This weekend, I attended an event on Fire Island that featured Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand (who was quite lovely and engaging). Interestingly, a few donors publicly expressed displeasure about the Democratic Party’s progress on LGBT issues during a Q&A session. This got me thinking about why some Democrats are disappointed with the Party – and it goes much deeper than votes on a few key issues. The unease, in my view, comes directly from the Party’s inability to define itself, defend itself and the style in which it communicates.
If one is asked to name five defining issues the Republican Party stands for, it would be easy: Lower taxes (for the rich), Pro-business (corporate welfare), Discrimination (gays, blacks, Muslims immigrants, etc.), Family Values (undermining separation of church & State) and a strong defense (dumb wars we can’t afford).
But, if one asks the same question about Democrats, people would be left scratching their heads. Over the past couple of decades, the Party has left us with a series of mind-numbing, ever-changing slogans and strategies.
Sure, many of the Democratic Party’s issues are laudable and they have had some success passing legislation. But the merry-go-round of messages has left the Party with an identity crisis. Any experienced salesperson understands that without a solid brand, the product can’t easily be marketed or sold.
In the absence of a brand, Democrats have had to disproportionately rely on prodigy politicians, such as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, as well as scaring voters into believing (rightfully) that Republicans are too radical to govern. Fear will send many Democratic voters to the polls in November. However, spooking people into voting against the bad guys and Mama Grizzlies, while important, will not be enough to win long-term.
Aside from defining, the Democrats are going to have to start defending and stop allowing themselves to be tarred by Republicans. First, Al Gore was painted as a wimpy, serial exaggerator who lacked leadership. Then, we had war hero, John Kerry, who was swift boated as a traitor. Now, Barack Obama has been mercilessly slimed as a communist, Muslim terrorist who wants to march into Middle America and take their guns.
It is frustrating that the Democratic Party can’t make Americans remember the disaster of George W. Bush’s presidency, a mere two years ago. Yet the GOP still has people remembering the alleged nightmare of life under Jimmy Carter.
Wouldn’t the party be much better off if it cast aside its reticence and threw political punches against the GOP in the same way that Rachel Maddow, Keith Olberman and Jon Stewart do each night?
If Barack Obama still thinks he can play nice and make friends with intransigent Republicans, then he is kidding himself. The GOP is already planning, if they win back the House, to undermine the President’s legitimacy and effectiveness by launching a series of frivolous investigations.
Of course, the biggest problem the Democrats have is that they often do not know how to talk to voters. In the early stages of my career, when I was in broadcasting, news directors taught that to reach a mass audience, reporters had to write at a fifth-to seventh grade level. The Republicans get this, while Democrats talk to the American people as if they are conducting a college seminar. We hear them yammering about complicated or meaningless terms such as: public option, cap and trade, deregulation, ENDA, and working people.
(Today’s real working people would rather be defined by their aspirations, not their current station in life. So, appeal to their dreams, not their present job.)
Here are four quick examples of the way Democratic Party officials and politicians should start talking to voters about key issues:
Deregulation: “Thanks to Republicans, we can’t even feel secure having eggs for breakfast because they have dismantled safeguards that protected us from food poisoning.”
Alternative Energy: “Every time we go to the gas pump and use foreign oil, we are pumping up the terrorists. This is why we support homegrown energy innovation.”
Environment: “We will not allow Republican policies to ruin our heritage by polluting our blue water and skies with oil and smog.”
ENDA: “In a free market, the best worker should get the job, regardless of sexual orientation. We have zero tolerance for discrimination because it is morally wrong and it is bad for business.”
I know it can be difficult to dumb down the rhetoric. But, it is better than feeling stupid on Election Day, watching Republicans trick the American people into voting against their own interests.
New York times op-ed editor Tobin Harshaw had an extremely irritating piece in today’s New York Times, where Ken Mehlman was portrayed as a victim of harsh, unforgiving LGBT bloggers. According to the op-ed:
Until this week,Mehlman was mostly known for being the wonkish young man who managed George. W. Bush’s re-election campaign and then ran the Republican National Committee. Now, he’s mostly known for what he shared with The Atlantic’s Mark Aminder: “Ken Mehlman, President Bush’s campaign manager in 2004 and a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has told family and associates that he is gay.”
Well, it’d be tough enough for most of us to have that conversation with Mom and Dad — imagine it with Karl Rove.
