Randy Thomas is the spokesman for Exodus, but he also operates his own personal blog.
In polishing and extending his April 9 mini-reviews of two books, I hope he will finish connecting the dots that he has drawn. After all, if one puts dots in one’s blog, it makes little sense not to connect them. Right?
About the first book, Randy writes:
After The Ball by Kirk and Madsen
this Book … oh my … well I am about 100+ pages into it and had to put it down for a bit. I got really upset by it. Some times I react emotionally before I can figure out why. Now, I knew that this was a progay political book when I picked it up. And it really offended me on one level because of my faith but that wasn’t the core of my anger. I was angry more as a person who was once gay. I was angered that my pain and struggle was manipulated and used to usher in the politically minded gay elite into power. This book unabashadly reveals a designed marketing plan for social engineering. They are not hiding that fact. The problem is that they basically lied and crafted a war where millions in the gay community were being devastated by the HIV horrors of the ’80’s would become bitter and fight for the causes they (the gay elite) purposefully defined inaccurately and jammed silent any opposing viewpoint. I want to finish the book but I have had to take a break. I want to write a full response.
The book, written in 1990, was considered a common-sense outline of the same sort published by many advocacy movements. It was a protest against outlandish and offensive militance by queer leftist extremists. It was a call for mainline gays and lesbians to make themselves known and heard in mainstream society. It was a warning that the mainline gay community needs to throw the religious right’s unholy tactics back in their faces. And it was an appeal to gays and lesbians to live healthier, more responsible lives.
At the same time, the book was marred by harsh statements and sweeping generalizations, some of which are now 13 years out of date.
Before writing a full review of the book, Randy would serve himself well to read the Amazon reviews of the book. And then cite specific passages that he finds offensive.
I found this remark by Randy especially troubling:
I was angered that my pain and struggle was manipulated and used to usher in the politically minded gay elite into power.
I don’t like to hear the Left whine incessantly about its victimhood, so I’m less than pleased to hear the same “victim” rhetoric coming from mature ex-gay Christians like Randy. I think Randy has always been capable of making his own decisions. He has never been controlled by others. In the past, he made reasonable choices as an independent thinker, not wanting to be exploited by any one side in the culture war. (And there are many sides, not just two.) Now, I fear sometimes, his choices and words are steered more by ideology than by independent thought inspired by faith. “Victim” rhetoric reflects poorly on the speaker. I know Randy is capable of so much more.
And before making judgments about old gay-agenda books like “After the Ball,” I hope Randy will research the infamous and dishonest plans of the religious right at its own early-Nineties movement-planning events, among them Glen Eyrie.
After writing the mini-review of After the Ball, Randy wrote this:
The New Thought Police, by Tammy Bruce
I am about halfway through the book and it is wonderful. Ms. Bruce is a lesbian activist who was the head of NOW (National Organization for Women) for seven years. Her book is a defense of free speech and thought and exposes many tactics of the American political left and the gay elite. Her expose on the “Stop Dr. Laura” campaign is rivoting. I will write a full response on this as well. It was strange to me that a left leaning book and a progay political book hit me all kinds of wrong and then this lesbian author makes me want to join her fan club. As I meditated on it I see that she isn’t trying to manipulate or control the dialog. She doesn’t just spout off what’s expected and through her writings it is apparent she tries to respect everyone…even if they are at odds with her. Heck, Dr. Laura wrote the forward for her book! More later…
I’m happy that Randy has found a lesbian writer that confounds some of his stereotypes about gays and feminists. At the same time, I’m surprised that Randy would be surprised by this book. He has known about gay independents and conservatives like me for quite a while.
I see a clear disconnect between Randy’s assessment of “After the Ball,” in which Randy seems to attribute common-sense, conservative forms of gay-tolerant activism to some vast, sneaky conspiracy, and his positive assessment of another apparently sensible book by Tammy Bruce.
Like I said: Connect the dots.