The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) has been criticized on this site for the views espoused on their site by members of their Scientific Advisory Committee.
Not surprisingly, NARTH’s views about gay people are less than complementary. Some show amazing ignorance about actual living breathing gay persons and some demonstrate a revulsion that is expressed in terms that cannot be described as other than hateful.
What is surprising, however, is some of the language that is used to address other social issues or historical situations that effect people other than those who are gay. It seems that NARTH’s advisors are quite opinionated and some of their opinions are so far from what is considered mainstream as to be shocking.
(thanks, Boo)
Take the statements made by Gerald Schoenewolf, Ph.D., a prominent advisor to NARTH in an article featured on the organization’s website titled Gay Rights and Political Correctness: A Brief History. In this article, Schoenewolf decry’s “political correctness”, a viewpoint that he finds objectionable and which he defines as
a way of viewing the world that asserts that some people are oppressors and some people are oppressed, some people are prejudiced and some people are victims of prejudice, some people are guilty and some people are innocent.
The doctor goes on at length about how the view of supporting the oppressed (he calls it “idealization”) and holding the oppressor to task (he calls it “demonization”) is all based on Marx. A more learned and reasonable approach might suggest that sympathy for the oppressed has been a tenet of Christianity for most of its history (and Judaism before it) and thus was engrained in Western Civilization long before Marx ever conceived his ideas. How else does one explain Robin Hood or St. Nicholas?
Schoenewolf goes on to present the obligatory rant about how evil homosexuals are using mob rule and emotional intimidation to silence anyone who disagrees with them. In a paranoid fashion he sees connections between the gay equality movement and worldwide Marxism and is convinced that the gay freedom movement is intended to demonize and overthrow heterosexuals.
But the disturbing part of Schoenewolf’s article is in whom he compares to these evil homosexuals: feminists and the civil rights movement. To make his argument that oppressors are not all-bad, Schoenewolf pleads a defense of slavery
With all due respect, there is another way, or other ways, to look at the race issue in America. It could be pointed out, for example, that Africa at the time of slavery was still primarily a jungle, as yet uncivilized or industrialized. Life there was savage, as savage as the jungle for most people, and that it was the Africans themselves who first enslaved their own people. They sold their own people to other countries, and those brought to Europe, South America, America, and other countries, were in many ways better off than they had been in Africa. But if one even begins to say these things one is quickly shouted down as though one were a complete madman.
Slavery has existed in some form for all of recorded history. Yet the enslavement of Africans for the agricultural advantages of plantation owners in America and Brazil holds a special place in the annuls of inhumanity, a degradation of the human spirit unseen before it in the West for more than a thousand years.
It can be argued that the original capture of slaves was made by other Africans. But does any rational person think that this was not the direct result of a ready slave trade? And what of their fate after they left their original captors?
Lest we think that slavery might be better than living in a non-industrialized jungle, let’s consider the trip across the ocean. This is from a first hand account by Reverend Robert Walsh of the conditions upon boarding a slave ship in 1829 (I caution you, this made me physically ill to read)
But the circumstance which struck us most forcibly was how it was possible for such a number of human beings to exist, packed up and wedged together as tight as they could cram, in low cells three feet high, the greater part of which, except that immediately under the grated hatchways, was shut out from light or air, and this when the thermometer, exposed to the open sky, was standing in the shade, on our deck, at 89′.
…
226 fellow creatures were thus thrust into one space 288 feet square and 336 into another space 800 feet square, giving to the whole an average Of 23 inches and to each of the women not more than 13 inches. We also found manacles and fetters of different kinds, but it appears that they had all been taken off before we boarded.
The heat of these horrid places was so great and the odor so offensive that it was quite impossible to enter them, even had there been room.
…
On looking into the places where they had been crammed, there were found some children next the sides of the ship, in the places most remote from light and air; they were lying nearly in a torpid state after the rest had turned out. The little creatures seemed indifferent as to life or death, and when they were carried on deck, many of them could not stand.
