We Won! Apple Dumps “Gay Cure” iPhone App

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21 Comments

1. 

   kendra March 25, 2011 at 2:45 pm -

   evan should forfeit his paycheck towards the cause, hahaha.

2. 

   Muir Dragonne March 25, 2011 at 3:54 pm -

   I’m glad that Apple pulled that app. Let’s hope that they don’t allow other apps that are similar to it in the future. Oh yeah, LaBarbera is still simmering about this – http://americansfortruth.com/news/apple-pulls-ex-gay-iphone-app-after-lobbying-campaign-by-homosexual-activists.html#more-8940 Personally, I think it’s hilarious watching him throw a temper tantrum like a 3 year old who hasn’t gotten his own way. :P

3. 

   Ahab March 25, 2011 at 4:53 pm -

   :: applauds ::

   Many thanks to all those who made their voices heard on this issue.

4. 

   Mark March 26, 2011 at 11:19 am -

   Won, really. What was won by surpressing free speach?

5. 

   Gene March 26, 2011 at 12:01 pm -

   the same thing what was won when it became illegal to scream “FIRE!” in a crowded theater that is not on fire.

   Lives will be saved. Families will not be destroyed, and many persons emotional health will not be damaged.

   That is what was won.

6. 

   Mark March 26, 2011 at 1:18 pm -

   how completely simplistic, nothing was won what so ever. Things like this only infalme hatred and a sense of winning by silening another point of view. The fact is, some people have changed, many others want to change and with God’s grace can change. All of this is saif without any refernce to the moraility of homosexual behavior, its just a fact.

   It shocks me that the GLBT community which once cried for openess is now so utterly close minded. I mean I know some conservative Christian but I have never seen more fundamentalism than in the GLBT community today. Nothing was won, things were lost but nothing was won. And still hatred from both sides will and will always continue to spew forth and in that game no one wins.

7. 

   PhilipJ March 26, 2011 at 1:37 pm -

   I think it’s time for the “ex-gay” movement to put their money where their mouth is…so I’m calling for a “Million Man Ex-Gay March” on Washington DC.

   Let’s see how many people who have truly “changed”(whatever that means) or who have been “cured” (whatever that means) show up, since there are all these legions and hordes of ex-gays out there now. (I have heard the claim of “hundreds of thousands”). I’m willing to bet less than 10 people attend…and I don’t consider Alan Chambers cured because he still fights his same-sex attractions on a daily basis.

8. 

   Richard Rush March 26, 2011 at 2:24 pm -

   Hey Mark, wouldn’t you expect the president of Exodus, Alan Chambers, of all people, to be a shining example of change. He admits (to his credit) that he has not become heterosexual. He has also stated that it took nine months for his marriage to be consummated. And he has stood in front of a crowd and said, “the opposite of homosexuality is not heterosexuality, it’s holiness.” That’s not change. It’s wishful thinking, and delusion. And just because a man is able to achieve some level of functioning with a woman doesn’t mean he is not a homosexual. And, yes, some people are bisexual.

   The gay people who seek “change” have simply internalized society’s anti-gay attitudes. And the general nature of many of them is probably to be social conformists. The proper solution is therapy that helps them accept themselves as they are, not seeking change that is impossible to achieve for all practical purposes.

   All claims of change require rigorous heightened scrutiny to weed out the likelihood of wishful thinking, delusion, lies, and the people who were bisexual to some degree in the first place.

   Exodus is insidious. The seek to exploit vulnerable/gullible people into believing they are so defective that “change” through Exodus is the answer. But when you look below the surface, the best Exodus can promise is “holiness!” Some people opposed to Exodus may say they are merely delusional, but at some point you have to notice that Alan’s and Randy’s entire livelihoods depend on continuing to promote the damage to people, and then you have to suspect it’s become a fraud. A scam. A hoax.

9. 

   Gene March 26, 2011 at 2:24 pm -

   Mark…somewhere, someone will not fall for the lie that they can change based on the lies of exodus.

   No one EVER has changed orientaion. I have seen to many “success” stories of “change” crying on my shoulder over what cowards and hypocrits they are to buy into that lie…you may believe it, but, trust me (and ALL the evidence), no one ever has “changed” from gay to straight (or otherwise…some bi people just come out late in life, as I did).

   what was won? dignit. good mental and emotional health for those who will not be tempted by this exodus trap. the truth.

   A lot was won. and it is wonderful

10. 

    Mark March 26, 2011 at 2:25 pm -

    Why is everyone on here so mad at people who claim to be ex gay when in fact some of them are telling the truth or in the very least likely to be telling the truth. Why does this fact threaten everyone on here so much. Honestly I would like to know. I understnad a dislike for fraud but it seems like the people who have made the transistion have too much power over you.

11. 

    Mark March 26, 2011 at 2:38 pm -

    Richard, thanks for your thoughtful response. There is certainly a difference between chaning your actions and routines and your orientation. Many of the ex gay people would say they have changed their behavior not their orientation. Now I know for most on here that is a denial of who you feel you are. But there are many who for various reasons feel they need to change to be whole or at least closer to wholeness. You may aruges that wholeness wont be found by doing that but for some who have lived an openly gay lifestyle they have not found wholeness there either.
    Gene, your delussional to think that Apple will silence Exodus or anyone for that matter. Their message will still go out, right or wrong. Frankly, it will be more widespread from what I have been seeing as conservatives broadcats this info on a very powerful netwrok of media, they run almost all of talk radio for crying out loud.

12. 

    iDavid March 27, 2011 at 12:52 am -

    Mark,

    “Wholeness” is a very relative term, however I don’t believe wholeness is found by hating ones sexual self, whether they choose to change their behavior or not. I believe wholeness in this case is collapsing fear so one can embrace the whole of who they are without fearing damnation, by God or society. Lack of wholeness is lack of self love, so some may find being in a stereotypical gay lifestyle not conducive, then be gay outside this metaphor called the gay lifestyle. The message from Exodus is that you are damaged and rejected, and therefore must repent. This only compuonds the fear, which president Alan Chambers has to deal w on a daily basis. He isn’t fixed, he’s still scared of his natural sexual self and has to do constant emotional backflips to make that str8 label he has attached to himself stick. It’s like buttah, it just keeps melting and he has to get real cold towards his natural self to restick the fake label to his chest. Is it a win to keep and notify others to stay out of this hate machine. I think so.
    Id be interested to know if you have heard the horror stories from those that have been through this machine and come out horribly scathed. Is it in your mind, a help to let them know of the damage that has been caused?
    If people are sex addicts and need to get help, that is one thing. But i think more than not, lots of the people called exgays can’t handle the intensity of their sexual drive and try to throw the baby out w the bathwater. Seems like overkill.

13. 

    iDavid March 27, 2011 at 12:59 am -

    Mark,

    “Wholeness” is a very relative term, however I don’t believe wholeness is found by hating ones sexual self, whether one chooses to change their behavior or not. I believe wholeness in this case is collapsing fear so one can embrace the whole of who they are without fearing damnation, by God or society. Lack of wholeness is lack of self love. Some may find being in a stereotypical gay lifestyle not conducive, then be gay outside this metaphor called the gay lifestyle and do gay marriage and adopt kids.
    The message from Exodus is that you are damaged and rejected, and therefore must repent. This only compuonds the fear, which president Alan Chambers has to deal w on a daily basis. He isn’t fixed, he’s still scared of his natural sexual self and has to do constant emotional backflips to make that str8 label he has attached to himself stick. It’s like buttah, it just keeps melting and he has to get real cold towards his natural self to restick the fake label to his chest. Is it a win to keep and notify others to stay out of this hate machine. I think so.
    Id be interested to know if you have heard the horror stories from those that have been through this machine and come out horribly scathed. Is it in your mind, a help to let them know of the damage that has been caused?
    If people are sex addicts and need to get help, that is one thing. But i think more than not, lots of the people called exgays can’t handle the intensity of their sexual drive and try to throw the baby out w the bathwater. Seems like overkill.

14. 

    Brian March 27, 2011 at 2:40 am -

    “Why is everyone on here so mad at people who claim to be ex gay when in fact some of them are telling the truth or in the very least likely to be telling the truth. Why does this fact threaten everyone on here so much. ”

    Mark, have YOU been through the trauma of hating yourself so much that you felt compelled to change your sexual orientation? Have YOU had suicidal thoughts because NOTHING you tried had any effect whatsoever (except maybe intensify your experience of your sexual orientation)? Have YOU been abandoned by your ENTIRE social network -including your family- because you failed to change your sexual orientation? Have YOU been written off by your entire church as “unfaithful and unbelieving” because you were unable to change? Have YOU had to deprogram yourself from a lifetime of being told (and goddammit BELIEVING) that you were sick, broken, evil, possessed by the devil, an abomination? Decades after having gone through all that, Mark, it is STILL fodder for my therapist – so I think I have every right to be angered by the people who persist in selling that load of crap.

    I am furious with the alleged ex-gays because they’ve bought the lies, perpetuate the myth that change is possible and allow their current state of denial to be used by the holier-than-thous-because-we’re-hetero to deny me the legal rights to define, defend and provide for my family same as you. Or to pretend that anti-gay violence is not a big deal so we don’t need any laws to protect us from it. I wouldn’t care how ex-gays choose to torture themselves, tying themselves into spiritual knots trying to be something they aren’t, if they weren’t also self-righteously asserting that they were my moral superior and that I should hate myself as much as they do.

    But you know what? This whole fucked up drama that every LGBTQ person is made to participate in is just sooooooo UNNECESSARY. When churches stop telling everyone that we’re spiritual lepers and that being gay is exceeded in evil only by Lucifer himself, then maybe, MAYBE all the fangs will be pulled out of the ex-gay penchant for opportunistically, parasitically profiteering off the misery of gay people made to believe that they have no worth.