Maybe Harshaw hadn’t noticed, but Karl Rove is not Mehlman’s father. He was Mehlman’s boss — and one that made his political reputation through dirty tricks, particularly gay baiting opponents. In other words, Mehlman carefully and willfully chose his dubious career and association with this known, political gay bashing Republican hack. Mehlman was an adult at this time, so he knew exactly what he was doing when he teamed up with Rove. Together, these cynical men chose power, fame, and riches by exploiting the prejudices of social conservatives, at the expense of LGBT people, particualrly youth, some of whom surely blew out their brains after they were rejected by their churches and families.
Instead of focusing on the damage created by Mehalman and his power-hungry cohorts, Harshaw demonizes bloggers who want to hold the former RNC chairman accountable, as mean and unreasonable. After upholding apologists, such as Gay Patriot B. Daniel Blatt, as voices of moderation, the author concludes that, “given the commentary of the last two days, that [forgiveness by liberals] doesn’t seem to likely.”
Harshaw is just flat out wrong.
As I wrote on this site and The Huffington Post, LGBT people will forgive Mehlman, if only for the sake of pragmatically bringing out other Closet Ken’s. We need conservatives on our side — such as Ted Olson and Laura Bush — to win this culture war. However, we will not be treated like tools by writers like Harshaw, who demand we have amnesia about Mehlman’s ignoble history. We will also not have our intelligence insulted by pundits who want to infantilize Mehlman, by pretending that he was not able to “figure things out” until his mid-40’s.
Mehlman did not just realize he was gay — in the same way he might suddenly discover he likes pistachio ice cream. It doesn’t work that way.
So, highly paid spin doctors or media outlets who sell their souls for access should stop dutifully regurgitating this lie. Unless there was something physically wrong with Mehlman’s equipment — and there has been no indication their was — he knew he was gay for decades. This is a very sophisticated, politically powerful individual. Unlike former Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID), Mehlman grew up in a time where there were gay role models, LGBT people were represented in the media and there were countless activist groups. An astute individual possessing his high level of intelligence, knew exactly who he was and what he was doing. Mehlman was aware of the gay rights movement. He had likely had sex or romantic relationships with men. He had certainly heard of Ellen, Rosie and Will and Grace.
Yet, while millions of gay people chose to live with integrity and self-respect, Mehlman chose to profit from the virulent vestiges of anti-gay animus that remain a force in the hinterlands. He teamed up with Rove to win infulence, power and riches at the expense of his own people.
What Mehlman did was detestable. His behavior was despicable. His decisions were damnable.
While countless people — including terrified teens — made the right choices, he made the wrong ones. As a result, anti-gay laws were written into state constitutions, helpless teenagers were thrown onto the mean streets, some LGBT people were cruelly written out of wills, partners from different countries could not be together, brave veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan were drummed out of the military, and long-term partners had their hearts broken because they could not visit each other in the hospital because they were not married.
Yet Harshaw breezily dismisses this reprehensible record and paints those — such as Pam Spaulding and Joe Jervis — who have embraced an honest version of history, as the “bad guys.” This is incredibly insulting and outrageous.
As I stated in The Huffington Post, Mehlman has three steps to take before he is warmly welcomed:
1) Repent for past sins (Hasn’t happened yet) 2) Be honest with the LGBT community (Hasn’t happened yet) 3) Work tirelessly to undo the damage and propel the LGBT movement towards equality (There has been a pledge to help. Good.)
What could Mehlman say to begin this process and satisfy critics? How about something like this:
“I was wrong and I am truly sorry for harming my own community — and by extension myself. The Republican Party had decided to exploit fears about marriage equality and the lives of LGBT people as a wedge issue to win elections. I could have spoken out against this strategy and demanded an end to the anti-gay rhetoric and actions of my Party. And, had they not heeded my advice, I should have resigned. Unfortunately, the desire to win at all costs — and enjoy the spoils of victory — seduced me into making poor, self-serving decisions. I acted in a way that was greedy and cowardly for personal gain. While I cannot take back the past, I can spend the rest of my life trying to make brave decisions to undo some of the damage that I am responsible for. Please find it in your heart to try to forgive me and offer me the opportunity to contribute to the LGBT movement and end discrimination for future generations.”
