Comments

101
@88: Or that 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women in the US will develop any kind of cancer in their lifetime (and 20-25% of us will die from cancer)? Grow the fuck up and try to pry your head out of your ass.
102
Done! Small, but that's the way it is. Hope the kids put it to good use!
103
I gave what I could. Best of luck to you guys!! You are an amazing group of kids and IT DOES GET BETTER!!
104
Happy Birthday Dan. I donated what I could.

Basehead go look for attention and validation elsewhere.
105
Language, everyone! There might be kids from Liberty reading through this, and I'd hate for their parents to think Slog is a bad influence on them.

Tee hee!
106
Donated $10.
107
Based on the people who commented with the amount of their donation, the Liberty GSA has $1135 to its name. Go Sloggers!
108
What type of budget would they actually need for four years?

Dan, I'd love to see the IGBP begin to function in a way that would facilitate this type of thing. For instance, it would be great to offer a yearly scholarship to an LBGT kid who wants to pursue studies that would help LGBT people. You could ask applicants to write a short essay which would be posted, and everyone who donates could vote on a winner.
109
Re: chimps -- bonobos are much less hierarchical and much more sexual than the other chimpanzees (Pan paniscus). The males of Pan paniscus are also much more likely to get run out of the troop or killed in dominance fights, and the alpha usually only lasts a few years before being overthrown.

Didn't you read _Sex at Dawn_ like Dan told you to?

Happy Birthday Dan. I'd love to see a book by you on talking to your kids about sex, as was mentioned in another thread.
110
20 from me. Good luck kids and happy birthday, Dan. Stay well.
111
$25. Happy birthday Dan. Stay close til it gets better gay kids in MO.
112
Just a lowly $10, but done!
113
Wouldn't it make sense to donate to an organization that helps a LOT of GSAs like GSA Network?
114
Done. And Happy Birthday!
115
$10 from me.

This is a process.

I'm currently in Serbia and there's about to be another attempt to have the first gay pride parade. The first two resulted either in mass violence or murder. Fingers crossed this time.
116
$20 from across the Atlantic, so uh, £12 or so. Happy Birthday!
117
Check is in the mail, and although I hate to sound like a Grammar Nazi I do hope Mr. Barreca, as a teacher, knows the difference between "you're" and "your" and just made a mistake in this letter.

Of course a small grammatical error is easily forgiven considering how much good he's doing the school.
118
Gave what I could. Happy Birthday Dan!
119
@60 - i live in durham, and this IGBP has made me want to reach out and volunteer for a GSA if there is one that is in need of assistance. if there is anything you need from a fellow triangle resident, please let me know!
120
Haha everyone kindly ignore (free)base-head, a quick scan of his comments shows that he likes to troll as many comment threads as possibly with contrary nonsense. He mentions at one point that he was bullied and clearly being contrary on the internet with the intent of rabble rousing is how he is dealing with it.

Some of the things he does say however are quite funny which lead me to wonder if the whole thing isn't a joke. And I quote: "I am white, I also happen to be Irish Catholic (though not a practicing Catholic) and if you would like to give me the evidence of a more oppressed group throughout history than Irish Catholics, I'd love to see it."

LOL
121
Thank you all so much. We will be sending Dan a thank you letter and picture to thank his followers for their overwhelming kindness and support. I will be giving money to Liberty's other high school's GSA along with schools in the Kansas City Metro Area to help students in this entire Midwestern community. You have proven to these kids that it does get better and that overall, this world is a loving and accepting place. You actions will change these students lives forever along with the culture of our school. I cannot thank you all enough.

John Barreca
Liberty High Schools GSA sponsor
122
Thank you, Mr. Barreca for being an open supporter of equality for glbt people and making schools a safer more supportive place for our kids. You are saving lives.
123
$25. It gets better when you can finally give back.
124
+20 Happy Birthday!
125
Man - I think Special Ed teachers need some major kudos - I just realized every GSA advisor I've met has been one, and they're usually waaay overworked and underfunded just in their day jobs, much less taking on this kind of extra work (not that most public school teachers aren't). And I hope Mr. Barreca & his counterparts get some support from their SS/English/etc etc colleagues & administrators.
126
$25 added to the kitty - good luck to the kids.
127
Hey Barreca, I don't think I tell you enough how much you rock. I wish you would have stayed employed over here at that other high school you last worked for. We miss you here, keep up the good work.
128
I'm a day late, but I just added my bit. Happy (belated) birthday, Dan.
129
Hi Dan.

