Yesterday, Hillary Clinton made her own contribution, which lacked the personal, homemade quality that made Savage's video so appealing, but added the gravitas of a semi-endorsement by the White House:
Google employees also added to the chorus yesterday:
The New York Times says that the outpouring of response has prompted Savage to create a stand-alone site to host the videos. The website, itgetsbetterproject.com, allows users to upload their own videos or written stories, and provides resources to LGBT teens seeking help or considering suicide.
Speaking to the Times, Savage said that YouTube gave him direct channel to communicate with teens "out in the boonies, in the exurbs" where discrimination has been getting worse:
But how to tell them? He gives talks at colleges regularly, but not at middle schools or high schools. “I would never get permission,” he said, blaming a system of “parents, preachers and teachers” who “believe they can terrorize gay children out of being gay as they grow up.”
His realization was this: “I was waiting for permission that — in the era of YouTube, Twitter, Facebook — I didn’t need anymore.”
And thus, Dan Savage's incredibly moving, and inspiring, campaign was born: