Lady Gaga's Message to a Canadian School

In a country where bullying is an epidemic, and almost nothing is being done to stop it, isn't it great to know that at least Lady Gaga cares.

Too bad she couldn't send a message to Jamie Hubley and his school in Ottawa.

Before he committed suicide. 

Mitchell Wilson, Jamey Rodemeyer, the Bullies, and Lady Gaga

As you know I hate bullies of all stripes. From Stephen Harper and his thug Cons, to those who bully children for being different or gentle, to those who beat helpless old people in senior's homes.

So you can imagine how I feel about those who bullied and assaulted a disabled boy and drove him to suicide.

“He was never the same after the mugging,” said Mitchell’s father, Craig Wilson, who found his son’s lifeless body on Sept. 6 — a plastic bag tied around the young boy’s head — when he went to wake him up for what would have been his first day of Grade 6. “Ultimately it shattered his life.”

Or how I felt when I read what his grandmother had to say today.

“He said to me, ‘Mimi, my biggest issue is that I can’t protect myself, and if a man cannot protect himself, then he is not a man,’” recalled Ms. Wilson.

I wondered why a gentle child would have to become violent to live in a place like Canada. And then I discovered this.

Among the other findings, 45 per cent of all the Canadian youths in this survey agreed with the statement that “to be a man, you need to be tough.” That compared to 13 per cent in the U.K. and 26 per cent in Rwanda.

And it explained so much. Why we have bullies in our parliament, so many goons on our hockey rinks, and why we don't take bullying seriously enough.

For the record, I was a gentle child who was forced to become violent, or take martial arts, in order to survive. And although I did get a measure of revenge, what I can never forgive the bullies for is forcing me to be someone I was not.

Because boys should not be forced to conform to such narrow old-fashioned gender roles. And neither should girls.

The report, released Thursday by the development agency Plan International, found 31 per cent of Canadian boys aged 12 to 17 believe a woman’s most important role is feeding her family and taking care of the home.

They should just be who they are.

Which just happens to be the same message another gentle boy left behind before some anti-gay bullies drove him to suicide.

A YouTube message to his hero Lady Gaga, which one of her so-called little monsters, covered with pictures, and turned into a humble tribute...



And at a concert three days ago in Las Vegas, Lady Gaga added her own... 



Paws up forever Jamey.

Remember Mitchell Wilson. And all the others.

Down with the bullies...

Jamey Rodemeyer, the Bullies, and Lady Gaga

The other night I wrote about the tragic story of Jamey Rodemeyer, the 14-year-old boy from Buffalo, New York, who was bullied to death for being gay.

So I'm glad to see that the bullies may be held accountable.

Police are looking to bring criminal charges against three or more teens following the suicide of a 14-year-old who had been bullied for being gay.

At least three teens are said to be of particular interest to police and may be charged with hate crimes, harassment or cyber-harassment following the tragic death.

Because bullying is a hate crime. And I don't believe bullies can ever be punished enough.

It's such a sad story. So tragic in so many ways. And one of the things that moves me the most was how Jamey thanked Lady Gaga before he killed himself, for giving him the strength to endure, until he couldn't anymore.

On Saturday night he posted a lyric from Lady Gaga's song The Queen on his Facebook page which said: 'Don't forget me when I come crying to heaven's door.'

On 1.30am on Sunday morning, he left two final messages on one of his blogs saying he was looking forward to seeing his great grandmother, who recently died, and one as a tribute to Lady Gaga, thanking her.

And how Lady Gaga responded today.

I know a lot of older people don't like Lady Gaga. And I'm a bit too old to be one of her little monsters eh?

But no straight artist has ever worked so hard for the LGBT cause.

I think she's FABULOUS.

Bullying is a hate crime.

And this one's for Jamey...

Little Maria, Ellen, and the Missing Lyrics

The other day I told you the story of 10-year-old Maria Aragon from Toronto, who became an YouTube star after singing Lady Gaga's new song Born this Way.

And was blessed by the great Gaga herself.

It's so good, in fact, that it made Gaga tear up with emotion. She tweeted: "Can't stop crying watching this. This is why I make music. She is the future."

And how I also thought her video was fabulous.

And deserves the more than eleven MILLION views it has received so far. 

Until I learned she had left out these lines:

No matter gay, straight or bi
lesbian, transgendered life
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born to survive

Then I was disappointed. And sad. 

I mean that could only happen to gay people eh? Being left out of the so-called gay anthem. And too bad more than eleven million people didn't get to hear that message. Because so many need to hear it. 

But today Maria performed the song on the Ellen Show.

This time with ALL the lyrics...



And now I forgive her.

Children only do what adults tell them. She IS fabulous. So are we.

And the future WILL be better...

