Skip to main content

The Mighty Exodus International Hath Fallen

There's been recent developments surrounding Exodus International, the largest "gay reparative", "ex-gay", etc. organization.  The latest development as of tonight is the word that they are closing up shop.  Good fucking riddance.

This organization was an umbrella organization for many of these so-called "ex-gay" ministries, who have successfully torn families apart, branded gay individuals as "defectives", "child molesters", and driven many gay and lesbian individuals to suicide.  They claim that being gay is a "choice", and that homosexuality can be "cured" through reparation therapy, bible study, and prayer.  Despite the fact that they've been debated by professionals that such therapy is harmful, and that homosexuality can't be "cured", the religious right dismissed those studies as "liberal propaganda" and have continued to work tirelessly to demonize gay individuals and deny us equality in the law.

I am not sorry to see this organization self-destruct.  They, and the mainline churches, have made my adolescent years a nightmare, all by their messages from the pulpit.  My two years in the Boy Scouts were horrific.  I was subjected to constant taunting, ridicule, and physical abuse just because I was perceived to be gay, because I wasn't like the other kids in the troop.  The scoutmasters nor the clergy (our meetings were in the basement of our neighborhood church) did nothing after I was attacked and pelted with ice balls after a meeting in the middle of the winter.  I wound up quitting the scouts at the end of my second year.

During high school, my mother's house was pelted with eggs, and a supposed best friend stopped being friends with me during senior year because the crowd he began hanging with perceived me to be gay as well.  He admitted it to me the day after we graduated.   During my teen years, I lived in constant fear, to the point I was afraid to take busses home, walk through my neighborhood, or play video games at the neighborhood candy store.  Thankfully, I had a gotten a car a few months after I turned 17 and things eased up considerably.

All of this because of the message from the pulpit and from organizations like Exodus International.  People like John Paulk (an "ex-gay" poster boy from Focus On The Family) and Alan Chambers (current president of Exodus) shouldn't receive forgiveness just because they've admitted they're frauds because a lot of the blood of the people they victimized is on their hands.  The fact that they are shutting down the organization is a positive first step, but will it bring the dead children back?

I don't know how these frauds can live with themselves after the hurt, pain, and torment they have caused folks like us.  Now they say they're sorry.  Presto!  You're forgiven??  There is absolutely no way I can ever forgive them for it.  They deserve whatever fallout they get.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Weather Closure

We got the notification last night that the State would be closed today, so another day off...yay!  All told, a short week between MLK day and closures midday Tuesday and today.  The major arteries were cleared today, so it looks like tomorrow will see me back at work. The day wound up being quite productive. We lucked out again with the way the snow came in; the snow didn't accumulate around our property with the exception of the backyard, which meant very little shoveling.  The only shoveling that had to be done was to dig out the cars, which between the two of them took 25 minutes. Hit the gym for the 9am class.  Today's workout was a challenge conditioning circuit.  There were two, 10-minute circuits.  I got through the workout okay, though I need to roll my upper back out tomorrow.  It may be time to order one of those rollers from Perform Better. Hung out at home for a bit, showered, and watched Let's Make A Deal and The Price is Right ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Avon Pavilion Stays!

There was some good news in the goings-on about the Avon Pavilion and the business owners who rented the space: the town is renewing their lease for the next 10 years.  The town had originally voided their lease in January once the structures were demolished from the damage from Sandy.  The tenants had an agreement and threatened to file a lawsuit against the Borough if they didn't reconsider.  Well, the town blinked, and the previous tenants have their lease renewed. It didn't make any sense that the town would withdraw their lease in the first place.  They are good tenants, and by the far, the best ones who ever occupied the space (that I'm aware of).  They converted the place into a nice restaurant, and kept it well-maintained, clean, and made it very successful.  If you have a good tenant, why not try to hold onto them? And now the big question:  Why the requirement for an additional 200 square feet of bathroom space?? Here's the article fr...
Post a Comment
Read more

9th & Ocean

It was a sense of the familiar with a side of strangeness.  Nearly four months after Hurricane Sandy had done her cooch dance around these parts, we finally were able to walk along Ocean Avenue in Belmar this afternoon.  The town advertised specific businesses that were open along the thoroughfare.  I had driven to Ocean Avenue the other day, but the barricades were up prohibiting pedestrian and vehicle traffic.  Al wanted to check things out. We walked down 8th Avenue toward the beach, and saw folks walking and jogging along Ocean Avenue. We assumed it was okay to walk along the beachfront, and proceeded to walk south. A police van was constantly patrolling the area, basically making sure that everyone stayed on the western side of the street and on the sidewalk.  We walked down to the south end and back.  In a nutshell, there was a lot of cosmetic damage to many of the homes and businesses.  One home had some major structural damage, and an overh...
Post a Comment
Read more