A little bit of contrition would go a long way. Mehlman will find that people will move on – but one can’t truly be forgiven and embraced, unless they first offer a sincere apology.
Let’s analyze the Atlantic Magazine story about the coming out of former Republican National Committee Chairman, Ken Mehlman, and discuss what steps he must take to redeem himself with the gay community:
“It’s taken me 43 years to get comfortable with this part of my life,” said Mehlman, now an executive vice-president with the New York City-based private equity firm, KKR. “Everybody has their own path to travel, their own journey, and for me, over the past few months, I’ve told my family, friends, former colleagues, and current colleagues, and they’ve been wonderful and supportive. The process has been something that’s made me a happier and better person. It’s something I wish I had done years ago.”
Perhaps, if he had not worked for a party that used LGBT people as a wedge issue, he would have accepted himself 10 or 20 years earlier. In a sense, he helped construct his own stifling closet. I can respect that he had his own path, but Mehlman cannot deny that his abhorrent actions negatively affected the paths of so many other people. His odious work led to broken families, gay teenagers committing suicide, LGBT couples who were not able to marry, broken people joining silly “ex-gay” programs and individuals who lost their jobs or were hate crime victims. Mehlman should own up to his hideous mistake and offer a heartfelt apology. Yes, he will be forgiven, but first he must make amends. So far, his coming out has been all about himself, without acknowledging the extent of his toxic legacy.
He insisted, too, that President Bush “was no homophobe.”
It is probably true that George W. Bush was not homophobic and he always seemed somewhat comfortable around gay people. However, this is not comforting, because it means that the former president’s anti-gay policies were nothing more than a cynical and amoral attempt to divide America for the sake of political power. Ken Mehlman played along with this tragic game. He willingly demonized marriage equality. He orchestrated some of the most vile anti-gay campaigns in history and profited handsomely from the wreckage. Did Mehlman intervene or speak up in 2006 when Bush brought so-called “ex-gay” activists from Exodus International to the White House to lobby for the Federal Marriage Amendment?
He often wondered why gay voters never formed common cause with Republican opponents of Islamic jihad, which he called “the greatest anti-gay force in the world right now.”
Like most people, the vast majority of LGBT individuals oppose Islamic jihad. However, the GOP proposed replacing Islamic fundamentalism with a form of Christian fundamentalism. Quite frankly, neither vision is particularly appealing. Living in America, a Republican-led theocracy was always a much greater threat than Islamic jihad. Furthermore, most LGBT voters were rightfully skeptical of the cooked-up “intelligence” that railroaded us into the quagmire of Iraq. The policies of the Bush administration made us less safe, not more secure.
Mehlman’s leadership positions in the GOP came at a time when the party was stepping up its anti-gay activities — such as the distribution in West Virginia in 2006 of literature linking homosexuality to atheism, or the less-than-subtle, coded language in the party’s platform (”Attempts to redefine marriage in a single state or city could have serious consequences throughout the country…”). Mehlman said at the time that he could not, as an individual Republican, go against the party consensus. He was aware that Karl Rove, President Bush’s chief strategic adviser, had been working with Republicans to make sure that anti-gay initiatives and referenda would appear on November ballots in 2004 and 2006 to help Republicans. Mehlman acknowledges that if he had publicly declared his sexuality sooner, he might have played a role in keeping the party from pushing an anti-gay agenda.
Mehlman was an adult and a very powerful man in Washington. He had a clear choice to make, and he elected to embrace unadulterated greed over integrity. He willfully abandoned the LGBT community (including suicidal teens) for the sake of privilege, power and money. His choice was one of cowardice and self-interest. As a direct result of his decision, he became famous, well-connected and earned enough money to buy a multi-million dollar condo in New York’s gay Chelsea district. Many people are faced with such choices every day and act with dignity and good character. What Ken Mehlman should have done, was demand that the GOP not use LGBT people as a wedge issue. If Karl Rove refused, Mehlman should have resigned.
“It’s a legitimate question and one I understand,” Mehlman said. “I can’t change the fact that I wasn’t in this place personally when I was in politics, and I genuinely regret that. It was very hard, personally.” He asks of those who doubt his sincerity: “If they can’t offer support, at least offer understanding.”
