Real Talk: Ellen DeGeneres

As you may know, the tragic suicide of Tyler Clementi marked the fourth reported suicide of a gay student in the last three weeks. All four suicides were a direct result of the harassment the victims faced at school for being openly gay or gender deviant. In the video below, Ellen DeGeneres speaks out against bullying in schools and makes a plea for us to recognize our society’s desperate need for change.

We can start that change now. Stop using terms like “that’s so gay”. Don’t let your friends call one another “fags”. Call out people who make derogatory comments about LGBT individuals. Language is the seed of violence- derogatory, bigoted language allows us to see other people as less than human, enabling harassment and violence to occur. You know this kind of behavior isn’t right, so stand up and do something about it.