Young gay filmmaker commits suicide after making an "It Gets Better" video

This is just completely heartbreaking.

EricJames Borges, aged 19, was raised in a religiously extremist household (his mother tried to perform an exorcist on him to "cure" him.). His parents constantly told him he was perverted and unnatural. A few months ago his parents kicked him out of their home.

"I was physically, mentally, emotionally and verbally assaulted on a day-to-day basis for my perceived sexual orientation," he said. "My name was not Eric, but 'Faggot.'"

He came out only a year ago. He just seems incredibly sad. Can you imagine being humilated, hated, and disowned by your parents, in the name of Jesus? This is the worst collateral damage of homophobia.

If you want to keep your faith in the human race, do not read the comments on the youtube video. It's no wonder he gave up.



It doesn't get better for everyone, and in many cases, the damage is already done. In other sad news related to LGBTQ bullying:

"Resiliently attempting to honor Kameron Jacobsen's memory following his bullycide last January by trying to help make "it get better" for bullycidal kids, Kameron's dad, Kevin Jacobsen, devoted the past year to fight against the HSV that can lead to bullycide. In the last year alone, Kevin helped create the Kindness Above Malice Foundation (KAM), an organization with a simple and noble goal: "Teach kids to be kind."


Even assuming kids are inherently kind and instead are socialized into their discriminatory and ignorant conduct, what a great and understandable message, right? How could you not praise Kevin Jacobsen for his efforts to create KAM following the heartbreaking bullycide of his son?

But whether because of the daily battle he faced to ease bullying and HSV for other kids or the arrival of the one-year anniversary of his son's bullycide or any other conceivable reason or combination of reasons that we don't know about that may have existed, earlier this week Kameron's dad, Kevin Jacobsen -- an advocate for kids to just be kind to each other -- took his own life."  (from "Child Please, How Much Worse Does It Have to Get Before It Gets Better?" by David Groshoff)

I do not see this cycle stopping until each parent teaches each child to be kind. I know there are a few exceptions to the rule, but in general it all starts with the parents. Find a homophobic child, and you'll find a homophobic parent. And most horrifying, they probably call themselves "Christian."