CBS: Cyberbully Dan Savage is 'Tireless Advocate' for Bullied Kids
CBS's Erica Hill lauded homosexual activist Dan Savage, the mastermind of an Internet smear campaign against Rick Santorum, as a "tireless advocate" for bullied schoolchildren on Thursday's "Early Show." The Big Three networks all turned to Savage as their "expert" for their Wednesday and Thursday coverage of high school freshman Jamey Rodemeyer's suicide, but only "The Early Show" brought him on.
Hill's radical guest, who revealed his torture fantasy against the Republican in July 2011, founded an online campaign called the It Gets Better Project, where Rodemeyer posted an online video in May. The anchor began by claiming that Savage "has been a tireless advocate to stop this bullying, to give kids some hope." She then tossed a softball question: "His [Rodemeyer's] mom said he had a big message, but it shouldn't have to be a message. What would you say to her this morning, to so many teens who may be watching Jamey and what happened to him?"
Instead of focusing on the broader issue of bullying in general, Savage boosted his campaign, which is tailored for his niche community:
SAVAGE: Well, my heart breaks for Jamey's parents, particularly, and his friends and other people who were there for him and giving him support. This is a tragedy. The idea behind the It Gets Better Project is for LGBT adults who had been through bullying themselves, who understood and could emphasize, to share their stories and their, you know, joyous adult lives. They're with these kids, to give them an idea of the future that was possible for them, if they could hang on.
Hill did try to expand the discussion in her follow-up question, but her guest returned to promoting his website:
SAVAGE: Well, we encourage people. A lot of other youth have made videos, 'It Gets Better' videos, peer-to-peer, talking to each other, and...we need to change their circumstances. A lot of the videos created by young people, by high school-age kids in the It Gets Better Project discuss how to get your GED, if that's what you need to do to get out of there; to change high schools, homeschooling for LGBT kids who are being bullied. It can seem like you're handing the bullies a victory when you pull a queer kid out of a school where he's being harassed. But that's sometimes what you need to do. Homeschooling is an option for bullied kids and secular kids and queer kids, not just for fundamentalist Christian kids.
The CBS journalist plugged Savage's website at the end of the segment, but she didn't raise the subject of his Internet campaign against Santorum, which attempts to give a sickening definition to the Republican presidential candidate's last name, at any point during the interview.
The full transcript of Erica Hill's interview of Dan Savage on Thursday's Early Show, which aired 33 minutes into the 7 am Eastern hour:
ERICA HILL: The website Elaine [Quijano] mentioned providing support for gay teens was created by the It Gets Better Project. The group's co-founder, Dan Savage, joins us now. He has been a tireless advocate to stop this bullying, to give kids some hope. Dan, it's good to have you with us this morning.
DAN SAVAGE, CO-FOUNDER, IT GETS BETTER PROJECT: Thank you for having me.
[CBS News Graphic: "Tragedy In Buffalo: Teen Commits Suicide After Reaching Out Online"]
HILL: Jamey is just this beautiful kid in that video that he posted, so full of hope, so full of life. And then, as you heard, things changed for him in the last few weeks. His mom said he had a big message, but it shouldn't have to be a message. What would you say to her this morning, to so many teens who may be watching Jamey and what happened to him?
SAVAGE: Well, my heart breaks for Jamey's parents, particularly, and his friends and other people who were there for him and giving him support. This is a tragedy. The idea behind the It Gets Better Project is for LGBT adults who had been through bullying themselves, who understood and could emphasize, to share their stories and their, you know, joyous adult lives. They're with these kids, to give them an idea of the future that was possible for them, if they could hang on.
But sometimes, hope isn't enough; and sometimes, the future is too remote, and sometimes, the bullying is too devastating and too extreme. And those times, they just- they break our hearts. But in his pain, you know, I don't think- when you watch Jamey's 'It Gets Better' video, he's clearly speaking to other kids, trying to offer them encouragement, but he's also clearly now, we know, speaking to himself, and trying to encourage himself to hang in there. But even in his pain, he was reaching out and trying to help, and we need to follow his example and continue to reach out and try to help, and not let Jamey's tragic death make us feel hopeless or despair or give up.
HILL: You bring up an interesting point- and this is so true, I think, especially for any child- and this is not even just about LGBT bullying, but any child who is bullied. When you are at that age, everything happens for you in the moment. Sometimes, the future does seem too remote. So is there a message in the present that you can give someone, to get through today?
SAVAGE: Well, we encourage people. A lot of other youth have made videos, 'It Gets Better' videos, peer-to-peer, talking to each other, and we- one of the things that people to know is that if a child is saying the bullying is so extreme- as extreme as the bullying that Jamey endured- that you- we need to change their circumstances. A lot of the videos created by young people, by high school-age kids in the It Gets Better Project discuss how to get your GED, if that's what you need to do to get out of there; to change high schools, homeschooling for LGBT kids who are being bullied. It can seem like you're handing the bullies a victory when you pull a queer kid out of a school where he's being harassed. But that's sometimes what you need to do. Homeschooling is an option for bullied kids and secular kids and queer kids, not just for fundamentalist Christian kids.
