Creating LGBTQ Safe Spaces
Greetings. This is my first blog and I wanted to introduce myself. I think the best way to do this is to direct you to our It Gets Better video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCCNNgTLSBo
In the video we talked about creating safe spaces. We think of this as a sort of "bubble" around us--no matter where we are, in the office, in restaurants, the playground, movie theaters, in our front yard, etc. When you are in that "bubble" that is, you are talking with one of us, you are in a safe space. We won't let anything happen to you; we do not tolerate hate or any of its many forms. Keep in mind that hate is a symptom of something much deeper for each hateful individual. I hope to make this blog a safe space also. Let's keep up the dialog about how to make the world better for all of us by creating safe spaces wherever we all are. Hoping to hear from you time to time. You can also follow me on twitter @jddic
Be Safe.
posted by Dr. Jeannie DiClementi @ 9:50 AM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
I think this is great to have a site that people can come in and vent or share their stories in a positive and safe environment.
It breaks my heart the amount of hate that is in this world. I see my step daughter, being in Junior High, dealing with things that I have never thoughts was possible. I remember Junior High and High School vividly. It was an awful place 13 years ago and today, its even worse. It doesn't matter who you are. Bullying comes in all shapes and all sizes. And the victims really don't have a certain stereo type. You can be on the honor roll or be the top athlete and get bullied. You can be gay or straight. Black or white. You can be quiet or loud. It doesn't matter, everyone seems to be a target. People are hateful and mean.
From my experience in High School. I was one of the top gymnasts and one of the top track stars at my school. I was an average student, I didn't get bad grades but I also wasn't on the honor roll. I just wanted to get through school unharmed. Unfortunately that wasn't the case. There was a group of the “popular” girls that had something against me, so there for they decided to make my life a living hell. Just like any other person being bullied, I took the verbal abuse during school hours, then went home and cried about it the rest of the night. I dealt with this abuse for a good two years. The moment that I finally stood up for myself was when one of the girls decided to smear lotion all over my hair. I stood up, during science class, called her a bitch and told her to leave me alone. Her and her friend, cornered me in the athletic hallway and jumped me during school hours. They threw the first punch, I fought back and won that one. Lets just say, I was called Tyson the rest of the semester. After that point, I couldn't handle high school anymore. I dropped out and did homeschooling. I graduated a year early with my diploma and haven't looked back since.
Now that my step daughter is in Junior High, she will be in High School next year. The stakes are even greater. The bullying is getting worse and the school systems are spiraling out of control. Some of the bullying is coming from the teachers. Things are happening during school hours and no one is even noticing. Its alarming. I am not sure how these kids are going to survive. The bullying isn't just verbal. Kids have a false sense of courage now because of the new technology. We have tons of cyber bullying and I see it every single day. Parents aren't paying attention. You have to monitor what your kids are doing. That in itself is a full time job. You have to watch what they say or in some instances, you have to watch what they do, on twitter, facebook, texting, email, chat, skyping, and the list goes on and on. This false sense of courage is scary. I thought I had it bad in school, its nothing compared to what its like now. At least the bullying was face to face. Now its permanent, in writing. The cyber bullying runs even deeper, leaving scars that are hard to hide. Rumors are spread faster because of this technology, the technology that is suppose to make our lives easier.
All that being said, it does get better. Life after high school turns around 100%. You are finally treated like a person and you can leave behind all of those hateful people. I'm not going to lie, you do run into “bullies” the rest of your life. But what you go through in high school, makes you stronger and helps you to deal with those hateful people of your future in a more positive way. You will realize that those bullies are naive and have more issues than they know what to do with. I feel bad for the bullies because they have to bring people down to make themselves feel better.
Rise above and love yourself. That's the only thing that matters in life.
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