More Disingenuousness from Exodus International

Exodus International and its affliates like to pretend for the mainstream media that they "love homosexuals" but hate the sin, yet when looks at the manner in which they work hand in glove with far right Christianist organizations that work incessantly to disseminate false and hurtful lies about gays and homosexuality, the lie of their lip service soon becomes most apparent. In addition, despite ludicrous claims of thouands of "former homosexuals," Exodus is always hard put to document the existence of any true "ex-gays" other than the ones on the paid staffs of Exodus and its affiliates. One would think that if such individuals existed, there would be at least some who would come forward without being a salaried employee of an ex-gay ministry or an affiliate thereof. From the dozen plus guys I know who survived ex-gay programs, none were cured and a number still carry the emotional and psychological scars from what was done to them in the "ministries. Combine that with the frauds like John Paulk and Michael Johnston, and it becomes crystal clear that Exodus and its affiliates are little more than calculating frauds serving the political agenda of the Christian Right in terms of perpetuating the choice myth and raking in money in the process. Wayne Besen has a new column that does a good job exposing the hypocrisy of Exodus. Here are some highlights:

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Sporting a fog machine for its smoke and mirrors routine and an extravagant stage that would make The Rolling Stones blush, the “ex-gay” group Exodus International held its glitzy annual conference in Asheville, North Carolina. I was in town all week to partner with regional and state organizations to oppose the meeting and its dizzying array of distortions.

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In nearby Greenville, South Carolina, Stephen Moller, an anti-gay thug who murdered 20-year-old Sean William Kennedy outside a gay bar, just learned that he would spend approximately 10 months in jail for his ferocious crime. In this gross miscarriage of justice, the message was sent that murdering gay people was tacitly acceptable, if not encouraged. While in town, I spoke to Sean’s grieving mother, Elke Kennedy, who rightfully called the sentence, “a joke and a slap on the wrist.” Meanwhile, on the opening day of the Exodus conference, an anti-bullying bill was stalled in the North Carolina legislature.

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Into this backdrop of brutality stepped the ex-gay activists Alan Chambers and Randy Thomas, who were determined to show the progressive residents of Asheville that Exodus did not stigmatize gay and lesbian people. Unfortunately, they kept tripping over reality and revealing the true nature of their duplicitous, deceptive and depraved ministry.

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For a week, western North Carolinians were dazzled with disingenuousness. The audacity of the lies was breathtaking and the sheer nerve was mind numbing. By the end of the conference, everyone who had paid attention learned that Exodus leaders are shameless charlatans who lack even a modicum of morality.

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For example, Thomas tried to distance Exodus from the controversial practice of “reparative therapy,” telling the Asheville Citizen-Times, “We get lumped into the groups that do reparative therapy, when it’s just not true.” To put it kindly, Thomas sees the truth as a political pinwheel that he can spin in his efforts to win. I personally visited the Exodus conference (before I was evicted) and found that they were selling several books that taught “reparative therapy” including one from Dr. Joseph Nicolosi who invented the term.

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With such bombastic broadsides, does one really have to wonder how . . . . the gay bashing hooligan, Stephen Moller, believed he could devalue the life of a gay man? Exodus may smile sweetly and tell the mainstream media they love homosexuals. But, judging by the recent hate crimes in the Carolinas combined with the reactionary rhetoric of Exodus, it seems that they are literally “loving” us to death.