You are the man. Donated $20. You should be proud of your readers. We're sure proud of you.

All the best and happy birthday. Celebrate it with a bang!
130
Nobody has proved me wrong,
131
Happy Birthday!
Thanks for the opportunity to help!

132
done. I gave 5 bucks. What is the total so far?
133
Happy Birthday Dan! Feels great to donate to something so life changing; just like this whole "IGB" project. Can't stop smiling.
134
Basehead, Not that anyone really cares, but you're Captain Obvious with a shiny silver sequined cape and chiseled jaw of self righteous nobility.

It's not that anyone really disputes "Monkey this/monkey that/whatever/tl;dr" it's that no body cares, or we've all moved past our collective genealogical background in the name of compassion in order to make our herd/tribe/pack a nicer place.

Go chase your asian trannys...When you realize that fighting so others don't get beat up or killed for it ≠ shoving tranny love down someones throat, you'll be a much better person and a happier person.
135
Just got the internet hooked up in my new apartment and am catching up on Dan's stuff. Gave a little, will give more when I get paid next week. Happy birthday Dan! And kudos for the write-up on It Gets Better in Entertainment Weekly--that should bring a huge amount of publicity.

I think the link to the national GSA organizations should be posted on your IGB channel so people viewing will see some additional options for making a difference in the lives of these at-risk teens.
136
Donated.

Happy Birthday, Dan.

An article about the It Gets Better project was on the front page of the SF Chronicle here on Friday. You've really done something wonderful with this, Dan.

Love and Peace.
137
Don't feed the trolls: just ignore basehead. Sie is feeding on the negative attention (presumably because that is the only kind sie gets); stop providing it and sie will go elsewhere for sustenance. Oh, and donations sent.
138
@72 (basehead) - That's all fine and dandy for you. Sure. Throw your hands in the air and proclaim that "it's just the way of the world. Get used to it."

But, make NO MISTAKE, that nothing good in our world ever came from people with your attitude. The medical advances, the social advances and every other "good" advance we humans have made came from people that believed that just one person could make the difference.

So, feel free to drag your feet, do nothing but criticize and "accept" your existence in what you feel is a shitty world, but I'll gladly hang with those that believe in a better world for all, even if only done by one act of kindness at a time.
139
I sent a small donation. I am also trying to start a GSA at my school and am trying to incorporate more tolerant strategies into my classroom teaching. I am posting a link to Dan's birthday wish on my blog. Please also visit my blog and comment on what I'm doing. http://tolerantteaching.blogspot.com/ I need feedback from LGBT & straight kids, adults, other teachers, etc.
140
happy belated birthday Dan. i sent $50 in your name.
141
Another $15 on the way from me.
142
@138. I like the dragging your feet comment. The problem with it is, and not to hate on religion too hard here, but 2000 years of ignorance perpetuated by huge empires, particularly the Christian and Islamic faiths (the majority of the current US population) is likely too much to overcome in the way we saw racism and segregation overcome (ie. Christians never thought people were sinning for having black skin, they simply saw them as inferior). I know there has been a lot of progression in some denominations of Christianity, but until the Bible is seen as the fiction book that it is and not the "Word of God," then too many people are going to be TAUGHT to HATE homosexuality in the home, church, social circles, etc.

P.S. John Barreca is a very good person. Donating to the national GSA is a great idea too, but don't underestimate the power of one teacher in one conservative town.
143
Not meaning to shit on a parade here, but does the only evidence Dan have that this is genuine the email and a non-descript pay pal account? If there's a fundraising organization GSA's can access it would be better to do it that way less someone scam us for money. I hope it's real, but, you know, that's not a lot of evidence as presented.

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