An AP article reports on the two dozen protesters that NARTH and FOTF shipped in to protest the APA’s position on reorientation.
The group, which was sponsored by the conservative ministry Focus on the Family, was protesting what it sees as the APA’s views on the immutability of homosexuality.
NARTH’s Nicolosi made claims about his miracle cure but his discription of “cured” doesn’t seem much like heterosexuality to me
Nicolosi, who works with people wanting to change their sexuality, said that he has found about a third of his patients experience no change, a third have what he called “significant improvement.” and a third adopt a heterosexual life style.
“They marry and are cured,” Nicolosi said. “They may have an occasional attraction, but not a major or constant one.”
I don’t know many straight guys that have “occasional attractions” to other guys. Nicolosi is defining success as marriage… and he he thinks its just politics that the APA isn’t taking his position to heart.
Dr. Clinton Anderson of the APA was not swayed by Nicolosi and his band of “people who had changed from homosexuality”.
“There has never been a well designed study to show that people can change,” Anderson said. “Our concern about the so-called conversation therapy is that it isn’t supported by science. There is simply no sufficiently scientifically sound evidence that sexual orientation can be changed.”
Is “ex-gay” anything like “pre-gay”? So many people don’t come out till they are much older. They spend years of their lives saying to themselves “I am not gay, I am not gay, I am not gay” so they claim they are straight. Maybe those should be called “pre-gay”.
They spend years of their lives saying to themselves “I am not gay, I am not gay, I am not gay” so they claim they are straight. Maybe those should be called “pre-gay”.
I’ll spare everyone the bad joke about denial being more than a river in Egypt.
BTW – Randy’s written about the APA protest on his blog – he’s claiming it was a – wait for it – Big Success, with 40 protesters, not the two dozen the AP is claiming.
Of Nicolosi’s ‘success’ I have always thought of it as a third he offered no hope, a third he “confused,” and the last third he “baffled.”
The DeseretNews says there was a contingent from Evergreen International protesting at the APA. https://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645192660,00.html
Wayne Besen got this statement from the APA concerning the protest by NARTH et.al.
Nicolosi actually said cured?
Well buddy — that’s exactly why all the professional bodies oppose your type of activities.
NONE of them — using Randy’s utterly incorrect words — “say that it is unethical for their members to help people change their sexual orientation”. No professional body has said that. Ever. There were debates in both the APsA (1995?) and APA (1996?) about whether they should declare it unethical, but both organisations rejected going that far.
What they do say is unethical is to present matters in the way that Nicolosi, NARTH and Exodus do. The pertinent statements go like this:
and
So let’s see how Nicolosi stacks up: “”We disagree with the APA’s stand that people can’t change if they want to,” [said Dr. Joseph Nicolosi] “If someone wants to change, they say, `No, this is you, you must learn to accept it.’ We say people have self determination, they can make a choice.”
Apparently not. He then goes on to say that only one-third change; and that’s using his own inflated, untested and unpublished “numbers”.
*DING* Joe, you just made a “false or deceptive statement concerning the scientific or clinical basis for your service”. UNETHICAL
And what was that word he used again. oh yes — cured. (and, further down “improved”)
*DING* Joe, if we didn’t already know, those clearly let us know that you have the “assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder”. UNETHICAL
As for Exodus itself, ditto Randy Thomas, — “Exodus upholds heterosexuality as God’s creative intent for humanity, and subsequently views homosexual expression as outside of God’s will. Exodus cites homosexual tendencies as one of many disorders that beset fallen humanity. Choosing to resolve these tendencies through homosexual behavior, taking on a homosexual identity, and involvement in the homosexual lifestyle is considered destructive, as it distorts God’s intent for the individual and is thus sinful. Instead, Christ offers a healing alternative…”
Disorder. Should change. Can change.
*DING* *DING* *DING* That’s all three strikes in barely more than a paragraph. Any professional who promoted Exodus would be UNETHICAL-cubed.
As the song goes, it ain’t what you do it’s the way that you do it. And Randy, your people do it nasty.
(I guess that Randy also wasn’t all that clear with the “at least 6 people” he spoke to. Like, he didn’t mention the awkward fact that his change involves living as a celebate homosexual? No? Oh, how deceitful of you dear boy.)
—
Bother. I suppose you lot all want links through to the specific policy statements etc again. /sigh. OK here they are: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]… urgh, that’s enough. I really cannot be bothered with anymore.
he has found about a third of his patients experience no change
*raises hand*
Being an ex-gay is like dying your hair. No matter what, your roots are gonna rat you out bitch.
Geez…
Hystrionics is good for raising money. Period. It’s less acknowledged effect, for good reason, is polarization.
They yell “you can be cured.” You yell back “you’re killing children.” Who’s listening? Not many people.
You know what happens when you let a moron scream and yell and make extreme statements? The majority of people will laugh at them. Especially if you throw in well-placed ridicule.
What happens when you see two morons yelling and screaming at each other making extreme statements? Some will watch it like it’s wrestling. Others will think both sides need to shut up and go away. Few will be passionately moved to help either side.
As long as there are idiots giving their bank account numbers to Nigerian Gold Merchants there will be idiots who fall for the hucksters of today preaching weight loss through a strip of plastic or shocking your nipples as they flash pictures of naked men on the screen.
Wait, the APA once sanctioned that.