New York Governor David Paterson says
he hit a bully in the face with a lunchbox in a new public service
announcement for the It Gets Better anti-bullying campaign, which
reaches out to troubled gay teens.
Paterson, who is legally blind, says he
knows “a lot about bullying.”
“I got bullied from the time I went
to school, in kindergarten, pretty much into junior high school and
even in high school.”
“On one occasion, I got so frustrated
with the teachers and the people running the playgrounds, or whoever
they were, not doing anything about it, that I hit a kid in the face
with a lunchbox,” Paterson says.
“And you know something? Even 40
years later I'm not sorry,” he adds. (The video is embedded in the
right panel of this page.)
Sex advice columnist, novelist and
activist Dan Savage's It Gets Better campaign benefits The
Trevor Project, a national group centered on crisis and suicide
prevention efforts for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)
youth.
Paterson
earlier this year signed into law a gay- and trans-inclusive
anti-bullying law.
Openly gay celebrities who have also
joined the campaign include Project
Runway
celebrity judge Tim Gunn, talk
show host Ellen DeGeneres,
How I Met Your Mother star
Neil Patrick Harris and former 'NSYNCer Lance Bass.