Lady Gaga and the Gay Anthem

When Lady Gaga's latest single Born this Way was released it was billed as a new gay anthem.

And I was quite excited eh?

Because "Over the Rainbow," By Saint Judy Garland of the Homosexuals, is getting a bit dated. And Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" has always made me feel like killing myself.

But sadly it isn't our new anthem. Lady Gaga said she wrote it in ten minutes. And it shows.

In fact, some gay people really HATE it.

That noise you hear? It isn't nearby construction or birds cawwing. Its not the rumbling of a train or even the low roar of the ocean. It's not an American Eagle-clad youth screaming "Whoo!" in your ear at a megadisco.

That noise is one million gay men simultaneously vomiting up the kool-aid of arbitrarily prescribed cultural icons. And I don't know why it took so long.

I do believe in culture as politics. But Lady Gaga is not culture.

But what does that gay snoot think it is? Opera? Why shouldn't gay people love an artist who supports their causes and includes them in her songs?

It's title and its spirit, are drawn from the first openly gay song ever recorded.

"I'm walking through life in nature's disguise/ You laugh at me and you criticise/ Just because I'm happy, I'm carefree and I'm gay/ Yes I'm gay/ Tain't a fault tis a fact/ I was born this way."

And you can't argue with success.

So why is this happening? Oh probably because there are a lot of young people out there who are tired of being bullied, called too fat or too skinny, or too shy or too gentle, or too black, or too ugly, or too gay, or whatever.

And are enjoying the chance to shout out : I WAS BORN THIS WAY !!!!!!

And that's good enough for me.  

Besides, I play it when I walk the dog, and he LOVES dancing down the street with me.

Look, I wish our gay anthem was more like "Street Fighting Man" or "Rock the Casbah" by the Clash, or "Rebellion" by Arcade Fire.  

But while I wait for it, snoots please get a life...or stick to opera eh? 

Down with the bullies. We wuz born this way. 

Viva Lady Gaga...



Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers.

Bigot School Board Bans the Word Gay

After reading about how the Halton Catholic School Board has decided to deal with it's controversial ban on the Gay Straight Alliance.

On paper its ban on gay-straight alliances is lifted, but a new draft inclusion policy by the Halton Catholic District School Board doesn’t allow them either.

By disappearing the word "GAY." And treating gay kids like they were diseased.

While the document calls on educators to enforce anti-discrimination policies, it also reiterates the church’s official prohibition against sexual activity between two people of the same sex and exhorts teachers to lead “the homosexual student” toward “better sexual morality.” It further suggests that “romantic attachments and behaviour” are fully expected of heterosexual couples, but discouraged among gay students.

Or less than human.

All I can say is when are we going to stop funding religious schools?

The Catholic Church shouldn't be allowed anywhere near children

We were born this way. You bigots.

And way to go Maria.



“Can't stop crying watching this. This is why I make music,” the singer tweeted. “She is the future.”

Yup. Bullies are bastards.

But the future will be BETTER...

The Invasion of the Gay Tweenies

One of the reasons homophobia is a growing problem in our schools is that gay kids are coming out at an earlier age.

And as this article shows many schools aren't prepared.

A middle-school counselor in Maine summed up the view of many educators I spoke to when she conceded that her school was “totally unprepared” for openly gay students. “We always knew middle school was a time when kids struggle with their identity,” she told me, “but it was easy to let anti-gay language slide because it’s so imbedded in middle-school culture and because we didn’t have students who were out to us or their classmates. Now we do, so we’re playing catch up to try to keep them safe.”

So many schools are still dangerous places for gay kids..

What is clear is that for many gay youth, middle school is more survival than learning — one parent of a gay teenager I spent time with likened her child’s middle school to a “war zone.” In a 2007 survey of 626 gay, bisexual and transgender middle-schoolers from across the country by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (Glsen), 81 percent reported being regularly harassed on campus because of their sexual orientation. Another 39 percent reported physical assaults. Of the students who told teachers or administrators about the bullying, only 29 percent said it resulted in effective intervention.

Just like they are in Canada.

The good news? Despite that hatred and violence more and more gay kids are standing up for the right to be who they are.

“When I first realized I was gay,” Austin interjected, “I just assumed I would hide it and be miserable for the rest of my life. But then I said, ‘O.K., wait, I don’t want to hide this and be miserable my whole life.’ ”

And parents everywhere have a new/old challenge to make their lives even more...um.... interesting.

Mother: And he has a shaved head and piercings everywhere. Is this who you really want to date?

Ely: All kinds of people have shaved heads.

Mother: I don’t think you’re ready to have a relationship right now.

Ely: Ugh.

May the Parent God protect them. Here comes the invasion of the gay tweenies.

And of course, whether you're ready or not eh?

Here comes Lady Gaga....