Apparently still concerned about their media image, the National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) is resorting to threats concerning the use of their actual images. Consider the following introduction to video clips of their latest conference:

Video on this web site cannot be copied, reproduced, downloaded or used in any way other than for viewing on the NARTH web site. Any violation thereof will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

The warning also appears at the beginning of each video. Apparently the concept of fair use does not agree with NARTH’s need for control. One can sympathize to some extent, considering the rather sad impression an unvarnished look at their main personality, Joseph Nicolosi, can make.

Among the videos (we assume NARTH hasn’t yet figured out a way to keep others from discussing them) there is Dr. Stanton Jones, co-author of the ex-gay study for Exodus, accepting some sort of award. He talks so fast that one can only wonder if even he wanted to escape the conference as quickly as possible. We also assume the rather anemic applause reflected the less than 50 people in attendance, and not any disdain for Dr. Jones.

It’s hard not to find some humor in a character like Nicolosi, but this truly is a silly thing to do. Like the process by which reparative therapists form their claims, hording information and discussion like this is really the antithesis of what scientific thought is all about. If they truly believe their claims will hold up under scrutiny, well then let others scrutinize freely.

What might they do next, ban the use of written transcripts? Insist that viewers purge their web cache upon leaving their site? How much control are they willing to exercise to prop up a flawed concept, not to mention Nicolosi’s considerable ego?

Categorized in:

Tagged in:

,