A few years ago, the Supreme Court decided that the Boy Scouts of America had the right to discriminate against LGBT kids.
Congratulations, Boy Scouts!!
The result, however, has been disastrous, as the organization celebrates its 100th birthday. In the wake of the ruling, it has lost membership and clout. An article in today’s New York Times by Katherine Seelye says it all:
The organization, long an icon of wholesomeness in a simpler America, has seen its membership plunge by 42 percent since its peak year of 1973, when there were 4.8 million scouts. In the last decade alone, membership has dropped by more than 16 percent, to 2.8 million.
The declines reflect the difficulties of keeping up with changing times and shifting demographics, as well as of battling a perception that the organization is exclusionary because it bars gay people and atheists, not to mention girls under 13.
And, of course, when you ban women, gays and religious diversity, you also create a flashing neon sign that reads, “PERVERTS PLEASE APPLY”:
An even bigger challenge emerged this year as a jury ordered the Scouts to pay $18.5 million in damages to a man who had been abused by a scout leader as a boy. The trial focused renewed attention on the secret files that the Scouts’ national office in Texas has kept for more than 70 years of claims of sexual abuse by troop leaders and volunteers.
If the office voice mail recording is any indication, damage control was in full swing this week at the Gerber Boy Scout Camp near Muskegon, Mich., where the director is behind bars, charged with possessing and distributing child pornography — including locker-room videotapes of boys at the YMCA where he worked as a pool safety instructor.
So, the Boy Scouts can discriminate and humiliate young gay kids who only want to tie knots and roast marshmallows. Good for them.
It can belittle young girls and exclude atheists. Isn’t that nice?
However, by making these bigoted and backward choices, the Boy Scouts of America looks a lot like the Roman Catholic Church. The Boy Scouts are now considered uncool, they have a rapidly declining membership, and attracts psychologically unhealthy and emotionally dysfunctional people with severe sexual hangups.
As the Boy Scouts celebrate their 100th birthday, they should consider living in the current century. For the sake of its survival, it is time the Boy Scouts adjust to modern times and reality. The 1950′s ended quite some time ago. Apparently, they never got the memo.
The JONAH scandal has ignited debate in the Jewish Community over “ex-gay” therapy and acceptance of homosexuality. Here are a few articles addressing the topic.
Goldberg, however, does try to provide an answer. Through his organization, Jews Offering New Alternatives to Healing (JONAH), he promotes the idea that homosexuality can be overcome through therapy. But the nature of this therapy has come under scrutiny after a video featuring two young Orthodox Jewish men was posted online in late July by Truth Wins Out, a group that battles what it calls the “ex-gay movement.”
The two men, Ben Unger and Chaim Levin, described to the Forward how they had struggled with their sexual identity. Unger told of being sent to therapists who recommended shock therapy, and to rabbis who told him to visit the mikveh (ritual bath) five times a day. He even contemplated suicide.
Unger and Levin both turned to JONAH around the same time, and were referred by Goldberg to a “life coach” named Alan Downing. Both men described a series of psychotherapeutic experiments they were asked to carry out that felt increasingly strange and uncomfortable.
“He told me take a pillow and beat it with a racket,” Unger said, referring to Downing. “He told me my mother is the reason for me being into guys, and I should beat the pillow as if it is her. He said that my dad was not man enough, that he didn’t show me proper masculinity, as if he knew my parents. I actually began to hate my mother. He convinced me it was her fault. But I was completely into it. I was desperate. There was no way out.”
The incident that made Unger and Levin each decide to leave the program involved standing in the mirror with Downing nearby, and taking off articles of clothing until they were naked. Unger said he took off only his shirt. Levin said he took off all his clothes and Downing told him to touch himself.
Contacted by the Forward, Downing said that there was nothing unusual about his methodology, which he referred to as “body work.” He said he works with a number of different “modalities,” including “psychodrama” and “guts work.” But he did say that the two men mischaracterized him as having “malicious intent.” All he wanted, he said, was “to eliminate shame.”
Jack Drescher, a distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association who has written extensively on the “ex-gay movement,” said, “This is a marketing movement, not a science movement. Most of the people who do these kinds of approaches are the least trained of mental health professionals. ‘Life coach’ is not a licensed profession.”
A controversial treatment that is supposed to “cure” gays of their same-sex feelings — which has credence in parts of the Orthodox community — took another step toward respectability this week when it received apparent approval from a group of Orthodox scientists.