HILL: Dan, great to have you with us this morning, and again, for anyone who is not familiar with it, log on to itgetsbetter.org. Thanks again.
SAVAGE: Thank you.
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Comments
Can someone provide some credible statistics
Submitted by bkeyser on Thu, 09/22/2011 - 6:22pm.
on these so-called bullied kids?
You know, just "saying" it doesn't make it true. Either provide the proof or find another tactic to promote special treatment for homosexuals (none of which, by the way, are children.)
BK
Submitted by Radical1979 on Thu, 09/22/2011 - 8:29pm.
My son was bullied in high school because of his learning disability. He was made fun of because he went to votech, and didn't take college prep classes. If only he had know that if he was gay someone would have cared, because bullying for other kids is a non issue.
Yeah Rad
Submitted by bkeyser on Thu, 09/22/2011 - 8:49pm.
How many kids get bullied for having the wrong shoes? Or the wrong cell phone? Or the Wii instead of the XBox360? How many teens commit suicide because their parents split up and they can't handle the pressure? Or because they're using drugs and the chemical imbalance is just too great for them? I hear all the time about the supposed "gay" kids being bullied, but rarely does anyone site an example, and when they do, they milk it for months. Yet few people talk about the number of kids OD'ing on X or meth, or the number of deaths resulting from drug abuse among young people. It's all about the gay.
The Los Angeles Times even
Submitted by redfish on Thu, 09/22/2011 - 11:37pm.
The Los Angeles Times even did a series on what its like to live in the shoes of a gay student. I was picked on every day in elementary school, but nobody cared about because I wasn't gay. I find it kind of insulting.
Of course, I didn't kill myself.. and I think the experience made me a stronger person.
Just another liberal
Submitted by buddyc on Thu, 09/22/2011 - 7:11pm.
Just another liberal homosexual who hates himself and the world around him. It is sad. I really wish these people could find comfort with what they are.
Exactly, hs isn't an advocate
Submitted by LAM SON 719 on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 12:12am.
Exactly, hs isn't an advocate for anything, he is just an angry old homo.
So the "tireless advocate"
Submitted by Truestar on Thu, 09/22/2011 - 7:20pm.
So the "tireless advocate" for bullied school children is also the "mastermind" of a disgusting internet smear campaign against Rick Santorum. The same person who is so against bullying has no qualms about trying to destroy another man's life, no matter their differing points of view.
I would suggest Mr. Savage is a hypocrite at the least. I would also suggest Savage has some sort of mental deficiency, and no matter his supposed good will towards bullied children, I believe the world (and bullied children) would survive well without his existence.
Doorknob-licker
Submitted by Matthew Balan on Thu, 09/22/2011 - 7:39pm.
I would also suggest Savage has some sort of mental deficiency
You may be not be that far off. He infamously tried to infect then-Republican presidential candidate Gary Bauer with the flu by licking doorknobs and pens in his campaign office. See http://www.mrc.org/cyberalerts/2000/cyb20000204.asp#2
I remember that
Submitted by Truestar on Thu, 09/22/2011 - 7:52pm.
Absolutely sickening, literally. I wouldn't let this psychopath anywhere near my children, bullied or not.
I'm sure old Uncle Dan would
Submitted by fatboy on Thu, 09/22/2011 - 8:56pm.
I'm sure old Uncle Dan would be very excited to take extra special care of these traumatized little boys. Eh, Danny?
Dealing w/ a liberal is like picking up a turd by the 'clean' end.
Are you shure Savage isn't a
Submitted by jessieH on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 12:01am.
Are you shure Savage isn't a pedophile?
How many non-gay US teenagers committed suicide lately?
Submitted by SickofLibs on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 9:03am.
Well, I don't know, but I bet there are quite a few... none of which got any national attention.
I don't think it would be a stretch to hypothesize that this type of hysterical, coordinated MSM gay hype might mess with the minds of some already-unbalanced teenagers and cause them to think "Hey, maybe I have sexual identity problems, too."
Yep,
Submitted by Boudin on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 9:13am.
I sure as hell hope our young folks dont watch any of these morons. Sometimes it's all I can do to control my own self
Isn't this like having a rapist in charge
Submitted by ohio granny on Fri, 09/23/2011 - 9:07am.
Isn't this like having a rapist in charge of protecting young girls from being raped? Or like having democrats explain why you should not lie? Or Obama teaching kids how to balance a checkbook?
Some things just do not compute and this is one of them.