This project seems like such a great resource. I've heard the suicide rate among LGBT individuals is unusually high. Again we have people telling them who they are and who they love is wrong so they grow this horrid self image and develop many mental health issues. Having a project such as this that actively works to correct the horrible things people have said to these people is beautiful. These people are not alone and there are actually many people out there who want to help and save their lives. To help some accept themselves and to move forward and have a good life.

Such a harsh reality we live in. People being kicked out for how they look after being thrown out by the world.

Really this is what we need representation and teaching people it isn't a choice. It would be a huge victory just to change the minds of a few who hold the misconception that this is something people choose to be.

This statement is so true. No one with these two choices would choose to be LGBT. No one chooses to be LGBT who would choose to be discriminated on and possibly abandoned by their families. It is so sad to hear of all these kids having the same horrible experience just because they were born a certain way. There's just this misconception that there is a choice that allows these parents to justify to themselves that this is the right things for these kids. In reality however they are trying to force them to change who they are which is something no person can change even with a lifetime of trying.

What a beautiful idea.

That statistic is really scary when you think about it. A majority of those LGBT youth as apposed to non-lgbt youth became homeless because of who they are rather than unfortunate scenarios. That is 1500 families in NYC who would rather throw their child on the street then house an LGBT child. I wish people could be more accepting. Additionally generally NYC is more accepting so I can only imagine this statistic in other locations.

In terms of acceptance I think transgender youth suffer the most unfortunately. Even within this community they are commonly excluded.

I liked the message of this article and there is a plethora of good information here.

Again here these individuals are being told they are unloved by their families often for "choosing to be a certain way. As a result not only are they being abandoned, but also that their identity and sexuality is a lie. There is already a huge struggle for these individuals to accept themselves in a hetero-normative world. There lacks representation, resources, and in this case support at home. They can't control who they are and with nearly everything telling them it is wrong to be who they are of course they will have mental struggles as a result. This is an extremely traumatic event and they are being taught they don't matter and their feelings and thoughts are wrong.

That is a huge amount of people. I remember my sister who worked as a social worker for a home for youth told me there are many parents who refuse to take their kids back when they find out they are LGBT. She said she spent many counselling sessions trying to open the parents' eyes that this wasn't a bad thing and trying to teach them how harmful their behavior was. She told me that many parents never came to terms so when the child ran out of the allotted time at the home they often became homeless which is so heartbreaking.

Of course they are their family is a abandoning them that is a traumatic experience. At the end of the day the people you are supposed to have forever are them.

This really it really upsetting how can parents be so ready to abandon their kids because of their identity or sexuality. I'm not even sure how that can be legal.

Its always so interesting how people find their sexuality. Like Whitney was so boy crazed and now finds herself lesbian and not bisexual. Its crazy how life works, but in general I think we all find ourselves eventually! Whitney you are an amazing person!

I loved this poem it has a lot of power and can speak to many people who have struggled with their identity due to things like religion.

I wouldn't say as a complete society this is true, however their are to many who have failed. We fought these flags and won. Their ideals should be learned in history class and not practiced in the streets. Many soldiers gave their lives fighting against the ideas behind these flags because they wanted to create a better world for all. One where people can have rights and push to be equal. We are all human beings and we need to learn from our past that we should all have equal rights and opportunity.

This is definitely true and very sad. It seems that we've created teams to side with in every issue. you are either one or the other and there is no compromise. Its horrible and need to be changed before we tear this nation down from the inside. Everything is so radically torn. If you near one political party you disagree with nearly everything of the other without wavering. It isn't the american way we are supposed to listen and compromise, but its been a long time since we've seen this. Instead you have people come to power and while they have it do everything for their side while ignoring the issues and voices it causes for the other.

Its sad that people still need to go out and talk about racism and how to get rid of it. White supremacy does a ton of harm to many groups. Those who protest on the side of white supremacists harm many but never feel the affects of the actions they take. They have nothing to lose nor gain but the satisfaction of staying superior to others. People like Turner have a lot of strength to go out and talk about and teach when it seems so obvious to many we shouldn't have to anymore. We should all just have the same rights as one another. No group is superior to another.

This statement is really frustrating because as our president we would like to hear him say that white supremacy will not be accepted. Instead we hear a narrative of essentially well there are two sides to a story and what happened was terrible. but whatever these things happen. There should be no question on his stance. There is no good reason for a group to carry weapons through a city in protest and have a member of said group drive through a large group of people and have the president not come out and say this group is not acceptable. Yes,m there was violence on both sides, both sides brought weapons such as bats, however there are the people who had peaceful intent and those who did not.

I make me happy to see that there were many forms of mourning for this brave woman. I think the statues coming down will definitely anger some people, but really the fact these statues are still up shows that as a nation we aren't yet finished with racism. Its a good step to remove them from the public so that white supremacists and other groups don't get the idea that the ideals of these historical figures are still okay. Naturally I believe these statues should find homes in museums, but not in public spaces where they can be celebrated and make impressions to some that things such as racism are okay.

I find it interesting that these white nationalists can realize that if their identity while protesting were to get out it would cause them trouble in the future if they ever seeked office; however didn't seem to make the connection that the reason for their concern was that they realize what they are doing unwanted or wrong. They somehow believe they are the victims because other people are gaining the same rights they already have. As if when everyone became equal they would become less. The thought behind this make no sense to me. How could one not want others to be at their social level so badly that you would protest with almost seemingly intent for violence. The fact that they planned ahead with masks and such and openly admitted to that says to me they had intent that this would become what it did.

This particular quote got me thinking about how some people seem to perceive events like this. What happened here was so horrible. Many got hurt and this poor brave girl Heather died while trying to peacefully protest . The thing is though following this their were many nasty comments about how she deserved it, things so inhuman I couldn't believe people could say it as a response to someone's death and many others' injuries. For example I saw a comment on Facebook where some individual said she deserved to die in this way because she was fat and useless because she hadn't had a child at her age. It seems to me these kinds of people don't realize this isn't just a video this is reality. Its scary and horrible for lack of a better words. It changes peoples lives and as long as people on both sides continue to watch these news stories and view them as if they're another world nothing will change. There needs to be action hopefully peaceful and hopefully in the good spirit of Heather Heyer for a better world not a more hateful like these Nationalists would like to see. We can't watch these events as if they aren't a reality and not take action in any small or large way that we can.