A recently posted YouTube video of two young Orthodox-raised men who complain of psychological abuse at the hands of a “reparative therapy” practitioner originally played a role in causing the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists to cancel the appearance last weekend of Arthur Goldberg, a leading advocate of reparative therapy, at the organization’s annual convention.
But, in a sudden reversal, the AOJS let Goldberg speak, in the convention’s final session on Sunday. Goldberg’s views apparently were not challenged — either from members of a hastily arranged panel or from the more than 100 people in the audience. And no mention was made of the contents of the video.
In the video, posted on YouTube two weeks ago by the gay activist group Truthwinsout.org, Ben Unger and Chaim Levin allege that Alan Downing, a “life coach” who serves as a therapist for JONAH (Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality), had them remove their clothes in front of a mirror — with Downing standing behind them — as part of therapy to change from gay to straight. Levin also states that Downing encouraged him to touch his own genitals “to increase my masculinity.”
That public rebuttal coincides with allegations of misconduct by JONAH, Jews Offering a New Alternative to Homosexuality, the most prominent organization offering reparative therapy in the Jewish community.
Truth Wins Out, a group that combats what its founders consider to be false information about homosexuality, produced a video about Jonah, of two Jewish teenagers describing the therapy they underwent with life coach Alan Downing, who considers himself a former homosexual.
In the video, that has been widely viewed on YouTube, Ben Unger speaks about how during a one-on-one therapy session with Downing, he was asked to undress while repeating the statement, “‘I feel less masculine,’ and every message was a layer of clothing,” Unger said. “Till I was standing there without clothes.” Afterwards, Downing asked Unger to touch himself.
Rev. Irene Monroe is a Ford Fellow and doctoral candidate at Harvard Divinity School.
In this interview, Irene will discuss her views on LGBT outreach to the African American community, “ex-gay” gospel singer Donnie McClurkin and the efforts of white evangelical politicians to lure black preachers.
One of Monroe’s outreach ministries is writing religion columns. She writes “The Religion Thang,” for In Newsweekly, the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender newspaper that circulates widely throughout New England, “Faith Matters” for The Advocate Magazine, a national gay & lesbian magazine, and “Queer Take,” for The Witness, a progressive Episcopalian journal.
Her writings have also appeared in the Boston Herald and in the Boston Globe. Her award-winning essay, “Louis Farrakhan’s Ministry of Misogyny and Homophobia”, was greeted with critical acclaim.
Monroe states that her “columns are an interdisciplinary approach drawing on critical race theory, African American , queer and religious studies.” As an religion columnist she try to inform the public of the role religion plays in discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.
The song I’m starting the shuffle with is “Sore” by Annuals, simply because it’s truly one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard in months. The only tangential relationship it has with anything that’s gone on this week is that I moved this week, and I am Still Sore. So, here, introduce yourself to an amazing band while I try to get rid of this pain in my aching, elderly back. If you listen to the words and watch the video and tear up a little bit, then you are normal.
More songs/videos after the jump.
1. Thom Yorke – “Atoms for Peace”
2. The Drifters – “Save the Last Dance for Me”
3. Fever Ray – “Now’s the Only Time I Know”
4. Band of Horses – “Blue Beard”
5. The Sundays – “Here’s Where The Story Ends”
6. Jamie Lidell – “Compass”
7. Sarah McLachlan – “Time”
8. New Kids on the Block – “Hangin’ Tough” (Shut up.)
9. Wilson Phillips – “Reason to Believe” (Continue to shut up.)
10. Tori Amos – “Flying Dutchman”
A less honest blogger would have pretended #’s 8 and 9 weren’t there and skipped them, but no, that is not how I am.
Seriously though, one of my favorite things to do, when the weather is nice and I have somebody in the car with me (when I am cruising with my bros in my Trans Am), is to crank “Hangin’ Tough” as high as it will go at stoplights. If the people in the car next to you laugh and start dancing and singing along, you know that they have a sense of humor about life, and that they are fun people. If they start exchanging condescending looks with each other and saying, “Oh muh guh, Jennifer,” then they are obviously unworthy.
Today, I’m going to make a rare and radical request. I’m going to ask you directly for a tax-deductible donation to Truth Wins Out based on the unique idea of rewarding RESULTS.
This week, Truth Wins Out forced the “ex-gay” therapy group Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH) to change its name to Jews Offering New Alternatives to Healing. They did so after Truth Wins Out’s investigative work uncovered two devastating scandals.
The first scandal revealed that the co-founder of JONAH, Arthur Abba Goldberg, was a convicted felon who stole millions of dollars on Wall Street. The second expose revealed that JONAH’s senior “life coach”, Alan Downing, was allegedly making clients undress and touch themselves.
