of a few governmental issues.)

    I'm glad that people are supporting Daniel, and based on what we've seen, he certainly deserves it. But there are a lot of others who are just as deserving, or more deserving, that no one even knows about because their campaign didn't happen to go viral.
     
  4. Candace

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    I was so shaken and upset by this. WHAT ABHORRENT PARENTS THEY ARE!! I still believe in God and MY God doesn't hate on anyone. I'm so happy to hear that Daniel has raised so much money and that so many people care and support him. Well, buddy, you have another supporter! :slight_smile:
     
  5. AwesomGaytheist

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    Am I the only one who's trying not to think these parents should be killed?

    Unfortunately in my hometown, this is the popular opinion and the parents would be hailed for this. It's great that people are finally waking up to this bigotry.
     
  6. BobObob

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    That was really hard to watch. It's really sad that people would hate their children like this. It's especially annoying that they think they still "love" their kid, and they say things like, "I have gay friends that are gay."
     
  7. Littlehawk98

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    I saw that video this morning on Tumblr and my heart shattered... I felt so bad for the poor kid and each offensive word they launched at him tore at my heart and made me feel sick to my stomach. :frowning2: It was a brilliant way to start the morning... Not.

    I don't understand how people can be so hateful. What's worse, his mother said SHE KNEW he was gay since he was little. Then ranted about how it's a choice! That he was making a choice! She said she'd always love him no matter what too... And then ALL OF THEM started launching such terrible hateful things. His mother is a traitorous bitch... I hope the poor kid's alright...

    EDIT: I just scrolled through the comments and in the first two minutes I had to report THREE accounts for hate speech. ALL THREE OF THEM were using unspeakable language that no civilized person would ever even THINK to use... Fucking barbarians...
     
    #27 Littlehawk98, Aug 28, 2014
    Last edited: Aug 28, 2014
  8. Stripe101

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  9. SimpleTim

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    Couldn't finish the video :frowning2:

    Parents are ignorant, and it felt like rubbing treebark on my brain.

    I'm glad he's getting a lot of support.
     
  10. Gen

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    I have no issue with the publicity that this event has received; there can only be benefits from it. It is the direction of the charity that was sparked that I feel has been misplaced. It is not a fault of any specific person in this situation. In no way would I shame the people who donated; however, these types of stories do not cycle through the media everyday and we have to be mindful of the impact we are making vs. the impact that we could be making in these instances.

    This campaign is nearing fifty-thousand dollars and I would be very surprised if it stopped there. We were well beyond the point of need forty-thousand dollars ago. You will remember to do everything you can for the preservation of young LGBTQ; I will continue to do what I can; I'm sure everyone in this thread will continue to do the same, whether that is being fortunate enough to donate to those in need or simply make an effort to try to educate more people about these injustices. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of those who donate, who aren't LGBTQ and aren't forced to face this prejudice and neglect, will forget all about it the second this story exits the lights.

    These single campaigns are a wonderful invention and social media has taken philanthropy to amazing heights. Though the harsh reality is that they have simply given people a place to through money without a system of professionals to manage it. When we have garnered enough publicity and donations for one individual in less than twenty-four hours, that could have provided a sufficient safety net for dozens of neglected youth if given the right direction, something has to be questioned.

    In the end, it is not anyone's fault really. It is just something that I feel we need to start considering as we move into the age of people on the internet being able to pull fundraisers out of thin air.
     
  11. Kasey

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    Based on the responses, I'll stick by my can't watch LGBT related parent/child videos... Positive, or in this case, vehemently negative.
     
  12. micstar615

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    I can't watch this....are the comments horrible?
     
  13. RainDreamer

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    So..mixed reaction with this. On one hand, I absolutely love how people care about LGBT youth and give them support on the internet. On the other hand, I kind of wonder if people think their care should only extend to the point of dropping a large amount of money on the teenager.
    I hope there is a family in the area, an LGBT organization, a group of people, that will take that teen in and be his new family, because as helpful and needed as money is for living expenses, being able to live in an environment that everyone accept and love you for who you are is priceless for us.
     
