TONIGHT! April 13th, 2011 from 9pm – midnight (or later?) at Akbar, it’s CRAFTNIGHT!!!
Project: BANKS
$2 processing fee
$4 cosmopolitan drink special WOO!
Special Guest: Independent Film Maker, George Cornelius, selling “Don’t Be a Dick” t-shirts to raise money for The Trevor Project
Taxes are looming. This is why I thought it would be fun to make banks. After giving your percentage to Uncle Sam, why not start a little fund for YOURSELF by decorating and using a snazzy little bank? They’re cardboard, and a little flimsy, but with a bit of whimsy, they work just as good as any receptacle that is capable of holding money! You can make your bank say “Fancy Underwear Funds” or “Jumbo’s Clown Room” or “Baby Pine Tree for the Yard.”
Now then. What is the Trevor Project, and why is George hot-rodding in here and pedaling shirts that say “Don’t be a Dick” on them? The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.
George is raising money for the Trevor Project, to help them keep doing what they do. Here’s the Don’t be a Dick STORE
I grew up gay in a small town (1,776 people!) I lived in fear of getting picked on, and watched kids who weren’t gay, who were perceived to BE gay get bullied. Girls who were thought to be lesbians were shunned and rumors were spread about them, guys were beat up, their property vandalized, it sucked. I felt paralyzed and alone, and like any kind of move I would make to protect them would only get me branded untouchable as well.
While awareness has gotten much better since I was in high school, this crap still exists.
Here are some sobering facts:
• Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers (Massachusetts Youth Risk Survey 2007).
• Nearly half of young transgender people have seriously thought about taking their lives and one quarter report having made a suicide attempt (Grossman AH, D’Augelli AR – Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior 2007)
• Sexual minority youth, or teens that identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual, are bullied two to three times more than heterosexuals. (Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH 2010)
George had these shirts made, they say “Don’t be a Dick” because that’s where it starts. We all have the capacity to NOT be a dick, why don’t we follow this instinct more often? Perhaps wearing a “Don’t be a Dick” t-shirt, might awaken in us and others the sensibility that the things we say and do have the potential to cause pain and suffering. We need to step UP and build some confidence and develop trust in our basic goodness individually, and with others.
Bullying is fear, time to grow some hair on your peaches, and stop being a dick.
Hell, buy a shirt, it’s worth a try!
ONE MORE THING:
The Uniting American Families Act is going to be considered this week in the senate. It would allow a U.S. citizen or permanent resident to sponsor their same-sex partner for immigration to the U.S., a right which is currently denied.
If you’re feelin’ like doing this, I invite you to take the 3-4 minutes to make the 2 phone calls in support of the bill.
California:
Boxer, Barbara – (202) 224-3553
Feinstein, Dianne – (202) 224-3841
See you at the Craft Table,
JP Craft Captain
