This is Aaron Barton, a purported “ex-gay,” telling his story.  The unedited video is here if you want to see it, but commentary has been added, to rebut every single one of Barton’s “ex-gay” talking points/lies, within the video, so that’s handy.  If you know someone who is caught up in the “ex-gay” scam — perhaps you’re coming out of it and still know people on the inside — share this video with them.  Here’s part of Matt Algren’s reaction:

I feel bad for Aaron Barton. He’s so sad, so bottled up, so ashamed. Really, this video, and his act of accepting applause for lying about who he is, is a form of mortification. The only difference between him and the medieval monks is that instead of flagellating his flesh, Barton abuses his soul.

Perhaps that’s the only way he can feel.

This is his life, the life he chose instead of standing up to his family’s shame and his church’s bigotry. And for that, I feel pity for Barton.

We do feel bad for people like Aaron. But as Matt points out, at this point Aaron is choosing to harm himself AND OTHERS by spreading this crap. He may be truly brainwashed into believing that what he is saying is true. He may be so terrified of the imaginary hell that people no more informed than he have passed down as a torture myth for generations upon generations. I don’t know. But the blood is still on the hands of any of those who try to pass off these sorts of lies. We already know there’s a bodycount involved. And this being Truth Wins Out, we also know what happens to people who have been through the “ex-gay” wringer.

Look at the screen cap for this video. His eyes look almost dead. That’s what “ex-gay” scams do, as they convince people to repress their very souls and replace all that with code words and catchphrases, talking points and lies. And now, having seen that, hit play and see if the eyes come to life.

My favorite part is just under three minutes in, when he describes how he started to lose his shame over his true self when he finally found people who weren’t pig ignorant bigots like the people who raised him, how he started to feel comfortable in his own skin.  The charlatans who have washed his mind of rational thought have somehow helped him turn that story into a negative.  Fundamentalist Christianity is such a freaking weird cult.

Aaron:  Whenever you need us, whenever you get the point that you simply can’t continue living a lie, whenever you realize that your parents and church don’t have your best interests at heart, but their own, we’ll be here.  You can even still be a Christian!  There’s an app for that, or maybe Kathy Baldock could help out.

And, in case you missed my favorite quote from the on-screen commentary:

“If God can’t cure little Jessica of leukemia, He’s not going to waste time making me crave vaginas.”  That’s a winner right there.

Aside:  I am so utterly unsurprised that this happened in Augusta, Georgia.  I had the misfortune to live in that city for a year, and I have never been surrounded by so much abject, willful stupidity and bigotry in my life.  There are good, decent people there, to be sure, probably enough to fill the outside seating area at well-appointed Starbucks.  But the rest of them?  Holy crap.  However!  I also am aware that the most exclusive private high school in Augusta now has a gay/straight alliance.  It was started by a straight guy.  So there is always hope for future Aaron Bartons, that they might hear the message, even among the most poorly educated, most highly bigoted people in this country, that it can and will get better for them.  [Get the hell out of Augusta immediately after graduation.]

This video is heartbreaking.

(h/t Jeremy)

Have you ever noticed how they all sound the exact same? It’s not just in their catchphrases and slogans. They all use the same tones of voice, like they’re automated. And that, children, is what brainwashing looks like.

Sidenote: As your resident atheist, the message at the end made me grin.

Weekly Column

It is generally understood that today’ youth are more supportive of equality for gay and lesbian people. Faced with losing the next generation, fundamentalists are ferociously scrambling to capture the minds of youth through homeschooling and the subversion of public education. By sequestering students at home or creating public schools where the only drink served in the cafeteria is Kool-Aid, they hope to reprogram tomorrow’ leaders.

It appears America’ religious fanatics are modeling their efforts on the success of radical Islamists in the Middle East, who reversed the trend of secularization in the region by hijacking education. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman recently wrote about this phenomenon:

Beginning in the 1970s, the trend in Yemen, Morocco, Egypt and the Persian Gulf “was to Islamicize education as a way to fight the left…”

…Then, in 1979, after the Saudi ruling family was shaken by an attack in Mecca from its own Wahabi fundamentalists, the Saudi regime, to fend off the anger of its Wahabis, gave them free rein to Islamicize education and social life in Saudi Arabia and neighboring states.

The rest is a very sad and tragic history.

In America, according to the Aug. 7, 2009 edition of The Economist magazine, the number of children who are home-schooled—1.5 million—has doubled in the past decade, and 83 percent of home-schooling families do so for religious or moral reasons.

It is important to realize that the goal of many in the homeschooling movement is to create an army of zealot zombies who are committed to transforming America into a fundamentalist “Christian Nation.”

“We are not home-schooling our kids just so they can read,” said Michael Farris, the founder of the Home School Legal Defense. “The most common thing I hear is parents telling me they want their kids to be on the Supreme Court. And if we put enough kids in the farm system, some may get to the major leagues.”