    The ex-gays are not telling the truth – at best they are telling half-truths. A bisexual who suppresses same-sex attraction is not changed. Marrying a woman is not evidence of a gay man’s change. Living a life in isolation, afraid of human contact because it might be the abominable gay, is not change.

    Mark, this is not the post of a gay man who feels in any way threatened by ex-gays. This is the post of a gay man who is infuriated by the whole corporate machine that makes people think they need to become ex-gays. It’s anger at the malicious and intentional harm.

15. 

    Priya Lynn March 27, 2011 at 11:43 am -

    Mark, its not wholeness to live a lonely life of dispare, to intentionally deny oneself love, to struggle everyday to suppress a core aspect of oneself. Its not wholeness for a gay man to marry an innocent woman and spend every day longing for someone other than her and then to eventually accept who he is, leave her and ruin her their children’s lives.

    You assert that people can and have changed without any evidence whatsoever. You believe in a magical god allowing people to change but you have no evidence for that either – he doesn’t exist Mark, there is no magic to allow people to change orientations. This “exgay” business has repeatedly studied and there is no evidence that anyone has ever changed, most acknowledge failure despite wholehearted attempts, and many of those who claim to have changed have later been found to be having same sex sex, or have admitted they lied. There’s never been an “exgay” willing to undergoe plethysmograph testing or no-lie MRI to prove they’ve changed – there’s a reason for that, Mark.

16. 

    Richard Rush March 27, 2011 at 12:21 pm -

    Mark, here is one of the classic high-profile examples of “change” – Michael Johnston. He is one of my favorite ex-gay superstars of the past. He had it all – his own ministry, frequent speaking engagements, and radio interviews. He was a darling of the American Family Association (AFA), and they loved quoting him.

    But it turned out there was one big problem: While he was earning his living by promoting the ex-gay myth by day, he was earning his legacy by indulging in all-male unprotected sex orgies by night. Oops.

    Before the story broke, I knew something was up because I accidentally discovered that AFA/OneNewsNow was in the process of purging Johnston from all their website posts where he was quoted or mentioned. An then:

    Ex-Gay Watch was one of the first on the case:

    http://www.exgaywatch.com/wp/2003/08/moral-failing-m/
    (This post mentions Richard R. – that is me)

    Here is a 2007 update:
    http://www.exgaywatch.com/wp/2007/01/the-newly-refur/

17. 

    Richard Rush March 27, 2011 at 2:24 pm -

    Oh, this is rich: Johnston is apparently still with Pure Life Ministries, which is where he landed after his fall. His bio reads:

    “Mike Johnston serves as Director of Donor and Media Relations. He coordinates media relationships for the ministry and production of audio content including the podcast. In 1989, Mike founded Kerusso Ministries and spent the next 14 years presenting a Christian perspective on homosexuality as it relates both to ministry and public policy. He has been with the ministry since 2003.”

    http://www.purelifeministries.org/index.cfm?pageid=39&enc=%20495E4B4A5433392C23442550465120415379

18. 

    Kimberly Greer March 27, 2011 at 9:59 pm -

    To everyone out there who doesn’t get why gay people – and lots of straight people who believe in freedom and human rights – are offended by the whole “we can cure you of your homosexuality” mission, look at it this way:

    It is presumptuous and creepy (a La mind control experimentation) to even try to change a fundamental part of a person’s identity and essential core self. Who are you to say that person should be different. You have no right and no moral authority over another human being. Imagine what would happen and how you would feel if gay people decided that you are wrong the way you are and that they should try to change you to be gay.

    The “work” you do does not respond to a real need or hurt existing in the people you claim to help. Their real need is not to be changed into what you think is right; their real need is to be accepted as they are — as they were created. The hurt they carry around with them cannot be alleviated by hiding, manipulating, or contorting who they are. Their pain can only be healed by being accepted and protected from monsters like you. You are the cause of the pain-get that. They wouldn’t be in pain if it weren’t for you and your type.

    Most of all, don’t you ever stop and wonder why it is that you all focus so much attention and energy on other people’s sexuality? What is up with that? Even if all the bible stuff about homosexuality was correct (it’s not), why is it your job to go around preaching about it. Aren’t there some other messages in the Bible that would be more useful to share – like maybe how we’re all supposed to love one another and how it’s wrong to judge, and how we are all God’s children?

    Since you’re so compelled to share your opinions about others, here’s my opinion about you:

    you are judgmental
    you spread fear and animosity
    you are afraid of yourself, other people, God, and life
    you are wasting your precious life’s energy on this weird mission of condemnation and hate
    When it comes to real spirituality and faith, you are totally missing the point

    What you are so devoted to is nothing other than evil – the opposite of God – Get off your homosexual obsession and go out and do something useful and good – spread some love, help some poor people, heal the planet, heal yourself

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