The Make It Better Project (which does not appear to have anything to do with Dan Savage's "It Gets Better" project, other than kind of spoofing their name) is a project of the Gay Straight Alliance network, which is something, I believe, that GLSEN came up with.
Anyway, they're not pleased that Lady Gaga said recently that bullying should be made illegal.
Criminalizing bullying is not the answer. There are proven, positive ways – from starting and supporting Gay-Straight Alliance clubs to intervening when slurs occur – to Make It Better. It’s important now more than ever to stick to these concrete steps, and not turn to punitive, reactionary measures that cause more harm than good.Pushing for more GSA's is all well and good. But part of the problem is that in some states there are no laws covering bullying, like the state in which 14 year old Jamey Rodemeyer was bullied and recently killed himself as a result. It's all well and good to have GSAs at the school, but if my kid (had I a kid) is being repeatedly taunted by other kids telling him to kill himself, I want more than a GSA to turn to, especially if the school district isn't doing enough to help. I want the law.
Lady Gaga means the best, and we love her activism. So let’s help her fight for social justice by telling her how we are making it better right now, every day, in our communities through positive measures. Let’s tell her this is how we can Make It Better.
Are you in a Gay-Straight Alliance club? Did you advocate for anti-bullying policies in your community’s school that spell out that nobody can discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity and expression? Did you make sure those policies were posted in the hallways and on your school’s website? Did you train your teachers to intervene when slurs occur?
And in any case, after everything Lady Gaga has done for our community, it's not entirely clear why we should publicly criticize one of our most powerful, and most supportive, celebrities. That kind of thing you do privately, and only go public when all else fails (and if it really matters). It's not clear how Gaga even vaguely hurt the case by what she said (she didn't). Whereas this criticism risks Gaga's relationship with the community, and that hurts us all.
