Religious Based Ignorance Once Again Thwarts Russia's Future

Before the Russian Revolutions of 1917 - first the February Revolution and then the Bolshevik Revolution in October/November - one of the mainstays to the retardation of Russia's modernization and movement towards a constitutional monarchy was the Russian Orthodox Church.  Now, while modern developed countries around the world are rejecting anti-gay bigotry and discrimination in favor of modern scientific knowledge on sexual orientation, Vladimir Putin - much like his Tsarist predecessors - is listening to the idiocy and ignorance of the revived Russian Orthodox Church hierarchy and pushing an anti-gay and anti-modernity agenda.  Putin is stupidly focused on the short term goal of hanging on to power at any cost with no thought or concern for the long term damage done or the lives ruined by the state sponsored bigotry that he has endorsed.  

In their quest to save the Russian monarchy, Nicholas II and Alexandra unwittingly set the stage for the revolutions of 1917 and the ultimate fall of Russia to the Bolsheviks and the ensuing civil war between the Whites and the Reds which damaged Russia so severely that economic output did not return to 1913 levels until the eve of World War II.  In the intervening years, millions of Russians perished.   By embracing the far right and the Russian Orthodox Church, Putin is repeating the same mistakes and making Russia a laughing stock in the process.  Now, as the Moscow Times reports, efforts are in motion to establish state sponsored "ex-gay" programs to turn Russian gays straight.  Here are highlights on this lastest idiocy from Russia:

Degtyaryov said that the Duma is also considering a program to provide anonymous and voluntary counseling for gay and bisexual people who want to be heterosexual.

"Many want to return to a normal life, to become heterosexual like 95 to 99 percent of our citizens," Degtyaryov said.

He also said that failure to forbid homosexuals from donating blood is a type of "sabotage."

LGBT activist Nikolai Alexeyev said that  . . . . There will be a lot of noise, and zero implementation of the law. Our politicians are so detached from reality that they no longer have any connection to the people. They just imagine gay people everywhere," Alexeyev told reporters.

Health Ministry spokesman Oleg Salagai said that the ministry will carefully consider the initiative.

Putin has apparently learned nothing from history.  It is ironic that he is embracing the same forces of reactionaries that helped destroy the Romanov dynasty.  One can only hope that his bigotry and willingness to make allegiances with forces seeking to oppose modernity will bring him a similar fate - all the more so because, unlike his imperial predecessors, he should no better because of all the available modern knowledge. 

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Chris Christie Signs Ban on "Ex-Gay" Therapy; Christofascists Go Berserk

As noted frequently on this blog, the "ex-gay" myth is critical to the Christofascists' efforts to block gay rights in general and gay marriage in particular because if sexual orientation is immutable and not changeable, then their argument that being gay is a "choice" collapses and their flimsy legal arguments evaporate.  Thankfully, legitimate medical and mental health professionals recognize that the claims of "ex-gay" ministries is to put it politely, bullshit at best and more likely down right harmful.  Now, New Jersey has joined California in banning licensed therapist in that state from subjecting minors to their bogus, witch doctor like therapy regimes.  It goes without saying that the hate merchants and charlatans who promote these programs are beside themselves and the crackpots at Liberty Counsel have vowed to sue New Jersey.  First, these highlights from CNN on Chris Christie's signing the bill banning the practice into law:

New Jersey will become the second state to forbid gay conversion therapy for minors when Gov. Chris Christie signs legislation into law Monday banning the highly controversial practice, CNN has learned.

Gay conversion therapy is an effort championed by people who believe that you can change a person’s sexual orientation through counseling. The American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association and American Psychological Association are just a handful of professional organizations that oppose this practice, saying it is harmful.

New Jersey’s decision to outlaw gay conversion therapy will not only be looked upon as another major step in gay rights, but it will also be viewed through the prism of the 2016 race for the White House.

In explaining his decision to ban gay conversion therapy for minors, Christie is expected to emphasize that while he is wary of the “government limiting parental choice on the care and treatment of their own children,” on this particular issue he sided with the experts. The New Jersey senate passed the legislation in late July, but as with any legislation, it ultimately requires Christie’s final approval.

“The American Psychological Association has found that efforts to change sexual orientations can pose critical health risks including, but not limited to, depression, substance abuse, social withdrawal, decreased self-esteem and suicidal thoughts,” Christie will say in his signing statement, according to an advanced copy provided to CNN. “I believe that exposing children to these health risks without clear evidence of benefits that outweigh these serious risks is not appropriate.”

A Catholic, Christie in the past has stated his opposition to gay conversion therapy and in a June 2011 interview on CNN said he did not think homosexuality is a sin.

