Following a number of other organizations, including baseball's San Francisco Giants, the Boston Red Sox today became the second Major League Baseball team to release an "It Gets Better" video aimed at lessening the despair felt by victims of bullying. Exactly one month ago, the Giants became the first professional sports franchise to release such a video.
Below the fold, we'll look at the video, what went into its creation, and the broader It Gets Better project.
Per the Boston Globe:
The 60-second video, produced by Red Sox Productions, features [Red Sox third baseman] Kevin Youkilis, [Red Sox catcher] Jason Varitek and [Red Sox Manager] Terry Francona.
Also included are Eric Maitland, a Red Sox greeter and Wheelock College counselor; TJ Connelly, Fenway Park’s DJ and member of the Red Sox Fan Services & Entertainment department; Kristen Rosa, Smith College student and Red Sox fan; and Alison Tippett, a student at Lexington High School and daughter of Red Sox Director of Baseball Information Services Tom Tippett.
Kudos not only to the team, but also to the brave young kids who participated. And a special recognition ought to go to young Sam Maden, a twelve-year old from Nashua, NH. It was Sam who asked the Red Sox to make the video, and probably to his great surprise, they simply said yes. As I understand it, Sam isn't gay, but someone very important in his life was:
Maybe if you'd known Sam's uncle, Chris Nutile, you'd understand why. Nutile, Tara's brother [Tara is Sam's mom. -ED], cared deeply about such things and shared that attitude with his nephew, who always looked forward to visits from his uncle, who split his time between New York and Miami but usually made it back to Nashua for the holidays.
Nutile was gay, and one of the causes he was most passionate about was the Trevor Project, a crisis and suicide prevention counseling service for youth, especially members of the LGBT community. At Pennichuck Middle School, where Sam is a seventh grader, time is set aside for the kids to do something to make a difference. Sam and a couple of his buddies organized a bike-a-thon for the Trevor Project, and raised $800.
Nutile would have been proud, of course, had he lived. But he was in Brazil this past winter during the devastating mudslides that struck that country, and in January the family was notified by the U.S. consulate that he had been killed, although the circumstances of his death, Tara said, have never been fully explained. Nutile was 43.
Sam started a petition on change.org to get the Red Sox to make this video, and the petition got up to over 9,000 signatures when it was presented to the Red Sox. One day later the team's office of public affairs announced it would make the video.
The It Gets Better Project
After a rash of LGBT suicides in the wake of anti-LGBT bullying, syndicated columnist Dan Savage decided to do something about it, and it has blossomed probably in ways he couldn't imagine. From the It Gets Better website:
In September 2010, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage created a YouTube video with his partner Terry to inspire hope for young people facing harassment. In response to a number of students taking their own lives after being bullied in school, they wanted to create a personal way for supporters everywhere to tell LGBT youth that, yes, it does indeed get better.
Two months later, the It Gets Better Project (TM) has turned into a worldwide movement, inspiring over 10,000 user-created videos viewed over 35 million times. To date, the project has received submissions from celebrities, organizations, activists, politicians and media personalities, including President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Lambert, Anne Hathaway, Colin Farrell, Matthew Morrison of "Glee", Joe Jonas, Joel Madden, Ke$ha, Sarah Silverman, Tim Gunn, Ellen DeGeneres, Suze Orman, the staffs of The Gap, Google, Facebook, Pixar, the Broadway community, and many more. For us, every video changes a life. It doesn’t matter who makes it.
The website www.itgetsbetter.org is a place where young people who are lesbian, gay, bi, or trans can see how love and happiness can be a reality in their future. It’s a place where our straight allies can visit and support their friends and family members. It’s a place where people can share their stories, take the It Gets Better Project pledge, watch videos of love and support, and seek help through the Trevor Project and GLSEN.
The Hebrew term tikkun olam (תיקון עולם) means to "repair the world." In Western parlance, it now more or less means social action, community service, and social justice. Mazel tov to Dan Savage, Sam Maden, and the Boston Red Sox for all doing their own tikkun olam. May we all strive to do the same.