Ex-Gay Watch

I have scattered reports that ex-ex-gay Shawn O’Donnell was involved in Exodus’ group publicity photo a few years back and has since left the ex-gay lifestyle and is now demanding Exodus stop using his photo. [I repeat, this remains an unverified report.]

Most recently I found him mentioned in passing here. But once again, not enough information to base a post upon.

If anyone knows Mr. O’Donnell or has any good news stories about him please contact me.

Addendum by Mike A.:
Press release about Shawn O’Donnell by Wayne Besen:
Read more…

Review of “Bullying Prevention Information: Resources for Schools” by Warren Throckmorton, June 2005.

In a personal email from Prof. Throckmorton to myself dated June 27th, he stated this package was among the material presented at last weekend’s PFOX education conference opposite the national PTA convention.

Throckmorton’s package is generic, bland and almost exclusively deals with the notion of bullying as if it were confined to Timmy having his milk money stolen.

Throckmorton fails to specifically mention racial, gender, religious or anti-gay bullying as particularly heinous forms of bullying. Bias motivated crimes are much more dangerous because they seek to terrorize an entire class of people, but Throckmorton ignores this and focuses on the generic and abstract. Throckmorton doesn’t even say the word “race” or “ethnicity” until page 17 of his 24-page document. After page 17 those items are mentioned at most, two more times. In the real world, where children are physically assaulted specifically because of their race and sexuality, Throckmorton’s program is irrelevant.

Let’s say a school has a bullying problem with Hispanic children being mocked and assaulted. After one particularly ugly incident the school finally recognizes they have a very specific problem and choose to implement a program. Now logically, would the school implement a generic anti-bully program? Or, responding to the specific problem of race-driven incidents, would the school choose a program targeting the problem?

To not specifically address the catalytic incidents with a focused anti-bully program is irresponsible, foolish and likely a legal liability when further incidents occur.

Throckmorton seems out of touch with the realities of harassment. As evidence, I offer his list on page 17 titled “TYPES OF BULLYING.”

-Direct Bullying

Physical Aggression
Pushing
Shoving
Spitting
Kicking
Hitting
Defacing Property
Stealing
Physical acts that are demeaning and humiliating but not bodily harmful
Locking in a closed or confined space
Physical violence against family or friends
Threatening with a weapon
Inflicting bodily harm

Verbal Aggression
Mocking
Name-calling
Dirty looks
Taunting
Teasing about clothing or possessions
Teasing about appearance
Verbal threats of aggression against property or possessions
Verbal threats of violence or of inflicting bodily harm

Intimidation
Threatening to reveal personal information
Graffiti
Publicly challenging to do something
Defacing property or clothing
Playing a dirty trick
Taking possessions (e.g. lunch, clothing)

-Indirect Bullying

Social Alienation
Gossiping
Embarrassing
Setting up to look foolish
Spreading rumors
Ethnic slurs
Setting up to take the blame
Publicly humiliating
Excluding from the group
Social rejection
Maliciously excluding
Manipulating social order to achieve rejection
Threatening with total isolation by peer group

“Ethnic slurs.” That’s it. Note the almost complete absence of bullying which could be considered a bias-motivated crime.

Alert reader Timothy brought my attention to a very ugly article published at the Agapepress today regarding events last December. (As if the fundamentalist media recycling favorite anecdotes as news is uncommon…) The article is about local parent David Williams who fought the establishment of a GSA at Eisenhower High School in Lawton, Oklahoma by distributing ex-gay literature.

Williams, however, used [the equal access] policy to his advantage. He argued that, if homosexual students were free to establish a club that normalizes their lifestyle, then students who believe that homosexuals can change their sexual orientation must also be allowed to start a club.

“I approached it from an equal access [perspective],” Williams said. “If they were going to promote one view of the gay agenda and not include the ex-gay agenda — which means that people can change their perspective — then that would be unfair.”

The strategy succeeded. After the equal access push, the student government itself voted not to have a GSA. “To make a long story short, after hundreds of e-mails, phone calls, prayers, [and] actually getting some ex-gay literature through churches into the hands of students at the school … it was voted down by the students,” he said. “We have to praise the Lord for that.”

AgapePress writer Ed Vitagliano fails to address the apparent hypocrisy of Williams’ claim to have embraced equal access, for this is the same right Williams seeks to deny gay children.

Anyone seeking clarification on his reasoning may contact local parent David Williams here.

Interestingly, I found a press release at PFOX from January encouraging ex-gay students to celebrate equal-access by forming their own clubs. PFOX is generally more rhetorically inconsistent than FOTF and the AFA combined but in this case has chosen to go with a moderate stance advocating schools present both sides of sexuality issue. PFOX took this same stance of “giving students both sides” when it showcased Warren Throckmorton’s sex-ed curricula at it’s education conference last weekend.