Once reaching their destination, these humans began their lives of servitude. Naturally, being slaves they were not considered to have the rights of “real humans”. The indignities exceeded simply forced labor and savaged the most basic of principles of decency. William Wells Brown tells this story
A man and his wife, both slaves, were brought from the country to the city, for sale… The man was first put up, and sold to the highest bidder. The wife was next ordered to ascend the platform. I was present. She slowly obeyed the order. The auctioneer commenced, and soon several hundred dollars were bid. My eyes were intensely fixed on the face of the woman, whose cheeks were wet with tears. But a conversation between the slave and his new master attracted my attention. I drew near them to listen. The slave was begging his new master to purchase his wife. Said he, “Master, if you will only buy Fanny, I know you will get the worth of your money. She is a good cook, a good washer, and her last mistress liked her very much. If you will only buy her how happy I shall be.” The new master replied that he did not want her but if she sold cheap he would purchase her. I watched the countenance of the man while the different persons were bidding on his wife. When his new master bid on his wife you could see the smile upon his countenance, and the tears stop; but as soon as another would bid, you could see the countenance change and the tears start afresh.
From this change of countenance one could see the workings of the inmost soul. But this suspense did not last long; the wife was struck off to the highest bidder, who proved not to be the owner of her husband.
And what did the slave have to look forward to? A life of backbreaking physical labor, the loss of all history or sense of identity, beatings or worse should he object, no ownership of property or even self, and the absolute oppression of the soul. Even should a slave be granted freedom by some benevolent owner, this was subject to the whim of those who fed their purse by recapturing and re-enslaving freed blacks.
For a century after slavery was abolished in this country, the descendents of the slaves continued to live in a society that treated them with mockery, unequal services and laws that sought to keep them oppressed. Further, the base expectations of society demanded that they not consider themselves to be in any way equal to the descendants of the animals that abused their ancestors. It was not until the civil rights movement began to “demonize the oppressor and idealize the oppressed”, that a reevaluation of these indignities began to be considered. And it is this civil rights movement that Schoenewolf views with such disdain.
Perhaps this article would not appear outlandish if it were written in Alabama in 1957. But this little treatise about political correctness was posted on NARTH’s website in April of last year.
So I ask you: do you believe that Africans sold to the slave markets in America “were in many ways better off than they had been in Africa”?
I ask you: what kind of person makes this sort of claim? What kind of person views slavery so benignly?
The kind that advises NARTH.
Should be interesting to forward that article, with the relevant section highlighted, to the nearest NAACP chapter, of the Southern Poverty Law Center…
Nnrg.
Sorry to nitpick, but “complementary” should be “complimentary.” And “annuls” should be “annals.”
Other than that, marvelous post.
Well said Dan. What the NARTH writer seems to be forgetting is that Africa was full of large, civilised native Empires during the majority of the period covered by the Slave Trade. To suggest that it was a nation of ignorant savages is to simply not have a regard for the historical record.
And in the third paragraph “effect” should be “affect.”
Grammer police! Pull over sir!
“The doctor goes on at length about how the view of supporting the oppressed (he calls it “idealization”) and holding the oppressor to task (he calls it “demonization”) is all based on Marx. A more learned and reasonable approach might suggest that sympathy for the oppressed has been a tenet of Christianity for most of its history (and Judaism before it) and thus was engrained in Western Civilization long before Marx ever conceived his ideas. How else does one explain Robin Hood or St. Nicholas?”
Jesus was obviously a Marxist. How else does one explain his idealization of Samaritans and tax collectors and his demonization of scribes and Pharisees?
And of course it wouldn’t be complete without another false conflation of homosexuality and pedophilia:
“A striking example of this is what happened to Dr. Laura Schlessinger. Dr Laura, as she is known, a well-known radio personality whose talk show was at one time the most popular talk show on radio, made the mistake of speaking out about homosexuality in 2001, calling it a “biological error.” What she was commenting on is an article that appeared in an American Psychological Association journal that suggested that pedophilia–specifically sex between a man and a boy, could be beneficial to the boy and that men who have sex with boys should not be stigmatized.