  14. Nychthemeron

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    They always are.
     
  15. Daydreamer1

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    I've heard of intense ways parents reacted to their kids coming out as queer or another faith (a kid's mom flipped out when he said he was an atheist). My fiance said a friend of his had to get an exorcism when he came out his mom--but this is the most disturbed and it actually frightened me; and I'm the type that is hard to shake.

    I hope Daniel's okay, especially with that gofundme page floating around. I can't wait for the old generation to die off (or change for the better) so this won't be so commonplace anymore.
     
  16. Linthras

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    With regards to that, one of the comments on the funding site says this:
    Now I don't know whether these accusations are true or false. I hope not, because that would only serve to fuel my cynicism.
     
  17. Chip

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    I did a little more reading and the claim is that Daniel's boyfriend set up the GoFundMe but has now transferred it to Daniel's control. He did say that his stepmother had been supportive when he first came out.

    But at the same time... it is a bit suspicious. It would be nice if there were a vetting process for all of the claims made on these crowdfunding sites.
     
  18. stocking

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    This makes me a little glad that my parents are in denial because I'm pretty sure my mother would react like that when it becomes more clear to her . My dad wouldn't attack me but he'll probably just not say anything . But his fights is kinda what I have gone through most of my teen years and even some part of adult hood .
    This is why I'm going to wait til I move out for sure , it's a shame his parents treated him like this it's so disgusting how some parents can be .
     
    #38 stocking, Aug 29, 2014
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2014
  19. LittleLionGirl

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    This is for Chip, Gen, Linthras and anyone else commenting on the crowdfunding phenomena. The topic is probably better suited for it's own thread and I may be highjacking with this post, but it's relevant to other comments made here, so here is where I'll write.

    I work for a non-profit and from a marketing perspective, it is a well known idiosyncrasy of American donors and even investors - they don't want information, they want stories. They don't want data, they want to be moved. If you can't make them feel something, they're not interested. Look at the potato salad guy on kickstarter - his initial goal was $10 to make a potato salad. He wasn't sure what kind. His stated risk was that it might not be any good since he'd never made one before. In one month he raised $55,492 from 6,911 backers. Why? Because almost 7,000 people found this guy and his concept funny. Entertaining. It made them feel something.

    It's easier for people to give to an individual of whom they have no preconceived notions, who sparks an emotional response in them - whether it's sympathy, anger, sadness or joy - than it is to give to a large public organization. And it's easier for a person to connect emotionally with another person to whom they can relate than it is to some huge non-profit.

    In an age of transparency, sometimes too much information colors perspective. The large organizations that are vetted are required to share all their information publicly and in so doing, potential donors that feel strongly for a shared cause can be lost when they discover policies or practices they don't agree with, or even skeletons in that NPO's closet. This story has sparked a tremendous emotional response and until his campaign had reached attention-getting numbers, no one bothered to dig for more information, so there were no negatives to color perspective, which made it easier for people to give generously.

    Perhaps, if Daniel had allowed GLAAD to use his video for their fundraising purposes, if he had become a spokesman for them, the LGBQ community as a whole would have benefited, or maybe, because he would then be representing an entire community versus being just one poor forsaken kid, it would have been chalked up to being just one more story in a sea of many and not received the individualized attention it did.

    Who knows? At this point we can only hope that he'll do the smart thing and find qualified people to help him make good decisions. And hopefully he'll have a better life.
     
  20. David7991

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    I honestly don't get how these types of people believe that being gay etc is a choice. It's a choice to ACT upon your feelings but it isn't a choice to HAVE those feelings in the first place; and if you don't act upon your feelings you won't be happy! These people also don't put in any effort to even research whether it's natural or not it's so annoying... have any of you also looked at the comments section of that video? I looked at it last night and it made me so angry I had to pry myself away from it because I was so overwhelmed at how bigoted and close minded people could be.

    Imagine if Jesus was in that room with them when they attacked the boy, what would he have done? Lmao, they aren't even Christians they're disgraces.