“Well, my religion says it's a sin,” Christie said on ‘Piers Morgan Tonight.’ “But for me, I don't. I've always believed that people are born with the predisposition to be homosexual. And so, I think if someone is born that way, it's very difficult to say then that that's a sin. But I understand that my church says that. But for me personally, I don' t look upon someone who is homosexual as a sinner.”

Yep, the spittle must be flying by the bucketful at the offices of the usual hate groups and at the Vatican.  Kudos to Chris Christie.  As noted, the sociopaths at Liberty Counsel - an ongoing blight on the Commonwealth of Virginia -  are big time unhappy and have announced via press release that they are ready to file a lawsuit against the state on New Jersey.  Here is some of the spittle flect drivel from the press release:

If the bill goes into effect, Liberty Counsel will immediately file suit.  . . . A3371 prohibits only one viewpoint regarding change counseling and, therefore, constitutes viewpoint discrimination. No viewpoint-based restriction on private speech has ever been upheld. The Supreme Court ruled that “the First Amendment forbids the government to regulate speech in ways that favor some viewpoints or ideas at the expense of others.”

This bill is so broad that parents would be prohibited from seeking help for their son who developed unwanted same-sex attractions after being molested by the likes of Jerry Sandusky. This law would inflict serious damage to children, parents, and counselors,” said Staver.

The Governor should reject this transparently unconstitutional law. It tramples the fundamental rights of counselors and clients, and it destroys the ability of patients to seek, and counselors to provide, counseling in accordance with their sincere desires and religious beliefs. It also runs roughshod over the fundamental rights of parents.

Memo to Staver: the courts and states regularly override parental religious based decisions which would subject their children to unsafe practices or deprive them of necessary medical care.  This bill does precisely the same thing: it protects minors for  religious based idiocy and extremism that could cause them severe harm.  If anyone is a threat to minors it is Staver and his fellow Christofascists who continue to embrace Bronze Age beliefs that have be refuted by legitimate science.  Inflicting "ex-gay" therapy on minors is nothing less than a form of child abuse.   It should be illegal nationwide.

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NOM: If Gays Are Allowed To Marry, Husbands Will Leave Their Wives!

The bigots and nutcases at the National Organization for Marriage ("NOM") must be getting desperate - especially at the prospect of potentially losing their very lucrative jobs - given recent gay rights successes in the two U. S. Supreme Court rulings last month and with more and more polls showing that a majority of Americans outside of the Bible Belt support gay marriage.  How else to explain NOM's new scare campaign of claiming that gay marriage will cause husbands to abandon their wives and marry other men.   Meanwhile, NOM is promoting "ex-gay" therapy and striving to push gays into "changing" and marrying opposite sex spouses in marriages doomed to fail.  The hypocrisy and disingenuousness is off the charts, but is all too typical of NOM.  Towleroad looks at this latest batshitery:

It's no secret that the National Organization for Marriage is dissatisfied with the Supreme Court's recent decisions that did away with Prop 8 and Section 3 of DOMA. After plenty of ranting and raving, the organization has now resorted to some of their older tactics, which include distorting facts and figures. This time around, NOM and The Heritage Foundation are trying to present pseudo-scientific data linking marriage equality with single motherhood, children in poverty, and the claim that men will start to leave their wives if they are allowed to marry other men.

In other words, "redefining marriage" would create more of these single-mother households, since husbands will no longer feel obligated to stay with their wives after they have children. This would then lead to increased levels of poverty, much like the ones illustrated in the chart. Alvin McEwen was good enough to point out that “the Heritage Foundation offers no proof that marriage equality leads to single-mother families.” Furthermore, ThinkProgress also observes that...

"The study is based on census data and presents no comparable information about the experience of children in same-sex families. This follows a long trend of conservative groups citing studies about “fatherless” children — those being raised by single mothers — and trying to attribute those results to families headed by lesbian couples."

Raw Story presented another interesting counter-argument, claiming that growing acceptance of LGBT people and their rights actually reduces the number of straight marriages that are torn apart when one spouse chooses to come out. 

"It’s homophobia that causes people to get married, have kids, and struggle for years before the pressure of living a lie causes them to come out, divorce their spouse, and live as a gay person."

To substantiate this, they presented data which indicated that there are actually more same-sex couples raising kids in red states and areas with more overt homophobia. They argue "that’s because, despite gay couples adopting or having kids together, most gay parents still got their kids during a closeted period in their life."

Whether you agree with the latter claim or not, there is almost no denying that the former claim made by NOM and Heritage is a stretch at best, and is one that echoes many previous arguments previously made by opponents of marriage equality.

