Living in Virginia, one frequently hears about the efforts of the Christianists to defeat responsible, fact based sex education in the public schools in the Maryland counties that border Washington, D.C. Montgomery County has seen a great deal of news coverage of late with the Christianists trying to gain the right to circulate their anti-gay, choice myth materials to counter genuine sex ed materials. As the new APA release on sexual orientation sent out to public school superintendants correctly points out, school divisions that cave in to the Christianist demands could be inviting lawsuits for (1) violation separation of church/state laws, and (2) negligence for harm done to LGBT students by virtue of the Christianist materials and/or the atmosphere of hate and intolerance they foster. Hence it was entertaining to see that the Prince George, Maryland Sentinel has published a column that takes the Christianists to task (.http://www.thesentinel.com/311576543500486.php). No doubt the paper will be assailed for being anti-Christian by the wingnut crowd. Here are some highlights:
This morning one of our reporters got a pamphlet from the GONAD [(Gender Opposition Network Against Disinformation] group telling us "You Don't Have to Be Gay!" with a subtitle "Real Answers to Questions about Homosexuality."
As glad as I was to hear I didn't have to be gay (I'm sure that will be comforting to my wife), I thought at first and still have to wonder if this pamphlet is serious or intended as satire. If it's satire, then it's of first order. If it's serious, then it's insidiously stupid. Yes, I said stupid.
This pamphlet contains dozens of laughs on each page. A subheading says, "Is homosexuality just as good as heterosexuality?" "Not at all," the pamphlet answers itself. How did the writers know? Did they try both and opt for our team? Gay people across the land may now live comforted by the thought that "specially-trained psychotherapists have been helping people for decades to reduce same-sex attraction and free themselves for normal heterosexual attraction." Normal?
There's more. Did you know that some people "become aware of being sexually attracted to members of their own sex, not just as a passing phase, which is common, but in a lasting way?" Maybe the writers of this pamphlet are still struggling to understand their own passing infatuation with members of their own gender. Is that possible? Toe-tapping in the bathroom anyone? Anyway, this group also says "both gays and straights who support the gay rights movement are 'in denial' and have emotional blocks of some kind." Well, perhaps the writers of this pamphlet are in denial.
The scary part about this Orwellian pamphlet is that it pretends to be a campaign against disinformation, but at every turn its hypocrisy smacks you in the face. It encourages people to "go to the top whenever possible," to argue against gay rights, and to do so in a pathetically feeble and juvenile manner. "Indirect or anonymous action may be your best bet in a given situation," it argues. The hate and fear in this pamphlet cannot be disguised, despite all the rhetoric.
Our reporter wanted a comment from someone who was named as harassing County Councilwoman Duchy Trachtenberg. That person didn't want to speak to The Sentinel, and instead sent us two e-mails. One was the aforementioned pamphlet. The other e-mail, just as loathsome, came on a letterhead from the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, or NARTH, and it tries to tell Catholics how to respond to transgender individuals.
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