A few days ago, a video by gay Georgia teen Daniel Pierce went viral, after he secretly filmed his family’s attempt to hold a religious intervention for him. The 19-year-old Pierce was ultimately disowned by his family, who attacked him and then threw him out of the house, refusing to believe that his sexuality was anything other than a choice.
With nowhere else to turn, Pierce looked to the internet for help. His boyfriend set up a crowd funding page to look for assistance with living expenses, college textbooks and the like. People were so shocked and saddened by the video that, as of today, the total amount of donations has surpassed $93,085 US ($100,439 AUD), well past the original, modest funding goal of $2000 US.
If you haven’t seen the video, entitled ‘How not to react when your child tells you that he’s gay’, you can watch it below, but it’s pretty unpleasant stuff.
Pierce later posted about his experience on Facebook:
“What a day…. i thought that waking up at 9:48 and being 15 mins late to work was going to be the biggest problem today. but i didn’t know that my biggest problem was going to be getting disowned and kicked out of my home of almost twenty years. to add insult to injury my step mother punched me in the face repeatedly with my grandmother cheering her along.”
“i am still in complete shock and disbelief. the video i posted a few hours ago will give you a small bit of what i went through. i am sure y’all can guess who is who. Thanks to Teri, Regina and my boyfriend david for coming to rescue me. and thanks to everyone else who is sending their support!”
Speaking to a local news station in the wake of his video going viral, Pierce thanked LGBT support group Lost N Found for their help in sharing his video, and promised to pay his support forward, and “hopefully turn something negative into something positive.”
He says he still loves his family, and though they have yet to speak out, he hopes that people do not attack them. “If one family watches [the video] and maybe changes their mind about how they would handle their son or their daughter coming out … I would he happy,” he said.
via 9 News
Image via The Independent
