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Apple employees discourage LGBT teen suicide via ‘It Gets Better’ video

Friday, April 15, 2011 · 8:57 am · 34 Comments

Apple employees are sharing personal messages for the “It Gets Better Project.”

In September 2010, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage created a YouTube video with his partner Terry to inspire hope for young people facing harassment. In response to a number of students taking their own lives after being bullied in school, they wanted to create a personal way for supporters everywhere to tell LGBT youth that, yes, it does indeed get better.

Watch Apple employees’ “It Gets Better” video via YouTube (video contains adult language and may be NSFW) here.

If you are considering suicide or need help, call the Trevor Project now: 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386).

More info about the “It Gets Better Project” here.

MacDailyNews Take: The most domineering kid in our high school filled up our gas tank the last time we visited the old hometown. We made sure to tip him nicely.

Categories: News

Tags: Apple Inc., It Gets Better, LGBT

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Comment Feed

34 Comments

1 2 Next »

Predrag

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 9:21 am · Reply

I’m sure every little thing helps, and even if this one prevents just one single suicide, it will have done its job (and I have no doubt, it will prevent many).

As a matter of fact, the message is much broader than just LGBT. Replace ‘LGBT’ (or ‘gay’ as in the video) with anything that would define a point of difference (skinny in a society of overweight; blond in a group of dark-haired; Asian, in a group of dark-skinned people, etc), and the message stays the same.

High school is the time in human development and growth when we learn how to engage into, or incite, conflict within a group dynamics. This skill becomes essential for later survival in the workplace. Since we got nothing to build the conflict on in our teen years, we look for obvious things that differentiate us. Those who survive this time on the receiving end of such conflict often times become significantly more successful than those that were part of the dominant group.
- emmayche
  
  Friday, April 15, 2011 - 11:47 am · Reply
  
  As one of those on the receiving end of bullying in high school (and Predrag is correct; bullies will pick on ANY difference), the only observation that I will make here is that counseling the victims to hunker down and just survive it is likely the best advice, because the situation is unlikely to change.
  
  Why? Because the bullies also tend to be the athletic stars, or the rich kids whose parents have lots of lawyers to threaten the school with when (the extremely few remaining) teachers with a sense of responsibility to the kids try to do their jobs and prevent the bullying from happening.
  
  Personally, I’d love to see some parents of bullies, and some do-nothing teachers and school administrators, go to jail for quite a long time for the actions of the bullies – and see the bullies themselves given a taste of their own medicine. The Marine Corps comes to mind.
  - Cubert
    
    Friday, April 15, 2011 - 1:25 pm · Reply
    
    Exactly. While I’m not gay (long time MDN readers surely know that ), one of my best friends in high school was. I defended him at every turn even getting into a few fistfights along the way. He was even my freshman roommate in college (and, no, I never woke up with an ether rag and a jar of Vaseline next to me).
    
    While I support this video and the whole concept, I think the same attention needs to be directed toward other types of bullying (or assualt as it truthfully is). Here in Philadelphia the 2 major problems are kids who are smart and try hard in school being bullied as well as blacks targeting Asians.
  - praus
    
    Friday, April 15, 2011 - 6:04 pm · Reply
    
    I was some one who was bullied in school for being gay. I’ve learned something since then that didn’t make sense at the time. Most bullies are not bad people, that would make it easy to vilify them. Most bullies are children with very low self esteem and/or a less then ideal home life. Some of the ones that gay bash are them selves closeted gays. Maybe some of them have rich parents but those rich parents may not be around very much (it can take a lot of time and energy to become and stay rich) or they tend to only appreciate children that are over achievers like them selves (thats a lot of pressure for a child). Children with absentee parents often lash out because they have low self worth. The athletic stars are some times the children of cold or distant parents who only show their child approval when they’re winning. I think one way to help lessen bullying is to get both the bullies and the bullied counseling along with stricter consequences.
    - TowerTone
      
      Saturday, April 16, 2011 - 10:13 am · Reply
      
      Well put.
      Thanks for not blaming the stereotypical rich white male jock.
      