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Undoing the Damage of the "Ex-Gay" Myth and "Change Ministries"

I write frequently about the evils of the "ex-gay" industry and the charlatans like Michelle Bachmann's lisping husband who make a living peddling the lie that sexual orientation can be changed and that being gay is a "choice."  I do so for several reasons.  First, I remember the years of self-hate and efforts I went through to "pray away the gay" even as I remained in the closet and tried to convince myself that I wasn't really gay.  Given the responses I've received to yesterday's post about Romeo and Juliet, I had lots of company in that private Hell of trying to not be gay.  No one should suffer through these kinds of experiences in the future.  Second, all legitimate medical and mental health associations - i.e., those not funded by Christofascists - now condemn so-called reparative therapy and it is past time that this "therapy" which is nothing more than child abuse be banned.  A piece in Huffington Post provides an overview of the evils done by the now thankfully closed Exodus International and its allied snake oil merchants.  Here are some highlights:

Exodus International announced that they would be closing their doors on July 1, 2013. An apology was issued for the "damage that has been caused," and an official statement was made that after four decades of working with countless people from the gay community, it was clear that sexual orientation cannot be changed.

I can't help but look at the indisputable evidence that begs -- screams -- for our attention. According to recent polls, 40 percent of our homeless youth are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Per Trevor Talks, suicide rates are three to four times higher among LGBT youth. In addition, reparative therapy patients are not likely to "convert," but they do often suffer psychological damage and deep shame surrounding their sexuality. The American Psychological Association states that reparative therapy is in fact harmful, and that it "reinforces stereotypes and contributes to a negative climate for lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons." 

The removal of homosexuality as a diagnosis invalidated many secular forms of reparative therapy, but religious-right groups, including Exodus International, persisted in their efforts to change sexual orientation. It is truly impossible to measure the damage that has been done to the people who had the misfortune of falling prey to such abhorrent treatment.

Exodus International and similar organizations may not be performing frontal lobotomies to try to alter one's sexual orientation, but the psychological damage that has been inflicted on countless people is indisputable. It cannot be overlooked that, in addition to the unfortunate individuals who have undergone such conversion efforts, there are innumerable people who have been influenced by this message of rejection and intolerance.

Exodus International has tormented the minds of youth and adults alike who have struggled to come to terms with their sexual identity in the face of such unforgiving religious scrutiny. How many people have pored over the teachings of this organization, pleading to God to show them how they can change and become worthy of salvation? How many parents have rejected their children, justifying their stance of tough love through the ideals of this organization? For forty years individuals, families, churches and communities have been impacted by the false and egregious teaching that homosexuality is a choice and that those who have enough stamina, enough tenacity, enough spiritual commitment, can change. The damage is irreversible.

While I applaud and celebrate the downfall of such a damaging organization, it is evident to me that merely closing the doors of Exodus International hardly begins to soothe the colossal damage that four decades of false teaching has caused. The message has been engrained in our sanctuaries and reverberated throughout our culture that being gay is a choice. This is the time when all those who celebrate the ending of the existence of Exodus International must dig their toes in and promote organizations that are actively seeking to repair the relationships destroyed by misconception.  . . . .
Stand up, speak out and fight for equality and acceptance for all.

What makes the whole saga even more sad is that the "ex-gay" industry was and continues to be fueled by those who (i) want to make a buck off of the sufferings of others and/or (ii) are afraid to think for themselves and make their own moral choices and instead cling to selective passages of writings of ignorant nomads for 2500+ years ago.

 

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The Death Toll from Homophobia and Family Rejection

With a new grandson of my own I am not surprisingly reminiscing about the births of my own three children and how the center of my whole world changed with their arrival into my life.  When speaking to my daughter yesterday, I teased her that now she would understand a parent's worry about their child and perhaps understand better the things that I and my former wife did to keep them safe and happy.  Sadly, some parents don't seem to get that message and, worse yet, reject their children out of slavish belief in ancient myths s that modern knowledge increasingly disproveand the propaganda of those who blogger friend Bob Felton calls the "holy men" whose number one concern is power and control over their congregations.  These "holy men" are the antithesis of family and proper parental love and support for ones children.   Here are two quotes from Albert Mohler of the Southern Baptist Convention that make this point:

As the Gospels make clear, loyalty to Christ exceeds that of any family commitment, . . .

The believer in Christ acknowledges him as Savior and Lord, with an allegiance that exceeds any earthly commitment. 