Many of the cult-kiddies are coming of age and have already infiltrated Washington. Homeschoolers are well represented on Capitol Hill, and they played a disproportionate role in George W. Bush’ administration.

While many of these students are educated in terms of test scores, they may lack critical thinking skills. In a sense, they are like computers with large hard drives that have been programmed with faulty software. No matter how fast they compute they always arrive at same flawed conclusions based on the Biblical bugs planted early in their memory chips.

For example, Children’ Conferences International hosts events across the nation for homeschoolers. Their “2010 theme” is science fiction, except to keep the minds of the children pure there will be no extraterrestrials allowed.

“Parents won’t have to worry about their children learning about aliens or some mysterious force in this fun filled futuristic space age theme,” according to their website. “Children WILL learn important life lessons about trusting God, faith over atheism, and the dangers of being enamored by the world.”

Instead of E.T. and space, these poor children have to endure crazy, spaced out adults determined to strip-mine their minds and corrupt their imaginations. In my view, this is a form of child abuse and deprives these students of real childhood experiences, while making them closed-minded.

Of course, funneling children into homeschooling is not enough for these predators. In order to succeed, the extreme right must hijack the curriculum of public schools. They are already making serious inroads in Texas, with zealots on the state school board rewriting history textbooks. This is vitally important because Texas is such a large consumer of textbooks, that they essentially have the ability to set the standards for much of the nation. So, if history is rewritten in Austin, the revisions will likely appear in your state as well.

One leader of the public school putsch, according to a recent cover story in The New York Times Magazine, is Cynthia Dunbar, a member of the Texas Board of Education. In 2008, she published a book called, “One Nation Under God” where she wrote: “Hence, the only accurate method of ascertaining the intent of the Founding Fathers is from a biblical worldview.” She also stated, “this battle for our nation’ children and who will control their education and training is crucial to our success for reclaiming our nation.”

For all of her passion, Dunbar is opposed to public education, writing of, “The inappropriateness of a state-created taxpayer-supported school system,” and says that sending children to public schools is akin to, “throwing them into the enemy’ flames, even as the children of Israel threw their children to Molech.”

Clearly, Dunbar’ real agenda is infiltrating the school system in order to destroy it.

When it comes to support, the next generation was supposed to be a wash. However, this successful trajectory is threatened if we allow today’ youth to be brainwashed. While paying attention to school boards is boring, it must become a priority for all Americans who want schools to be about education instead of indoctrination.

Exodus International Offers False Hope, Divorces and Ruined Lives, Says TWO

NEW YORK — TruthWinsOut.org (TWO) will join a coalition of state and local North Carolina organizations to counter a conference in Asheville (July 15-20) that plans to teach people to “pray away the gay.’ The controversial Exodus International symposium will sell books that promote exorcisms and encourage gay men to play touch football and lesbians to wear lipstick to become heterosexual.

“Ex-gay groups would be a farce if its failures weren’t so destructive to individuals and families,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of TruthWinsOut.org. “We plan a robust week of activities to highlight the harm caused by this nefarious right wing organization and to show the truth about the lives of GLBT people. I want to thank the Coalition for Equality for their commitment to educating North Carolinians about the dangers of the “ex-gay’ myth and the positive contributions GLBT people make to the community.”

Schedule of Events, July 15-20

Tuesday, July 15, 7:00–8:30 PM, Kick off Event
“Can You Pray Away the Gay?”
Firestorm Caf?© & Books (48 Commerce St., Asheville)
Speakers: Wayne Besen, Director, TruthWinsOut.org and author of “Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-gay Myth,” and Ian Palmist, Director, Equality NC

(Read More)

Exodus Global Alliance Is Selling False Hope and Faulty Science To Vulnerable and Desperate People, Says TWO

NEW YORK — TruthWinsOut.org denounced a so-called “ex-gay” religious symposium near Toronto that will peddle anti-gay stereotypes, twist legitimate science and promote discrimination. The event, hosted by Exodus Global Alliance, is part of a multi-million dollar worldwide effort to deceive people into believing homosexuality is a casual choice that can be cured through therapy and prayer. The goal is to shift public opinion, so a majority of voters will oppose legal equality for GLBT people.

“Exodus Global Alliance is selling false hope that will ultimately shatter families and ruin lives,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of New York City-based TruthWinsOut.org. “It is important that people realize that attempts to change sexual orientation can be dangerous and are rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health association in the world.”

The right wing symposium will take place at Morningstar Church in Scarborough, ON, May 8-10. It will feature several so-called “experts” who will misinform people about GLBT life and distort science to conform to their religious theories.

Exodus Global Alliance is the international component of a movement founded in the United States in 1973 to convince people that homosexuality is not a fixed orientation. Exodus International, based in Orlando, FL has a $1 million dollar budget and thirteen staff members. The organization works closely with Colorado-based Focus on the Family. Exodus Global Alliance has endorsed the criminalization of homosexuality in foreign countries and actively works to support anti-gay laws.