I posted about Jamey Rodemeyer here earlier this week.

And I heard today that Lady Gaga is now speaking out against hate and she sounds like she means business.

Here’s a link to the article.

Just so you know, folks. This isn’t something new, this thing where gay people commit suicide because they’re being bullied or they can’t accept who they are, or they feel trapped and alone. It’s not a trend and it’s not the issue of the day trending on twitter and facebook. I grew up in a small town and I remember a very effeminate gay teenager who wound up shooting himself for reasons that were never disclosed. I can remember other incidents like this, too. I was one of the luckier ones. No one knew I was gay until I decided to come out on my own terms. But it’s not like that for all gay people.

And now we’re finally seeing it for what it is. Being a gay YA shouldn’t have anything to do with luck. And we’re not willing to sit back and take the abuse anymore. I believe changing this begins with one person and grows in magnitude. And if we can get to one person, like Jamey Rodemeyer, and show him that it does, indeed, get better, we’re on our way to conquering a great deal.

Why did Billie Joe jump off the Tallahatchie Bridge?

Questions arose among the listeners: what did Billie Joe and his girlfriend throw off the Tallahatchie Bridge, and why did Billie Joe commit suicide? Speculation ran rampant after the song hit the airwaves, and Gentry said in a November 1967 interview that it was the question most asked of her by everyone she met. She named flowers, a ring, a draft card, a bottle of LSD pills, and an aborted baby as the most often guessed items. Although she knew definitely what the item was, she wouldn’t reveal it, saying only “Suppose it was a wedding ring.” “It’s in there for two reasons,” she said. “First, it locks up a definite relationship between Billie Joe and the girl telling the story, the girl at the table. Second, the fact that Billie Joe was seen throwing something off the bridge — no matter what it was — provides a possible motivation as to why he jumped off the bridge the next day.”[3]

And I found this, here:

One night at a party, however, McAllister gets drunk. In his inebriated state, he makes love to another man dressed in drag, though later he reveals he knew what he was doing.

This is all speculation about Billie Joe. We’ll probably never know the real answer as to why Billie Joe committed suicide. But I do know that a lot of young gay people have been committing suicide for many years and it’s always been covered up because of fear and hate. And it’s time that stopped.

All those “things” you hear in your small town, and the anxiety you have about being gay right now will change in time. Your minister, priest, rabbi, or whatever might think they know better, but they really don’t. They only think they do. Talk to someone who knows about being gay. It really does get better…you just have to believe this.