Bob goes on to correctly note in the context of the Supreme Court gay marriage rulings that the only thing impacted is as follows: "All that is marginalized and subverted is the power of the clergy — and that’s a good thing."

As note, too many people continue to cling to the lies and bullshit peddled by despicable, power hungry individuals like Mohler who in the final analysis don't give a damn about others.  And the consequences of such unthinking and foul allegiance to the rants of the holy men has all too often deadly consequences. A piece in Huffington Post reveals how one set of parents learned this the hard way and lost their son - their refusal to accept his homosexuality basically killed him in the end - as a consequence.  Religion and "faith" are too often a toxic evil and anything but a "common good" as claimed by Pope Francis.  Here are article highlights:

On the night of Nov. 20, 2001, a conversation held over Instant Messenger changed our lives forever. Our 12-year-old son messaged me in my office from the computer in his bedroom.

Ryan says: can i tell u something
Mom says: Yes I am listening
Ryan says: well i don't know how to say this really but, well......, i can't keep lying to you about myself. I have been hiding this for too long and i sorta have to tell u now. By now u probably have an idea of what i am about to say.
Ryan says: I am gay
Ryan says: i can't believe i just told you
Mom says: Are you joking?
Ryan says: no
Ryan says: i thought you would understand because of uncle don
Mom says: of course I would
Mom says: but what makes you think you are?
Ryan says: i know i am
Ryan says: i don't like hannah
Ryan says: it's just a cover-up
Mom says: but that doesn't make you gay...
Ryan says: i know
Ryan says: but u don't understand
Ryan says: i am gay
Mom says: tell me more
Ryan says: it's just the way i am and it's something i know
Ryan says: u r not a lesbian and u know that. it is the same thing
Mom says: what do you mean?
Ryan says: i am just gay
Ryan says: i am that
Mom says: I love you no matter what
Ryan says: i am white not black
Ryan says: i know
Ryan says: i am a boy not a girl
Ryan says: i am attracted to boys not girls
Ryan says: u know that about yourself and i know this
Mom says: what about what God thinks about acting on these desires?
Ryan says: i know
Mom says: thank you for telling me
Ryan says: and i am very confused about that right now
Mom says: I love you more for being honest
Ryan says: i know
Ryan says: thanx

We were completely shocked. Not that we didn't know and love gay people; my only brother had come out to us several years before, and we adored him. But Ryan? He was unafraid of anything, tough as nails and all boy. We had not seen this coming, and the emotion that overwhelmed us, kept us awake at night and, sadly, influenced all our reactions over the next six years was fear.

We said all the things that we thought loving Christian parents who believed the Bible, the Word of God, should say:

We love you. We couldn't love you more. But there are other men who have faced this same struggle, and God has worked in them to change their desires. We'll get you their books; you can listen to their testimonies. And we will trust God with this.

We thought we understood the magnitude of the sacrifice that we -- and God -- were asking for. And this sacrifice, we knew, would lead to an abundant life, perfect peace and eternal rewards. Ryan had always felt intensely drawn to spiritual things; He desired to please God above all else. So, for the first six years, he tried to choose Jesus. Like so many others before him, he pleaded with God to help him be attracted to girls. He memorized Scripture, met with his youth pastor weekly, enthusiastically participated in all the church youth group events and Bible Studies and got baptized. He read all the books that claimed to know where his gay feelings came from . . . .

But nothing changed. God didn't answer his prayer, or ours, though we were all believing with faith that the God of the Universe, the God for whom nothing is impossible, could easily make Ryan straight. But He did not.

Basically, we told our son that he had to choose between Jesus and his sexuality. We forced him to make a choice between God and being a sexual person. Choosing God, practically, meant living a lifetime condemned to being alone. He would never have the chance to fall in love, have his first kiss, hold hands, share intimacy and companionship or experience romance.

We had unintentionally taught Ryan to hate his sexuality. And since sexuality cannot be separated from the self, we had taught Ryan to hate himself. So as he began to use drugs, he did so with a recklessness and a lack of caution for his own safety that was alarming to everyone who knew him.

Suddenly our fear of Ryan someday having a boyfriend (a possibility that honestly terrified me) seemed trivial in contrast to our fear of Ryan's death, especially in light of his recent rejection of Christianity and his mounting anger at God.

Now, when I think back on the fear that governed all my reactions during those first six years after Ryan told us he was gay, I cringe as I realize how foolish I was. I was afraid of all the wrong things. And I grieve, not only for my oldest son, whom I will miss every day for the rest of my life, but for the mistakes I made. I grieve for what could have been, had we been walking by faith instead of by fear. Now, whenever Rob and I join our gay friends for an evening, I think about how much I would love to be visiting with Ryan and his partner over dinner. But instead, we visit Ryan's gravestone.