Investigating and exposing the “ex-gay” industry takes money. We can only continue to undermine these groups with your kindness and generosity.
I understand that there are many groups that you may want to support. Some of these groups engage in direct action. Others deal with the dissemination of information. But, Truth Wins Out is a unique organization and deserves your support because we uncover original information – and then we know how to turn it into action. Few other groups have the capacity to monitor anti-gay organizations and then make them pay dearly when damning data is found.
Can you think of another LGBT organization that has so damaged an anti-gay group that they were forced to rebrand and change their name and logo?
I didn’t think so.
I’m not asking you to fund pie-in-the sky promises, a fancy mission statement, or a slick brochure to tell you what we plan to do. I’m asking you to invest in an organization that has had a tremendously successful year in activism. Aside from the JONAH scandal, here are a few more of our accomplishments in the first half of 2010:
1) Truth Wins Out created the American Prayer Hour (APH) and worked with key organizations to organize a successful event. The APH shined a harsh spotlight on Uganda’s infamous “Kill the Gays” bill. It showed how American evangelicals who host the National Prayer Breakfast were directly tied to this deadly legislation. The result was massive media coverage, as well as President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton speaking out against this bill.
2) Truth Wins Out has infiltrated several major religious right events or gatherings and provided “special reports.” These include: Pastor Lou Engle’s revival in St. Louis, The Awakening conference in Lynchburg, The May Day rally in Washington, DC, and radio host Linda Harvey’s presentation in Michigan.
3) Wherever “ex-gay” organizations or activists are having major appearances or conferences, Truth Wins Out is there, on the ground, to meet their lies with facts. In 2010, Truth Wins Out has worked with local advocates to counter “ex-gay” lies across the country.
4) Each day, Truth Wins Out’s expert researchers monitor and study anti-gay organizations and the ex-gay industry. In the past year, our website traffic is up 150%, making us a major resource for information.
In a world full of broken promises and disappointing politicians – Truth Wins Out stands out because it has delivered. We are having an impact, making a difference and providing tangible results in front of your eyes.
Please help us make the second half of 2010 as productive and successful as the first half. If you can donate $25, please do so today. If you would like to offer a substantial investment in our future, $250 or $1,000, or more, please do so.
Without your help, the “ex-gay” industry will continue its dishonest and destructive ways and not be held accountable. With your assistance, we will keep exposing these charlatans and hypocrites for the scam artists that they truly are.
At Truth Wins Out, we do exactly what we say we are going to do. We believe that results matter and should be rewarded.
The “ex-gay” industry is on the ropes and holding on for dear life. Following the George Rekers “rent boy” scandal, last year’s damning American Psychological Association report, and last week’s JONAH nude therapy debacle, we are on the cusp of permanently discrediting the poisonous “ex-gay” industry. The ex-gay business harms many people each year, destroys lives and shatters families. It needs to be shown for the ruinous and unrighteous lie that it truly is.
The only thing standing in the way of forcing many of these dangerous groups to close their doors –IS YOU.
I know that each day many people who are victims of “ex-gay” therapy read this website. You have stories that, if told, would severely damage the credibility and standing of the “ex-gay”myth. The time to come forward and tell your story is NOW.
Think about this.
Pedophile priests in the Catholic Church were able to get away with raping children for decades because no one spoke up. Once a few brave souls found the courage to tell their stories, a flood of other victims came forward. These profound revelations have changed the world and forced the Vatican to admit its horrible sin.
We can have the same affect on the “ex-gay” industry — IF YOU SPEAK OUT.
I know it can be difficult. I know it can be scary. However, you have the power to stop future clients – including children – from being victimized. You have the power to change the world. You have the ability to shut down this awful, big lie that causes suffering and suicides.
Please, be strong. Be brave. Come forward and let the truth win out. Tell your story today. Make a video. Hold the charlatans and scoundrels accountable.
Can you imagine a world without fraudulent “ex-gay” programs ripping apart lives? I certainly can.
Only with your help, can we take major steps towards making this dream a reality.
Desperate and hurting after two major scandals, Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH) sent out a pathetic fundraising letter begging supporters for old clothes. Here is an excerpt:
Do you or anyone you know have surplus goods of any sort? Manufacturers, retailers, or even individuals often have surplus goods they would like to dispose of, be it clothing, toys, crafts, appliances, electronics, furniture, collectibles, books and/or recordings. If these goods are sent to JONAH for which a tax exemption is obtainable, JONAH is able to turn the goods into dollars.
