What the f*ck is wrong with you Christians?
I don't have an irrational hatred of the `christian right' - it's completely thought out and rational. They scare the living shit out of me. They do all sorts of scary horrible things, but one thing that always shocks me is how terrible they treat gay kids.
I wrote an article about
James Barnett, the eighteen year old that was kicked out of school and outed to his parents by administrators. It appalled me a `christian' school would act so immorally, but as time goes by I think James got off really easy.
A friend of mine was raised Amish in rural Virginia. He is the youngest of his three brothers and was always the one acting in school plays and doing other `gay' things. When he was sixteen his father found out he was gay. The night he got home from school, his three brothers held him down while his dad beat and whipped him. He said he was trying to get the demons out. My friend is twenty now and still has scars on his back from the whippings. How compassionate the Amish are, extremely Christ-like.
Another story has been circulating around the blogs is about sixteen year old Zach of Tennessee. According to his MySpace profile, up until a few weeks ago, Zach was a normal kid who liked Jesse McCartney (hey, don't we all?) and Harry Potter -- Obviously a kid in serious emotional distress. He told his parents that he was gay, and they were angry, they all cried. So it goes.
A normal family would just be awkward about their gay son, but unfortunately Zach's parents are Evangelical Christians. His parents seemed to blame themselves. Zach writes:
Well today, my mother, father, and I had a very long "talk" in my room where they let me know I am to apply for a fundamentalist christian program for gays. They tell me that there is something psychologically wrong with me, and they "raised me wrong." I'm a big screw up to them, who isn't on the path God wants me to be on. So I'm sitting here in tears, joing the rest of those kids who complain about their parents on blogs - and I can't help it.
Great parenting, nothing better to say to a sixteen year old than that there is something `wrong' with them. So, they send him off to Love In Action, a <strike>hate</strike> ex-gay ministry located in Memphis, the moral capital of the world.
How were his first six weeks at Love In Action?
Hi. I'm not sure if I'm even supposed to be on. I ran away for a short while. I came back and they took everything from me, they don't want me to have outside influences-- i dont know how long im going to be on, because if tehy wake up, im screwed. The program starts June 6 and is until either teh 17th or the 20th. I'm sorry I don't have time to write back o all of the comments and messages. I'm just here to let everyone know I am still alive, I'm sure you've left messages on my cellphone, they took that.. and my keys... and the computer.. and I've been homebound. -sigh
- I just need this to be over. Don't worry. I'll get through this. They've promised me things will get better whether this program does anything or not. Let's hope they aren't lying. I've been through hell. I've been emotionally torn apart for three days... I can't remember which days they were.. time's not what it used to be.
This kid is slowly losing his mind. Which makes sense, author Wayne Besen says.
Wayne Besen, a gay author who tracks the ex-gay movement, said the teen is likely to experience psychological damage...
"This is significant child abuse," said Besen...
"These organizations hold them captive, basically as prisoners. They are boot camps," he said. ...
"They destroy and demolish the self-worth of young men and women," he said...
Is Wayne Bensen crazy? The
American Psychological Association flat-out agrees with him.
Psychologists, psychiatrists and other mental health professionals agree that homosexuality is not an illness, mental disorder or an emotional problem. Over 35 years of objective, well-designed scientific research has shown that homosexuality, in and itself, is not associated with mental disorders or emotional or social problems.
They also speak poorly of "conversation therapy."
The American Psychological Association is concerned about such therapies and their potential harm to patients.
Damn science, research, and facts! -- Always getting in the way of people's stupid beliefs.
How has it helped him? He's been there for six weeks; he has six more to go. He'll be straight then, until he sees a Jesse McCartney video, then he'll be gay again.
Has he been harmed by his `treatment'? Check out this bit from his most recent blog entry.
Soon. Soon, this will be all over. My mother has said the worst things to me for three days straight... three days. I went numb. That's the only way I can get through this. I agree, if you're thinking that these posts might be dramatized.. but the proof of the programs ideas are sitting in the rules. I pray this blows over. I can't take this... noone can... not really, this kind of thing tears you apart emotionally. To introduce THIS subject... I'm not a suicidal person... really I'm not.. I think it's stupid - really. But.. I can't help it, no im not going to commit suicide, all I can think about is killing my mother and myself. It's so horrible. This is what it's doing to me... I have this horrible feeling all of the time... I wish this on no person... I'm so satisfied--happy's too strong of a word the state I'm in-- that everyone's taking the time to email and write letters in complaint to these people. I dont know if it will do anything, but if something did happen it would be -- awesome.
I'm so angry and powerless, how many people's lives are being ruined by this bullshit? It's not going to get any better, it's just gonna get worse? What can we do?
By the way, here is Zach. Scary guy huh?