Indeed, the American Psychiatric Association even went so far as to modify its stance on pedophilia, changing the designation in the DSM to “ego-dystonic pedophilia”–meaning that pedophilia would only be considered a disorder if the pedophiliac considered it a problem for himself. When Dr. Laura was critical of this article and of the Gay Rights Movement, she became the target of one of the most vicious character assassinations in American history.”
Of course, if Dr. Laura were really talking about pedophilia when she called homosexuality a biological error, she could have avoided the whole boycott by simply apologizing for erroneously linking the two, but apparently actually knowing what you’re talking about is “caving in to political correctness.”
Btw, Gerald Schoenewolf is a biological error. And when I say Gerald Schoenewolf I am really talking about Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, but I am going to refer to it as Gerald Schoenewolf. Gerald Schoenewolf causes malformations in most parts of the body because the biological error affects fetal growth and development. Symptoms may include:
Distinctive facial features – prominent forehead, wideset eyes, and broad beaked nose, collectively described as “Greek warrior helmet” features
Brain and muscles – profound mental retardation, small head, seizures (50% of individuals), low muscle tone, poor muscle development
Bones – very short stature, facial deformities, malformations of hands and feet, chest, and spine
Heart defects
Urinary and genitals – malformations or underdevelopment of organs
To learn more about what you can do to combat Gerald Schoenewolf, contact your local March of Dimes.
Wow. The more I see what NARTH Scientific Advisory Committee members have actually said and wrote, the more I’m amazed that their taken seriously at all by even the Evangelical Right.
Yeah Autumn, for as pro-life as they are, apparently their consciences are the only things that are impregnable.
Moral irrelevance will do that to ya..
Great posts you guys -(Tim and Boo 🙂
A little weak on the concepts of freedom and human dignity aren’t they? How unsurprising…
I am glad I found this website. I agree with the commentary and the comments (and some of the comments were quite funny…have any of you looked into a career in comedy?).
Rock on ya’ll,
Janine 🙂
Well, the fact is that the descendants of slaves in the Americas are almost all better off than modern day Africans. This is not a justification of slavery, but it is an irony of history.
Of course, the main reason Africa is a mess is because after centuries of exploitation by Europe the European powers carved out arbitrary nations with no regard for tribal boundaries, and then the US and Soviets used them as proxies during the Cold War.
And white people are better off than both Africans and African-Americans, cause, you know, we exploited them.
Gerald Schoenewolf, Ph.D. (a Ph.D in what are from whom?!) His gross simplification of slavery points to an ignorant man who has undertaken very little research for his propaganda, I mean articile. A quick glance within even something as basic as wikipedia, let alone books and articles, on the slave trade represents a far more complex picture.
But then, what does facts or historical reality got to do with prejudge and bigotry?
Did anyone notice that Schoenewolf uses the International Socialist Review as supporting documentation for his theories? It didn’t occur to me that NARTH would be comfortable quoting communist sources in support of their views. You learn something new every day I guess.
https://www.pbs.org/wonders/fr_wn.htm is a great place to begin to explore just how stupid Schonewolf is when he says that pre-slave-era Africa was basically a an “uncivilized, savage juungle”.
Quote from the site: “Africa is a continent of magnificent treasures and cultures — from the breathtaking stone architecture of 1,000-year-old ruins in South Africa to an advanced 16th century international university in Timbuktu. However, for centuries, many of these African wonders have been hidden from the world, lost to the ravages of time, nature and repressive governments.”
The website includes articles on: Black Kingdoms of the Nile, Temples of Abu Simbel, Black Pharaohs, City of Jebel Barkal, Pyramids at Giza, The Swahili Coast, Historic Gedi The Swahili People, Slave Kingdoms, Ashanti Kingdom and many others.
NARTH continues to try to spin this. See their blog this morning for their “explanation” of what Schoenwolf meant to say.