What can reasonably be offered, given the circumstances, is a pragmatic acceptance of Mehlman. It is important to include him in order to make it easier for the next 10, 20 or 100 Ken Mehlman’s to come out of the closet, so we can end anti-gay prejudice for future generations. This is about the greater good and the future — rather than wallowing in the sordid past. But, Mehlman would be wise not to attempt to whitewash history. The LGBT community in not as gullible as the rubes he used to trick with divisive social issues.
“What I do regret, and think a lot about, is that one of the things I talked a lot about in politics was how I tried to expand the party into neighborhoods where the message wasn’t always heard. I didn’t do this in the gay community at all.”
Come on, Ken. Stop the spin. The GOP was not going to be able to walk through Chelsea or San Francisco’s Castro district knocking on doors to promote the Federal Marriage Amendment. If Mehlman wants to be accepted, honesty will be his greatest ally.
“I wish I was where I am today 20 years ago. The process of not being able to say who I am in public life was very difficult. No one else knew this except me. My family didn’t know. My friends didn’t know. Anyone who watched me knew I was a guy who was clearly uncomfortable with the topic,” he said.
Would it truly have made a difference? Would Mehlman really have traded his access to power, wealth and fame just to live out and proud? Only he can answer this question. But, one point is undeniable. If he had come out 20 years ago, he never would have become the chairman of the GOP or a key player on the Bush team, because the Republican Party had long cast its lot with religious extremists.
Ed Gillespie, a former RNC chairman and long-time friend of Mehlman acknowledged that the party had been inhospitable to gays in the past, and said that he hopes Mehlman’s decision to come out leads the party to be “more respectful and civil in our discourse” when it comes to gays.
For openly LGBT people to have a place of influence and distinction in the Republican Party, the GOP must decide it will no longer be hostage to social conservatives. This party’s alleged “big tent” is simply not large enough to hold both the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins and Ken Mehlman. The agendas of these two men are incongruous. Who is the GOP going to choose? (If the line-up of Republican backed Tea Bagger candidates is any indication, they are still on-board with anti-gay activists)
Mehlman said that his formal coming-out process began earlier this year.
Formal coming out process? Huh? Did he buy a tuxedo for the occasion? I don’t care what Mehlman says. He is 43 years old and must have known he was gay for decades before he started professionally gay bashing for the GOP. What he was really trying to say was, now that he is rich, successful, lives in Chelsea and no longer shills for the Republican Party, he felt safe enough to come out of the closet.
Chad Griffin, the California-based political strategist who organized opposition to Proposition 8, said that Mehlman’s quiet contributions to the American Foundation for Equal Rights are “tremendous,” adding that “when we achieve equal equality, he will be one of the people to thank for it.”
Dustin Lance Black, the Academy Award winning writer of “Milk,” said, ”Ken represents an incredible coup for the American Foundation for Equal Rights. We believe that our mission of equal rights under the law is one that should resonate with every American. As a victorious former presidential campaign manager and head of the Republican Party, Ken has the proven experience and expertise to help us communicate with people across each of the 50 states.”
Let’s cut Griffin and Black a little slack. They are trying to strategically move forward with LGBT equality as a bipartisan issue. If their opportunistic use of Mehlman leads to more Republicans openly backing our efforts, we will be much better off. To do so, would further relegate anti-gay activists to the fringe and make our uphill struggle a downhill victory march.
To sumarize, Mehlman has three steps to take before he is warmly welcomed:
1) Repent for past sins
2) Be honest with the LGBT community
3) Work tirelessly to undo the damage and propel the LGBT towards equality
In February, a brave gay Ugandan living in exile, Kushaba Moses Mworeko, appeared at the National Press Club in Washington with a paper bag over his head to denounce Uganda’s deadly Anti-Homosexuality Bill. He wore a mask to conceal his identity because he feared for his life. At the DC press conference, he decried the interference in Ugandan affairs by intolerant American evangelicals, including the “ex-gay” organization Exodus International.
The catalyst for the infamous “Kill the Gays Bill” was a 2009 conference in Kampala featuring Scott Lively, who wrote The Pink Swastika, a book that blamed gay men for the rise of Nazism in Germany, and Don Schmierer, a board member for Exodus International.
Looking back, these were heady days for Exodus, with high-profile television appearances and globetrotting to exotic lands to evangelize the “ex-gay” myth. The good times were rolling with Exodus living by the economic rules of “God’s Economy”, where strong faith trumps smart finances.