However on PFOX doesn’t hesitate to pull a logical-back-flip and essentially stated any promotion of homosexuality in schools is unacceptable and cannot be presented as a two sided issue as they have advocated on other occasions.(*)

Let’s review the myriad positions held by the religious right in the course of this post:

1) Ex-gay should be able to have a club so let’s deny that same right to gay students.

2) Ex-gays AND gays should both be able to have clubs because both sides of the issue need to be presented and allow students to choose how they handle their sexuality.

3) Absolutely nothing positive about homosexuality should be presented in the public schools.

Today I had to delete two five comments for failing to provide a source. Whenever a commenter uses a quote, mentions an article or posts a press release it must include a URL or other verifiable citation or I will delete it. Simply saying “this is from HRC” or “I read this at SoVo.com” is not sufficient. I expect to see the entire URL, if followed, takes me straight to the source being quoted in one click. That means the dedicated URL for a specific article, press release, and in the case of blog, a permalink.

-Dan

Alert reader Regan brought this story to my attention. The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services has concluded it’s investigation and announced allegations of child abuse at Love In Action are unfounded.

The story at SoVo contains little new information except director Smid claims the allegations were never described to him.

John Smid, executive director of Love in Action, said the allegations were never described to him but he assumed they involved a complaint of psychological abuse.

Update: Throckmorton emailed me this same evening with the material presented. He directed me to www.respectandthefacts.com. I’ll have a look in the next day or so.

“This weekend PFOX will be presenting materials and methods designed to protect all students and ensure safe schools for everyone.” -Warren Throckmorton(*)

The state of Tennessee has begun an investigation in response to allegations of child abuse at Love in Action, a Memphis facility that advertises homosexual conversion therapy for adolescents, according to the state department of health [sic].

K. Daniele Edwards, a spokesperson for Child Services at the Tennessee Department of Health, confirmed an investigation is underway but declined to comment on the details. She noted that she presumes the Love in Action program would require licensing by the state.

Love in Action is not licensed by the Tennessee Departments of Health, Mental Health, Human Services, Child Services or Education, according to Rachel Lassiter of Gov. Phil Bredesen’s communications office.

[all emphasis added]

Alert reader Jerry brought the article quoted above to my attention. The piece is titled Tenn. investigates ex-gay camp, by Eartha Melzer and dated June 23, 2005 at ExpressGayNews

Exodus calls them “live-in ministries” and helps market them.

Critics call them “ex-gay camps” or compulsory “brainwashing” facilities.

Whatever one calls them — we’d like to know where more of them are.

Exodus boasts of four — in Georgia, Kansas, Montana and Tennessee.

Where are others — the ones nearest you? Let us know, via the comments.

Today the Agapepress gleefully reports homosexuals have been arrested for public sex at Richfield County Park in Michigan. Gary Glenn, the apparent head of the AFA Michigan has noticed a trend and is quoted:

Glenn observes an alarming trend in reports of such criminally lewd behavior. “I went back and looked over the records of the incidents of this kind of thing that I have in my files,” he says, “and it seems in almost every case, there are public school employees who are involved when there is an arrest made in a public park for men soliciting homosexual activity.”

Two similar instances occurred in southeast Michigan, and another happened in Pittsburgh in the last several years, the AFA-Michigan president notes — and in each case, he says, “public school employees were involved.”

Glenn does not offer up substantiation other than his vague collection of private files. The Agapepress continues it’s role as unquestioning mouthpiece of the bigoted and ignorant does nothing to question Glenn further. Let’s hear it again:

“I went back and looked over the records of the incidents of this kind of thing that I have in my files.”

“I have in my files…” Are they kidding me?

People buy this tripe? If anyone here doesn’t buy it and would care to share some thoughts with the author Jim Brown or Gary Glenn just click on their names.

Shhhush… don’t tell anyone but the religious right’s charade slips up again regarding their motives for supporting the ex-gay cause. (Hint: It has to do with providing them an excuse to justify discrimination against the millions of gay Americans content with their sexuality)

Alert reader Timothy sent me “What’s Their Real Problem With Gay Marriage? (It’s the Gay Part)”, by Russell Shorto, an article appearing in the New York Times Magazine dated June 19, 2005. Found about 70% into the article ex-gay theology is very clearly offered as the alternative to gay marriage:

Shannon Royce, the executive director of the Marriage Amendment Project, advised me explicitly: “The ex-gay movement is a very important part of the story.” [Brian] Racer [a pastor quoted elsewhere in the story] spelled it out clearly as well. “I’ve had quite a few opportunities to counsel people who were in a homosexual lifestyle,” he said. “They have generally found themselves in a desperate place. They know that Christ promises an abundant life, but that promise was made with some restrictions. These people have tried to find fulfillment in ways that are against God’s principles. So you don’t want to further the error by allowing gay marriage. Most of these folks have had an abusive situation that goes back to childhood. You want to heal that. You want to hold back the tide and not let such a high impact issue harm the whole society.”

Care to share some thoughts with pastor Brian Racer? Drop him a line here.