September 29, 2010 | 106 Comments
In some ways, it feels like we’ve all come so far. Some countries and states allow for marriage equality, more and more nondiscrimination policies include sexual orientation and gender identity, and an increasing number of LGBT individuals are letting their flames burn bright openly.
Given our progress, it could be easy to forget that we’re really just getting started. But a reality check is only a headline away. A few days ago, 13-year-old Asher Brown shot himself in the head after being tormented at his Texas school. And then yesterday, 13-year-old Seth Walsh from California died after 10 days on life support after hanging himself.
In a blog where I tend to focus on life’s positive perspective, there’s no good news here. I can feel the broken hearts of Asher and Seth’s families, friends and our entire community. We do what we do, and I do what I do, to make this world a more loving and inclusive place. We do it all so crap like this doesn’t happen.
Imagining the hopelessness that these boys felt nearly incapacitates me. But it also resolves me and motivates me to do more. And today, I promise Asher and Seth that I will do more. The trajectory of progress must bend faster and harder in the favor of love and equality. And all of us need to step up to the plate.
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