The spiritual drunkenness of Exodus had led the organization to foolishly trade its leased offices in favor of a building with a million dollar mortgage. Now, deep into the recession, the organization is left begging the Lord for a loan and asking God’s helpers for a helping hand. On Monday, Exodus wrote on its blog, “Will you pray and ask if God would use YOU to extend His hand of generosity to our ministry during this challenging season?”
In this same Internet post, the organization announced layoffs. The downsizing mirrored severe cuts by Focus on the Family, which sold its financially strapped “ex-gay” road show, “Love Won Out”, to Exodus last year. Apparently, it was not such a wise investment for Exodus, judging by the group’s latest plea for help.
“Dear friends, please pray for us at Exodus,” wrote the organization’s President Alan Chambers. “We have experienced an unexpectedly low giving season this summer coupled with much higher expenses (insurance, utilities, etc). Sadly, we have had to let several staff go. Your prayers are appreciated. For those who are also having to endure this unfriendly economy, our prayers are with you!”
Those who do not follow the “ex-gay” industry must have been surprised by Exodus’ poverty plea. After all, on Aug. 10, the organization’s President Alan Chambers told CNN’s blog that, “Our calls are increasing. Our ministries say we’re busier than ever.”
Exodus’ Vice President, Randy Thomas, also appeared to be oblivious to the cliff ahead. On Aug. 7, he posted a flamboyant video where he gregariously sang, expressed horror that his deodorant smelled too gay, and ordered a designer Starbucks “iced venti, skinny vanilla latte”.
However, the shortfall wasn’t a shock to those of us who study these groups. In late January, I first warned that Exodus was in trouble, evidenced by its moribund website and tardy press releases – which suggested there had been staff cuts. At that time I wrote, “The group’s last press release posted on its sluggish website is dated November 16, 2009. Memo to Exodus, the New Year’s ball has dropped. You can come out of your slumber.”
Exodus financial downturn seems to be echoed by Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH), which recently begged supporters to send old clothes, so the group could resell them, presumably at second-hand stores or flea markets.
The reason for the relative decline of these groups is that they are selling a fraudulent product. If they had really “cured” self-loathing homosexuals, these groups would be swimming in money, donated by satisfied clients and ecstatic relatives. All they offer, however, is an infomercial for false hope and their seedy scheme is beginning to catch up to them.
Unfortunately, failed American “ex-gay” outfits can still do enormous damage overseas. For example, Hong Kong’s Society for Truth and Light just published a 52-page booklet citing the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) This is the organization best known for George Rekers, its anti-gay board member who had to step down this year after vacationing with a prostitute he had met on Rent Boy.com.
This week, Kushaba Moses Mworeko released a new video, courageously taking off his mask to call attention to the plight of LGBT people in most African countries. He implored Anglican bishops attending the All African Bishops conference in Entebbe, Uganda, to denounce the “Kill the Gays Bill.”
While it may take Exodus a while to fix its financial mess, the global wreckage it has left behind will not be so easy to clean up.
Bill Is the Latest Blow to the Faltering Ex-Gay Industry
NEW YORK – Truth Wins Out praised the California state Senate today for passing a bill to repeal an anachronistic 1950 law that labels gay people “sexual deviants” and requires the Department of Mental Health to research the causes and potential remedies for homosexuality. AB2199 passed on a 36-0 vote — with no debate – and had been already approved by the state Assembly.
“This bill sailed though in the backyard of The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), which highlights the declining influence of the ex-gay industry,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “The vote is the latest blow to beleaguered “ex-gay” organizations that have been hobbled by scandals and financial decline.”
On Monday, Exodus International, the largest ex-gay organization, admitted on its blog that it faces serious financial challenges. The “pray away the gay” outfit begged followers for money, writing:
“Will you pray and ask if God would use YOU to extend His hand of generosity to our ministry during this challenging season?”
The organization also announced layoffs, mirroring those by Focus on the Family, which sold its financially strapped “ex-gay” road show, “Love Won Out”, to Exodus last year. Apparently, it was not such a wise investment for Exodus, judging by the group’s latest plea for help.
