What's your opinion of the 'It Gets Better' anti-bullying campaign; which has had a number of celebrities lending their support to? Do you think that its been effective?

I think it's a joke and basically a phony PSA/PR opportunity for celebrities. I don't know why a bullied kid is supposed to take a millionaire seriously when they say that it gets better. Exactly when does that happen, when your first starring role tops the box office?

Good point, JM, they may have at one point been bullied, but how long ago was that for these people? Now, I think I recall Lady Gaga saying a while back that she was always picked on...well? Do we really want to use HER as an example of it gets better? If that's better, how bad was the beginning?

Don't see the point of it. Just suck it up and take it? Is that supposed to be the message? It'll get better so deal with it now?

Except once you get out of high school, for a lot of people there are still years of trauma and the scars and that kind of hell still applied to their everyday life, so what, if it takes 30 years down the road to get better, it's worth it? I say make it legal for the kids to punch each other's lights out again. Something I've noticed though nobody ever has much comment about this, back when it wasn't assault and battery and worthy of jail time to punch another kid out if he was bugging you, back then you didn't see a lot of kids taking guns to school and blowing everybody away and then blowing their brains out.

Shale wrote:

No, it gets better when you graduate and get away from all the bullying assholes who get away with assault/battery in the schools because the officials there just shrug it off as 'boys will be boys.'

So, some kids are so terrorized by being helpless and victimized that they opt to kill themselves. This is what the whole campaign is about - trying to convince kids not to kill themselves, that 'it gets better.'

IDK who started it, but Dan Savage is a big supporter and has his own tale of survival.

Thank goodness for Dan & Terry who founded It Gets Better. If a difference is made in the life one child or even a struggling adult it is worth it. Of course some opportunistic people are going to hop on the bandwagon. So fucking what? That doesn't diminish the work the organization is attempting to accomplish. You will find some of these same celebs on the fight against breast cancer. Does it make that organization or cause bullshit too? It's about time somebody stepped up for these kids.

CeCe wrote:

Thank goodness for Dan & Terry who founded It Gets Better. If a difference is made in the life one child or even a struggling adult it is worth it. Of course some opportunistic people are going to hop on the bandwagon. So fucking what? That doesn't diminish the work the organization is attempting to accomplish. You will find some of these same celebs on the fight against breast cancer. Does it make that organization or cause bullshit too? It's about time somebody stepped up for these kids.

The best way to step up for them is to actually DO something about the bullies instead of just letting them walk all over the lower levels of the public school food chain and tell the victims 'oh never mind them, it'll get better SOME day'. When an adult is assaulted do we pat their hand and say 'oh there there it'll be alright SOME day'? No, we have a system in which that person is charged with assault and battery and anything else they might've done to the victim, we don't tell adults who are jumped 'oh you're just being too sensitive, ignore them and it'll go away'. We take an actual step up and put the batterers in jail.

The premise seems sincere enough, but I question how effective it is.

Is a kid who is being harassed and beaten up every day at school really getting anything out of TV commercials telling them that "it gets better?" Similar sentiments have been uttered throughout the ages about bullies and bullying. How about a professional bodyguard do a "It Gets Better" commercial that leaves a number for the kid to call for his help the next time he gets slammed into a locker? If I were a kid that was being picked on, I would be more impressed with that.

The whole thing is well intentioned, but strikes me as a bit pedestrian. It Gets Better, and remember to "Just Say No!"

I think "it gets better" is a weak message. It doesn't get better on it's own unless something is done to MAKE it better. That's not to say we do something crazy like go on a shooting spree. But we need to encourage kids to not sit around waiting for it to get better. We need to encourage kids to MAKE it better.

Forgiveness Man wrote:

I think "it gets better" is a weak message. It doesn't get better on it's own unless something is done to MAKE it better. That's not to say we do something crazy like go on a shooting spree. But we need to encourage kids to not sit around waiting for it to get better. We need to encourage kids to MAKE it better.

That should start though with ADULTS making an example, after all on school property the adults are in charge, so why shouldn't they be the ones issuing out actual punishments to the pos bullies?

Supernova wrote:

That should start though with ADULTS making an example, after all on school property the adults are in charge, so why shouldn't they be the ones issuing out actual punishments to the pos bullies?

Because that would be too much like claiming responsibility.

Impact wrote:

Because that would be too much like claiming responsibility.

and this has been the major contributing factor to the whole problem. If people would be held accountable for their behavior an organization like It Gets Better wouldn't even be necessary. The failure on the part of the people in authority has led to bullying being so widespread. They act as if it's just kids being kids or they look the other way. When that stops we might get somewhere. But the problem is getting that mindset in action.

Well they already ARE responsible for all the kids and some Nazi teachers make that fact well known that THEY are in charge and all the students MUST do as they say or else.

It can't hurt. I don't put a lot of stock in how effective it is, and I don't know how sincere celebrities are by lending their name to a cause they prob. don't give two shits about, but whatever. At least it's being talked about.

Nystyle709 wrote:

It can't hurt. I don't put a lot of stock in how effective it is, and I don't know how sincere celebrities are by lending their name to a cause they prob. don't give two shits about, but whatever. At least it's being talked about.

I think it's more of an "awareness" thing....to shine a light on the issue than to actually resolve anything.

Whatever. Like you said....it doesn't hurt.

Its raising awareness and every little bit helps.

RobbieFTW wrote:

Its raising awareness and every little bit helps.

Shale wrote:

Here is my donation to It Gets Better, made last October.

Wonderful video Shale! Thanks for posting it.