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The LGBT blogosphere is full of news about Zachary Quinto, who came out as a gay man. This is good news and a big deal in many ways, but for me the really big deal, is what promped him to come out at this time. In his words:

when i found out that jamey rodemeyer killed himself – i felt deeply troubled.  but when i found out that jamey rodemeyer had made an it gets better video only months before taking his own life – i felt indescribable despair.  i also made an it gets better video last year – in the wake of the senseless and tragic gay teen suicides that were sweeping the nation at the time.  but in light of jamey’s death – it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it – is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality. (emphasis is mine)

Telling our youth that it gets better, may help some who are feeling alone, recognize that they can hold on, but in reality, it doesn’t itself, make everything better. In fact, if we are too busy focused talking about how it gets better, all we really do, is be in denial of just how really bad it is for far too many queer youth each and everyday. The solution is to follow Zachary’s lead and come out!