“Dear friends, please pray for us at Exodus,” wrote the organization’s President Alan Chambers. “We have experienced an unexpectedly low giving season this summer coupled with much higher expenses (insurance, utilities, etc). Sadly, we have had to let several staff go. Your prayers are appreciated. For those who are also having to endure this unfriendly economy, our prayers are with you!”
Additionally, The Minnesota Independent reported on Monday that a key Exodus affiliate, Living Word Christian Church in Minnesota, has gone into foreclosure. It was bought at auction July 28 by a lender. This is the same Minnesota church and Exodus affiliate that hosted kill-the-gays youth activist Bradlee Dean last year and endorsed far-right Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann.
In February, a brave gay Ugandan man living in exile appeared at the National Press Club in Washington with a paper bag over his head to denounce Uganda’s draconian Anti-Homosexuality Bill. He wore the mask to conceal his identity because he feared for his life.
Today, Kushaba Moses Mworeko took off his mask to urge the African Anglican Bishops at the All African Bishops Conference in Entebbe to speak out against Uganda’s “Kill the Gays Bill” and other forms of anti-gay discrimination on the continent.
“It is time for Christian leaders in Africa to start promoting peace and stop persecuting LGBT people,” said Kushaba Moses Mworeko, who recently escaped to the United States. “I call on the Anglican Church to speak out forcefully against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill and to support decriminalizing gay relationships across the continent. As the church grows in Africa it must choose to be a force for good and not intolerance.”
Speakers claimed that the continent would have 673 million Christians by 2025 and lead Christendom in the 21st century. Egyptian Bishop Mouneer Anis spoke of the significance of this meeting when he told bishops from more than 400 dioceses, “There is no doubt that history is going to record what happens at this conference for future generations. This is no ordinary conference because it’s happening in an extraordinary context.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, (pictured) spoke at the event, but has yet to effectively use his bully pulpit to shape a more accepting environment towards LGBT people in Africa.
“The All African Bishops Conference offers Rowan Williams a unique opportunity to show leadership and moral clarity by denouncing Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill,” said Mworeko. “I urge the Archbishop of Canterbury to display a backbone and set a positive tone for the Anglican Church in Africa. His silence will be seen as a green light for the witch hunts against the LGBT community to continue.”
In a new Youtube video, Mworeko sent a message of perseverance and hope to his LGBT brothers and sisters still living in Uganda.
“We shall continue fighting for our rights and the time to fight is now,” said Mworeko. “This is about liberty, this is about equality, this is about justice. We are here to reclaim our freedom.”
“If Moses has the courage to put his life at risk by speaking out against intolerance and injustice, the least Rowan Williams can do is acknowledge the inhumanity of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill while he is at this conference,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “His noticeable indifference to the suffering of LGBT people in Africa and worldwide is a great stain on his shrinking legacy. Only by finding his voice on LGBT issues can Williams reverse the damage that has occurred on his watch.”
Truth Wins Out is a non-profit organization that fights anti-gay religious extremism. TWO’s goal is to create a world where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people can live openly, honestly and true to themselves.
The scandalized organization, Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH), is hatching a new scheme. Its slick con artist, Arthur Abba Goldberg, and his shady sidekick, Elaine Silodor Berk, are sending lesbians to an exciting, new workshop — for a hefty fee of $795 — in hopes of making them lipstick ex-lesbians. (I’d love to know if they are getting kickbacks)
This workshop is one that will change your life and free up the core feminine inside of you to be all that you are meant to be….Celebration of Woman is Raw, it is Real and it will Rock your Soul.
The problem is, the ladies at the Celebration of Woman Workshop in San Rafael, CA appear to have no idea that they are in the business of converting lesbians. I called the organization to ask a few questions. An irascible woman became audibly upset and roared, “we don’t have any lesbians in our workshops.”
Won’t she be surprised when a legion of lesbians from JONAH coming through the door to find their inner-feminine self? I’d love to be there for that Kodak moment!
Either Celebration of Being US is lying and is working hand-in-hand with this “ex-gay” hate group, or JONAH is secretly attaching itself to an organization that is not familiar with its outrageous and offensive efforts to “cure” LGBT people.
Please contact Celebration of Being US and tell them that they should immediately get out of bed with JONAH.
POZ Magazine has a cover story dealing with how “ex-gay” organizations exploit fears of HIV and AIDS to recruit new members.