We weep. We seek Heaven for grace and mercy and redemption as we try not to get better but to be better. And we pray that God can somehow use our story to help other parents learn to truly love their children. Just because they breathe.

What is so troubling about this story is that Ryan's torment and ultimate death is not unique.  I lived with self-hate for years and only got over it when I opened my eyes and realized that all of the teachings I had received from the Catholic Church on sexuality were lies promulgated by morally bankrupt men who were little better than criminals given the cover ups exposed when the sex abuse scandal exploded in Boston.  Unlike Ryan, I had parents who never wavered in their support of me and who welcomed my boyfriends with open arms. Unfortunately, many LGBT individuals never get over the brainwashing and self-hate.  Two friends ultimately killed themselves and another became a debilitated alcoholic.  All because their families could not let go of ignorance and myths derived from Bronze Age nomads.

Again, the irony is that the Christofascists claim that gays and gay marriage threaten marriage and the family, yet is they themselves who constitute the larger threat.  Gays don't advocate for the rejection of family members, whereas the Christofascists do.  They have so much blood on their hands.  They are evil.

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Farewell to Exodus International - A Stept Towards Ending the "Ex-Gay" Myth

I noted yesterday how the president of Exodus International issued an apology for the great harm done to gays through the now closing organization's work to perpetuate the myth that gays could "change" and become straight.  It's a myth that has negatively impacted many of us and certainly many readers of this blog.   It certainly caused me great torment for literally decades as I secretly tried desperately to "pray away the gay."  Thus, I for one say good riddance to Exodus International and the evil that it worked on so many ultimately in a quest for money and to facilitate the anti-gay political agenda of the Christian Right.  An op-ed in The Advocate struck a chord with me and illustrates the torment that Exodus International worked on so many.  Here are excerpts:

In an instant, I found myself back in my grandmother’s house —12 years old, kneeling with her on the floor of her living room, praying the rosary. In between the Hail Marys and the sorrowful mysteries, I inserted my own private prayer for God to take away my homosexuality. We would do this together almost every night, and each night I would ask God to make me straight.

Everything I had learned at church — a cornerstone of my Hispanic Catholic family — said that being gay is a sin, that it is somehow worse than other sins, but that if you are really committed to God you could overcome this great sin. Since 1976, Exodus International has spread that message to thousands upon thousands of young people and adults, telling them that in order to be faithful they have to denounce their sexuality. That homosexuality is a spiritual disease. That if you pray enough, starve yourself enough, endure enough physical and emotional pain, you can be saved.

As a young person, I often imagined what it would be like to try a “change therapy” program. I would hear horror stories of torture and lies, and I would be scared. But when I stared into the mesh screen in the confessional, as the pastor asked, “Is there anything else?” I would have to fight to keep the words “I’m gay” inside. I wanted to be accepted by God, by my family, by my grandmother who knelt beside me each night to pray.

In just a few days we could receive a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on same-sex marriage. Although the decision is unknown, there is an undeniable growing shift in support for LGBT equal rights. Citizens across this great country are stepping forward and affirming publicly that being gay is not a social disease.

I feel ever more confident that we are winning and that there will be a day in my lifetime when my doctor, my pastor, and my elected officials all agree that I am healthy.  I’m not evil, and I am worthy of the same rights as my grandmother. My grandmother last year came to a similar realization, telling me that even though I was a “different fellow,” she just wanted me to be happy and at peace.

Nothing brings me closer to my faith than taking a stand against the social injustices of our generation — a calling mentioned numerously in the Bible. It makes me proud to work for an organization that continues to lead the fight for LGBT equality through grassroots action focused on civil rights, parental rights, and relationship recognition.

You can rest assured that right now there is a young boy praying silently to God to take away his homosexuality. There is a girl at Bible camp who feels dirty and sinful when she changes in front of her bunkmates. There is a young person being sent away to an organization much like Exodus International. It’s happening because the leaders in our faith communities have given in to fear and hate above love and compassion. The antigay ideas taught at the pulpit then propagate through our communities and are ingrained in fabric of families. But today, there is one less hatefully misguided organization leading the charge against perfectly normal people who just so happen to be gay.

If any so-called spiritual disease exists, it is conservative Christianity, not homosexuality.   The Christofascists and their puppets in the Republican Party make a mockery of the Gospel message virtually every day.  They are defined by hate, bigotry, and hypocrisy.  Hopefully, the larger public is increasing waking up to this reality.  They are not nice people and they deserve no respect or deference.

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