A supporter of JONAH has agreed to sell these donated surplus goods on our behalf. Please share your goods or sources of volume goods with us. We will acknowledge the donation as a tax exempt gift with proper valuation set by you and your tax advisor. Contact us at info@jonahweb.org. or call our office at 201-946-9933 for more information.
Please send JONAH pairs of old shorts and undergarments so its “therapy” clients have something to wear after life coaches try to get them naked.
Poor Arthur Abba Goldberg. He used to swindle millions of dollars from Wall Street before he went to the slammer. Now, he has been reduced to pawning second hand spandex and 8-track tapes to keep his bogus “ex-gay” scam alive.
Fundamentalist Islam is entirely incompatible with American values. Nothing could be clearer. But so is fundamentalist Christianity, or any fundamentalism, no matter the faith. This is the lesson we should’ve learned on 9/11 but somehow, we continue to apologize for homegrown extremism.
Yes.
For a little context, that quote comes from ACG at the Submitted to a Candid World blog. He mentioned Newt Gingrich’s outrage over a (quickly reversed) court decision which exonerated a Muslim man for marital rape, citing Shari’a law. It was a mistake, obviously, but that will never stop an opportunistic, angry wingnut like Newtie from pouncing and scaring old, ignorant white people into thinking that the Mooselems are coming for them, and they’re bringin’ thar Shar-EYE-uh laws wit ‘em! But then, smartly, the writer compared that event to the matron of the Religious Right, Phyllis Schlafly, and her consistent, longstanding belief that marital rape simply does not exist.
I say it all the time. The extremist Muslim worldview is not all that different from the fundamentalist Christian worldview. The only reason the Christians don’t bomb things (yet) is that they’re moderated by modern society, which is largely absent in the places in the Islamic world where extremism flourishes. Shari’a already exists in the United States. The fundamentalist Christians just call it something different, like “Judeo-Christian valyews.”
We mourn the loss of Tom Murray, whose death today from a heart attack was announced by partner Vince on Tom’s Facebook page.
Murray was an award-winning documentary filmmaker who focused on stories exploring the LGBT experience. His recent projects examined “the variety of ways people find spirituality in our community.” His films included “Farm Family: Rural Life in Gay America,” “Fish Can’t Fly,” “Almost Myself,” “Tell,” “A Portable Tribe,” and “Amancio: Two Faces on a Tombstone.”
His 2005 documentary Fish Can’t Fly was a full-length exploration of the lives of people of faith who have endured and survived the spiritual and emotional traumas that are inflicted upon gay and lesbian people and their families by the “ex-gay” movement.
The film was instrumental in making religious audiences aware of the spiritual lives of LGBT people — and in alerting these same audiences to the religious and mental-health fraud that is Exodus International.
According to Murray’s website:
Tom Murray openly admits to getting a late start in life with filmmaking. Having studied filmmaking in his college years, and long term fan of documentary films, it was only in his “50+” years that he tackled his first feature length work. Inspired by his upbringing on a dairy farm in northern Illinois, “FARM FAMILY…in search of Gay life in rural America” was voted Best Feature Length Documentary at the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in 2004 and has been acquired by Viacom as part of the initial acquisitions for LOGO TV, the new Gay and Lesbian cable channel. Now a resident of the Gulf coast of Florida, in 2005 Tom completed his second feature, “FISH CAN‘T FLY” which takes a look at the way in which Gay people of faith go about putting their spirituality and sexuality in harmony.
Murray continued to refine his filmmaking skills with subsequent efforts, and this year he was planning to complete work on a film exploring spirituality in the LGBT community.
A few years ago, the Supreme Court decided that the Boy Scouts of America had the right to discriminate against LGBT kids.
The 
Today, I’m going to make a rare and radical request. I’m going to ask you directly for a 
The “ex-gay” industry is on the ropes and holding on for dear life. Following the George Rekers “rent boy” scandal, last year’s damning American Psychological Association report, and last week’s JONAH nude therapy debacle, we are on the cusp of permanently discrediting the poisonous “ex-gay” industry. The ex-gay business harms many people each year, destroys lives and shatters families. It needs to be shown for the ruinous and unrighteous lie that it truly is.
Murray was an award-winning documentary filmmaker who focused on stories exploring the LGBT experience. His recent projects examined “the variety of ways people find spirituality in our community.” His films included “Farm Family: Rural Life in Gay America,” “Fish Can’t Fly,” “Almost Myself,” “Tell,” “A Portable Tribe,” and “Amancio: Two Faces on a Tombstone.”