Interestingly, in the story, Exodus’ President Alan Chambers says that his group is leaving the culture wars and will remain neutral on political issues. (We’ve heard this line before, even as Exodus took part in mobilizing voters to support Prop 8 in California. Let’s see if Exodus can keep its nose out of such battles and Washington)
Leaders of the ex-gay movement have long used the threat of HIV/AIDS to recruit people struggling with their sexuality. Likewise, parents of children who might be gay have been scared into sending their kids to ex-gay camps or reparative therapy. But the tragic irony is that the pursuit of “better-health-through-nongayness” leads to far more physical and psychological harm—not to mention elevated risks for HIV.
Anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera billed his three-day “Truth Academy”, that took place in a Chicago exurb last week, as “one of the most thorough pro-family, educational seminars on homosexuality ever held in the United States.” The event was heavily promoted for weeks on right wing websites, such as World Net Daily, which had an article headlined, “Exposed: Gay Brainwashing of America’s Youth.”
On the eve of his hate seminar, LaBarbera got a gift from God. Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that Proposition 8, which prohibited marriage equality in California, was unconstitutional. Surely, a spontaneous outpouring of rage against this so-called “gay activist judge” would swell the ranks of angry conservatives at the Truth Academy.
My organization, Truth Wins Out, sent a “spy” to document what we expected – based on the hype — to be a large event. The thrust of the conference was to teach an army of young culture warriors how to beat back the gay agenda. These students would then return home equipped to turn back the clock on gay rights in their communities.
What we found, however, was an event that looked more like a poorly attended condo board meeting than a youthful resurgence of the anti-gay movement. The crowd vacillated between 20-30 people, who were considerably older than the “students” the conference claimed it was trying to reach. I’m not sure how LaBarbera plans to win his culture war, when he can’t even fill one buffoon platoon
“Since how we are born clearly does not justify all behaviors. For example, what if someone is born a gay basher? Instead of diverting our attention and focusing energy how homosexuals are made and born, wouldn’t it be more effective for us to instead concentrate on explaining why homosexual activity is wrong and explaining how homosexuals may be born is ultimately irrelevant?” LaBarbera asked during a panel discussion.
A few years ago, I dubbed LaBarbera “Porno Pete” because of his bizarre fascination with naughty gay magazines and his penchant to go “undercover” at leather events and photograph naked men. It seems the sodomy obsessed LaBarbera’s strategy is for anti-gay activists to talk explicitly about gay sex and why it is an unbecoming, immoral “behavior” that undermines society.
To bolster his argument, Porno Pete hosted a slew of professional gay bashers who would say just about anything to make LGBT people appear depraved. One Truth Academy lecturer was Greg Quinlan, the President of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX). This organization is particularly dangerous because it teams up with conservative legal organizations to threaten schools with lawsuits if they do not provide students with “ex-gay” propaganda.
“I was questioning the homosexual lifestyle. It looked like a dead end to me,” explained Quinlan. “It looked like something that was so ugly. Here we are, you go to the bar, you hook up, this back and forth stuff, it just seems so shallow. So lust filled, so immature. But I was there and too prideful to do anything about it. So I stayed there for a little while.”
Quinlan explained how he went from gay-to-straight, and found support from an Assemblies of God Church who accepted him because he allegedly was not effeminate.
“I wasn’t your flaming faggot, you know,” the effete Quinlan told the chuckling crowd. “I can say that because I’ve been there and done that. You know, the one’s whose wrists are so limp that when the wind blows they slap themselves in the face. I wasn’t one of them,”
In the same vein as Quinlan, convicted felon and co-founder of Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality (JONAH), Arthur Abba Goldberg, offered a few stereotypes of his own.
“By the way, did you notice that a lot of gays who remain in the gay lifestyle also do a lot of body building,” said Goldberg. “They will be in the gym a lot trying to build up their pecs…Because they have these body image issues and don’t feel they are masculine enough.”
Of course, an anti-gay seminar would not be complete without the old canards tying LGBT people to communists and child molesters.
“It’s consensual (sex with minors) if you don’t believe in the age of consent, which they don’t,” said Accuracy in the Media’s Cliff Kincaid. “This is the mentality of the Marxists who are a significant component and work with elements of the gay rights movement.”
Even as these anti-gay activists were harkening back to smears of the past, key conservatives were stepping into the future. Decidedly non-Marxist, Ted Olson, was defending marriage equality on national TV and the gay conservative organization GOProud announced that commentator Ann Coulter would keynote the group’s annual event.
