Your Thoughts

God bless you! Thank you for giving ALL of us a voice!

An impressive, important piece of film-making that should be a must-see in all high schools and Boards of Education.  I was lucky…“coming out” was not too difficult for me with a loving family and some incredible friends but I certainly knew people that had a very different experience than mine.  CJ is a truly fine young man and his Mom is just lovely.  I’m 50 now and about to marry the man I love (Yay, Canada!!!) and wish that our laws would “trickle down” to our southern neighbours.  Gay marriage hasn’t torn our country apart, started a war or caused Canada to implode.  I’ve told everyone I know about this film and told them to tell everyone they know.  And so on…and so on.  Let’s change one “redneck” mind at a time everyone.

An important documentary.  Saw it at the Rosebud Festival screening, in Arlington, VA.  Living in a liberal/progressive stronghold that is Arlington, it’s shocking to see how small-minded small town America really is.  Such bigots, all in the name of “Christianity”.  Not to mention the ignorance of people who claim that same sex marriage is a threat to “traditional” marriage.  How so?  We straight people do a good job threatening “traditional” marriage ourselves, what with the 50% of us who fail miserably at it!  Okay, I’m calm.  Thanks for a terrific documentary.

I absolutely loved watching this documentary during your screening last sunday, the 7th of Nov. It really touched me and gave me a chuckle or two at how closed minded some of the world can be and made me smile at how many people actually are able to see past their own predjudices and accept someone who is different from them.

Thank you so much for making this documentary.

Matt Schuster

I have been to Oil City.  I have heard of the issue of the Erie School District and diversity training.  This documentary though made it all come together for me.  The reason that I was reviewing it was for a class within my masters degree…in school counseling.  I do not feel that bullying in any form or for any reason is a good think.  I want to be able to support and advocate for ALL STUDENTS!! 

As an individual, I never grew up knowing about LGBT’s and did not understand much about this diverse group of people until about 10 years ago.  In that time, I have learned what I already knew, we are all human beings looking for have someone there at our most important moments to recall them later with and laugh, cry, or smile over on our death bed with.

I have also recently been told that one of my best friends from high school is gay.  That made me feel a great deal better because I was feeling guilty for turning him down twenty years ago as a boyfriend!  LOL!!  Well, I can stop feeling guilty now!

Kristin

In the documentary, the people do not want gay marriage and they think its all wrong. Who are they to judge… Just because they go by what the bible says doesn’t make their OPINIONS right.

WE ARE ALL GOD’S CHILDREN…
Black, White, Brown, Gay, Straight, Short, Tall, Fat, Whatever..

We as human beings disagree with what we are not.. What is normal for one person, will not be to another.. Hopefully a “homophobic” person sees this because my message to you is, We only live once.. judging gay people for their sexuality is not going to get you to where you want to go in your afterlife.

We’re born angels, quickly becoming fallen ones like lucifer himself, its up to us to earn our wings and be that angel we once were…

Great work on the documentary! Joseph and Dean recently visited Pendleton, Oregon and they have done a spectacular job on informing and persuading people to act and not be silenced.

Since seeing the movie last night it made me think about what Pendleton cna surrounding communties can do to change things.
Honestly I’ve come up with nothing yet, but there is not a single second that I havent thought about a change.
Your documentary really does wonders to open up the minds of those who shun the difference in others.
This documentary has inspired me, as a poet, to write and show people what I feel about this issue.
Thank you for all your hard work and for coming to Pendleton.
Hope to hear from you all soon. good luck!
~Megan Baker

I am taking a community organizing class at Catholic University and my group is scheduled to present on this coming Monday. We decided to present on bullying, and laws around bullying. During my literature search I came across your website. So I have printed out 10 copies of the press release and will pass it out in class. Oh! Did I mention that I am a social work major? Keep up the good work. If there is anything I can do please feel free to email me.

I watched this film in a college class, and it really touched me. I felt so many emotions watching, and out of the couple of films I’ve seen about life for LGBT people, this is my favorite. I do not have a personal story of prejudice to share, but I was inspired by the people in the film who fought against prejudice in a small town. I am in training to be a high school teacher, and the idea that the school did nothing to help CJ when he was being bullied infuriates me. Films like this make me even more sure of my profession and how I can possibly stand up for my students when no one else will.

I was inspired by Kathy in particular, who supported her son so much. It is because of courageous people who stand up to injustice that society starts to change, little by little. And one of my favorite moments was seeing how many people showed up at the opening of Rox and Linda’s theater, juxtaposed with the meager crowd at the AFA meeting. In that case, pictures really did tell a thousand words.

I will admit that I didn’t particularly like Pastor Micklos. Seemed as if he were patting himself on the back for being civil to gay people, despite how he admitted it wasn’t likely for him to change his mind. Spare me your “friendship,” Pastor.

I don’t understand how anyone can demonize and harass people who are just trying to live their lives. This film shows a multidimensional view of the LGT people living in Oil City, real people with diverse interests who have to deal with discrimination just for being who they are.

I have looked at some of the comments here, and I think it’s pretty obvious how many people appreciate this film. Thanks again for making it.

TERRIFIC DOCUMENTARY!!

I grew up in Jamestown, North Dakota and suffered all of the same abuse CJ did.  It was scary at times and I really didn’t have a single teacher or administrator advocating for my safety.  I did have a few close friends though and we stuck together pretty tight.  I also had the benefit of traveling quite a bit and saw my small town in the context of the rest of the world.  I as a gay person was not alone.  Documentaries like this do precisely the same thing.  They shed light on other gay people’s experience and show us that we are not alone.

Thank you for taking such good care of this story.  You did something truly good for the gay community.  And by handling those people who are still bigoted with respect, I believe you’ve done something good for the conversation as a whole.

Thank you.