      Also good to acknowledge that it is an act of preying on a perceived weakness, but not necessarily a weak person.
      
      I’m sure many military brats who moved constantly from town to town as kids learned this.
kingmel

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 9:23 am · Reply

I believe that a grass roots effort is the best way to dissipate the hate. If this activity is typical of bullying decades ago when I was in school, then a relatively small number of kids are instigating it while many just watch passively, afraid to act in defense of those being bullied. It is brutal and barbaric and it has to stop.
correctu

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 9:50 am · Reply

Kudos to the Apple employees that made this video.

Make it a goal to find a place where you can be who you are, and are allowed to love and be loved. Don’t change yourself for no one. You don’t want to waste your life only to later realize you are living someone else’s dream. It’s not worth it.
Ludor

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 9:56 am · Reply

This is so very good.
iQuack

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 9:56 am · Reply

This song comes to mind!
ReformedTX

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 10:11 am · Reply

Excellent campaign! Great to see so many companies, including Apple, participate.

A local junior high boy shot himself in the head last year because he was being bullied for being gay. This needs to stop! We are all one people.
trondude

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 10:12 am · Reply

Not to be too harsh, but suicide is for weak minded people. Just be happy with what you are and ignore the bullies. Just my take, no offense intended.
- ReformedTX
  
  Friday, April 15, 2011 - 10:15 am · Reply
  
  Dude, the point here is that these people are beaten down mentally. It’s not that they are weak. Try to understand they are not living the Ozzie and Harriet life.
- Malthus
  
  Friday, April 15, 2011 - 1:58 pm · Reply
  
  “suicide is for weak minded people… no offense intended.”
  
  And yet you could not have been more offensive if you tried.
- Joe
  
  Friday, April 15, 2011 - 3:42 pm · Reply
  
  I have to agree with trondude
DeRS

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 10:13 am · Reply

I hate how people bring others to the thought of killing themselves. Obviously, most of high schoolers have no idea how cruel they are, and there are even cases when they have, but go with bullying anyway (no matter what the reason of bullying).
Timbo

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 10:45 am · Reply

Well done.
WetFX

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 10:57 am · Reply

Love your Take MDN.

Bullies find your weakness, any weakness, and use it against you. When you are told what you think, and feel is wrong indirectly (not saying it to you, are about you, just people of a group in general) can slowly brake you down and weaken you. Even if you are bullied about something else it just add layers to your feeling of hopelessness. Generally suicide is about revenge; however the ones you hurt are the ones that love and care about you. The bullies could give a rats ass, and it could even empower them. Suicide may not be fast; some avoid the pain by doing drugs, or other forms of escapism. This can slowly destroy ones future, and they still have to face the issue eventually.

There were times in my life when I thought about suicide daily. I thought of myself as weak because I did not have the balls to go through with it. Thank God I did not do it.
midwestmac

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 11:23 am · Reply

In our small rural area alone I can think of about five suicides in the last 10 years by teenagers. All were boys, a couple of which were kids who had been bullied (not for this particular reason, but bullying is bullying).

A couple of the others were related to relationships. Another was a good student who got into some trouble at at school and apparently couldn’t deal with it.

The point is that people can be depressed enough/mentally unstable enough to take their lives at many stages of their lives, but teens are at an especially tender age.

It’s a time in your life when emotions run deeply and it’s difficult to imagine that life will turn around or improve. The simple message of “it will get better” needs to permeate these kids’ lives. All of us have at one time or another been down in the dumps and wondered if this thing called life was worth it. Some people (and I imagine gay/transgendered teens in particular) need this reminder.
binarypackrat

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 11:54 am · Reply

Nice!
Ron

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 12:11 pm · Reply

Wow, this is really great. And I have to say it’s pretty terrific the comments so far on here. Despite the polarization so often being fomented, looks like there are also some points of agreement possible, too.
- 8^þ
  
  Friday, April 15, 2011 - 5:17 pm · Reply
  
  Well said, Ron.
TomInTulsa

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 1:07 pm · Reply

I do not think the gay lifestyle is compatible with Christian beliefs but I am CERTAIN that Jesus does not want anyone to take their own lives. God bless Apple and the people who shared so much of themselves to get this very important message out. I am sure it will save lives.
- Timbo
  
  Friday, April 15, 2011 - 2:34 pm · Reply
  
  Here’s what I have learned as a Christian: Love your fellow man…period. Kooky, I know.
- Deus Ex Technica
  
  Friday, April 15, 2011 - 5:17 pm · Reply
  
  As a Christian, I am taught that everybody is a sinner and is in need of a savior. Christ spent his life serving the marginalized, the weak, the sick, the downtrodden, and the oppressed. As Christians, we are to follow His example.
Gambit

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 2:10 pm · Reply

Yes, it does get better.
Nekogami13

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 2:29 pm · Reply

where is the outreach to the other victim of bullying-the bully?

Bullies, for the most part, are not born that way.
They are made. Abusive parents, parents who ignore them, parents with substance abuse problems, etc.

You want to stop bullying, treat the cause not the symptom.
rlhamon

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 3:58 pm · Reply

Good .. People should have the right to live their lives.
Spark

Friday, April 15, 2011 - 6:12 pm · Reply

I don’t think there is a person here who can’t say that they weren’t bullied at some point in their life. You don’t have to be gay, or some minority ethnicity, or fat, or any particular social demographic. Bullies are typically non-discriminatory in their actions. They are predators that have an affinity for any target that looks weak. They will rationalize their own bad behavior. I don’t think we need to do this for them by attempting to identify key targets. As a shrimpy white kid, I was a popular target all the white, black, brown… you name it… bullies with a chip on their shoulder. What’s interesting is that most of these bullies grew out of their adolescent aggressiveness and became really nice, well adjusted adults. I’ve been surprised when meeting some of these guys later in life.
MacFinn

Saturday, April 16, 2011 - 4:01 am · Reply

Youtube has deleted this video.
- Derek Currie
  
  Saturday, April 16, 2011 - 4:50 pm · Reply
  
  No. I just watched it. And loved it!
no name for a reason

Saturday, April 16, 2011 - 10:04 am · Reply

Why would those YouTube assholes delete this Apple Employee Video? Others are on there. I had just brought up the link to make my teenage step son watch it because we had a call from the school last week that he had threatened Suicide and is aways getting picked on. He is a big Apple fan and I thought this would really help him get perspective on high school bullies.

WITH ALL THE SENSELESS GARBAGE AND VIOLENCE ON YOU TUBE WHY WOULD THEY REMOVE *THIS* VIDEO TRYING TO HELP KIDS!! SENSELESS BASTARDS! I WANT A REASON FROM YOU TUBE!!
MDN needs to get it directly from Apple and post it or the link here. And thanks for the great MDN take. I read that to him and he laughed.
- Derek Currie
  
  Saturday, April 16, 2011 - 4:51 pm · Reply
  
  I don’t know the history of the video, but if it was taken down, it’s BACK!
  - no name for a reason
    
    Sunday, April 17, 2011 - 9:18 pm · Reply
    
    It was definitely pulled before, and for quite awhile, you can see the time difference between the MacFinn’s post an mine:
    Aug 16, 4:01 a.m. – Aug 16, 10:04 a.m.
    You posted Aug 16, 4:50 p.m. so some time after my post it was put back up. Must have been quite a few complaints. Stated it was harmful in the text explaining why it was pulled, it was their policy. Thankfully someone argued that policy. Wonder if a call from Steve-o himself to YouTube things fixed real fast?