How not to react when your child comes out to you.

[Cynus]

Warning: This will make you want to hurt people.

[Gee Whillickers]

I saw this too and was going to post it here. Thanks for beating me to it.

So sad that un-evidenced beliefs take precedence for these folks over their own flesh and blood.

[Nigel Gordon]

Warning: This will make you want to hurt people

I don't think it is so much about wanting to as needing to. Any idea how the kid is managing?

What is worrying is to read some of the comments on YouTube regarding this. The way some people reacted is frightening.

[Cynus]

I don't think it is so much about wanting to as needing to. Any idea how the kid is managing?

I don't think it is so much about wanting to as needing to. Any idea how the kid is managing?

No, from what I've learned this happened recently.

I saw this too and was going to post it here. Thanks for beating me to it.

So sad that un-evidenced beliefs take precedence for these folks over their own flesh and blood.

Indeed. I'm sorry that either of us had to post it. I'd rather there weren't this level of pain in the world, though I suppose we wouldn't grow and learn without it.

[Chris James]

I see things like this entirely too many times in the news. It always makes me wonder when a child like this will wander into the local ACLU office and ask for a lawyer to sue his parents. Every state has laws that recognize that parents are responsible for their children up until the age of 18 when they achieve majority. It is not a parent's right to terminate that contract.

To me what happened to this boy is child abuse. The parents should be tried in a court of law and if found guilty should face criminal sanctions and jail time. A decision like that would allow the child to file a civil suit for non-support, ask for compensation and perhaps have enough to go on with life. Is that harsh...compared to what he has been through...not at all.

Just because a boy is your son a parent has no right to assault or commit bodily harm like ejecting a child from the home. I scoff at this form of Christian behavior and wonder at the others in a church who would support this crap.

[DesDownunder]

I think the boy was 19 at the time of his being thrown out of his home, so I don't know if a law suit would succeed on child abuse grounds.

The level of ignorance and religious stupidity is indeed frightening. Some of the comments that question the validity of the video are mind boggling.

I believe that a fund has been setup for the lad and donations can be made here if you so desire. As of this writing over $25,000 has been raised for him according to the site at the link. I don't understand how any parent could do this to their child just because he has discovered and announced his sexuality.

[Gee Whillickers]

I don't think it is so much about wanting to as needing to. Any idea how the kid is managing?

Yes. The video was posted, with permission, by his boyfriend. Apparently the boyfriend's family is taking care of him.

[Lugnutz]

Glad he's doing fine. Friggin' clueless hilljacks anyway...

[The Pecman]

Doh, Cynus beat me to it! <deleting post elsewhere>

Wow, this is a horrible video -- very hard to watch.

This 20-year-old came out to his family in Georgia, then a few days later his ultra-conservative religious family had an "intervention" to try to convince him his lifestyle was "a choice" and that he had to be straight or else they'd throw him out of the house (which they did).

Horrible story. Here's the details:

http://www.huffingto..._n_5731462.html

The good news is that people have already raised $19,000 to help the guy on GoFundMe:

http://www.gofundme.com/dnoqgg

A lot of major news sites like The Advocate, Huffington Post, The Savage Report, and The New Civil Rights Movement are covering this story.

[Cole Parker]

The grandmother says she believes in the word of god, not scientific fact. She says she's a Christian, but doesn't love unconditionally, one of the major tenets of the religion. She implies she believes in the bible, yet somehow manages to completely miss the parts describing Jesus's teachings, which are what, just about the entire New Testament?

These people should not have had children. They're too lost in their own fantasies to raise one.

C

[DesDownunder]

Donations continue for Daniel. Latest figures show the total at $52,331.

[Cynus]

A Dad's open letter to the parents in the video.

http://goodmenproject.com/families/dads-open-letter-homophobic-parents-caught-video-throwing-gay-son-away/

[Cole Parker]

That's good stuff.

C

[JamesSavik]

Watching stuff like this messes with my head.

Too many bad memories.

[Nigel Gordon]

Daniel has put up a request on the Go Fund Me site for people to stop funding him, it now stands at over $93K. He asks that anyone who wants to help LGBT youth in similar situations to make donations to Alanta Lost n Found Youth. To read his request goto:

http://www.gofundme.com/dnoqgg

[Jeff Ellis]

Well, it seems to me that however you look at it he is much better off without the family that he had, the new one seems a better basis for his future.

[backwoodsman]

If I wanted to define the words 'dogmatic' and 'bigotted' I would play that video and then explain that neither word would actually have you go that far. Extrordinary. Though Daniel is now hopefully in a loving environment I can't help wonder if the trauma of that 'interview' and assault by people he's loved and who are meant to love him will resurface at some point. I hope not.