Many people, mostly young boys and girls ask me ‘when should I come out?’ This is a question I find not easy to answer. The campaign IT GETS BETTER is doing great work but I would not blanket the whole closeted community and encourage them to come out collectively. That decision is truly on a case to case basis.
Many factors must be considered; will this improve my life? Will I be kicked out of my home? Will I be shunned at school? Soooo many factors play into that decision, that it is impossible, and I daresay, dangerous to encourage EVERYBODY to come out.
I, on the other hand, encourage young people to do what will make them as happy as possible. And unfortunately, yes sometimes this does include staying IN the closet. There is a time and a place for everything… Sometimes waiting until you are in college where diversity is celebrated is better than coming out in a small Wyoming town and being killed for it.
I want nothing more than for LGBT kids to be happy… But above that, I want them to be safe!
I would like to say to anybody reading this, if you are struggling with any issues mentioned above, feel free to get in contact with me on @AustinArmacost