This broad societal shift towards acceptance is the hard truth that those at the “Truth Academy” aren’t willing to acknowledge and certainly don’t seem prepared to handle.
In an off-the-wall presentation at Peter LaBarbera’s (aka Porno Pete) “Truth Academy” in suburban Illinois on Thursday, so-called former homosexual Greg Quinlan discussed how he allegedly left homosexuality. Quinlan is the current President of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) and the founder of the Pro-Family Network.
The presentation was packed with misinformation, crude stereotypes and a healthy dose of gay bashing. Quinlan punctuated his sermon by claiming he wasn’t a limp wristed, flaming faggot, even while shining oh-so brightly onstage.
“I wasn’t your flaming faggot, you know. I can say that because I’ve been there and done that. You know, the one’s whose wrists are so limp that when the wind blows they slap themselves in the face. I wasn’t one of them,” Quinlan said, as the small audience chuckled. (8:00—8:13)
This was an interesting observation by Quinlan, given that he describes during his talk how he walked into an Assemblies of God church with bleach blond hair and a mullet. Yes, he sounds like a paragon of masculinity.
I’m not sure whether to be offended by his comments or feel sorry for a man who is clearly in denial and deeply ashamed about his gender expression. It is sad that Quinlan can’t accept himself and instead has to resort to bashing people who look and sound exactly like he does.
Quinlan’s tale of transformation begins at age 9 when he “received Jesus Christ”. When he was ten years old, a thirteen-year old friend who lived across the street showed him a Playboy and “introduced” him to homosexuality. I can only imagine how this scene played out:
“Homosexuality, meet Greg.”
“Greg, meet homosexuality.”
“Um, Greg, you can stop shaking his hand now.”
As a young man who had just become a nurse, Quinlan claims he was on the verge of suicide, so he decided to “come out.” He dove into the so-called “lifestyle” with gusto and claims to have become an Ohio lobbyist for the Human Rights Campaign Fund (now the Human Rights Campaign).
“They taught me how to do grassroots activism, how to read legislation, how to lobby my elected official…so that’s how I lobbied.”
The only problem with this fantastical story is that no one working for HRC or affiliated with this organization remembers Quinlan’s contributions. When I worked at this organization I checked with our members in Ohio to see if they had lobbied with Quinlan.
Not a single person had any recollection of working with him. So, while it is possible he licked stamps on volunteer night or attended an HRC dinner, he certainly played no major or memorable role in this organization. In effect, Quinlan is pathetically padding his resume to make his tale more attractive to fundamentalist audiences.
Moving along, after allegedly watching more that 100 friends die of AIDS, Quinlan begins to question the “homosexual lifestyle.”
“I was questioning the homosexual lifestyle. It looked like a dead end to me. It looked like something that was so ugly. Here we are, you go to the bar, you hook up, this back and forth stuff, it just seems so shallow. So lust filled, so immature. But I was there and too prideful to do anything about it. So I stayed there for a little while.”
This catapults him on a journey to rediscover his religious roots. Quinlan starts watching Pat Robertson’s 700 Club and The Praise the Lord Network (PTL). One winter evening, a desperate Quinlan calls into one of the televangelist’s shows and becomes closer to God. Soon, he finds an Assemblies of God with a lovely pastor who loudly condemns the “sodomites.”
We will post more on Quinlan’s bizarre speech, but his trite story is Exhibit A of the self-loathing and shame that happens to young gay people when they are “introduced” to harmful religious indoctrination. If Quinlan had not been subjected to such biblical brow beating in his youth, he might have been an entirely different person. Indeed, he might have had dignity and self-respect, while actually being a real lobbyist for the Human Rights Campaign, rather than an imaginary one.
Mike A: John Smid, former leader of Exodus' Love In Action boot camp, taught that masturbation can cause homosexuality.
http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/2008/02/19/1457...
Weekly Column
Speakers claimed
Anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera billed his three-day “Truth Academy”, that took place in a Chicago exurb last week, as “one of the most thorough pro-family, educational seminars on homosexuality ever held in the United States.” The event was heavily promoted for weeks on right wing websites, such as World Net Daily, which had an article headlined, “Exposed: Gay Brainwashing of America’s Youth.”
