Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Love Won Out: No News

There was a big "ex-gay" conference called Love Won Out in St. Louis this last weekend, and I figured there'd be some news from it. But all I can find online is a couple of press releases from Focus on the Family, and a couple of "newspapers" that published them more or less verbatim.

The first Family Blah Blah press release, I see, came out a few weeks ago. The big news: Love Won Out Comes to St. Louis; City-Wide Billboard Campaign Precedes Conference on Homosexuality. They put up a lot of billboards, all over the city. Now there's news for you, billboards in St. Louis, Missouri. I'm not sure that's what the people in the Show Me State really wanted to be shown.

Then, another press relase, dated yesterday: Conference on Homosexuality Met with Vandalism, Protests; Despite Controversy, Record Attendance Anticipated at Saturday Event.

For some reason, with 1,300 people at this conference, the story they wanted to publicize was that somebody had thrown eggs at the church where they were meeting, and had defaced some billboards. Typical wording:
Speaking of the planned protest, Haley said that opposition is common in cities Love Won Out visits. "As a former homosexual I can attest that I have faced much more intolerance since leaving homosexuality than before," he said. "But I and thousands of others know that change is possible -- we have the right to share that message and the love of Christ with those who want to hear it."

Dude, nobody cares if you want to call yourself a "former homosexual." More power to ya, good for you (polite applause), do whatever it is you need to do.

What people don't like is for you to go around telling others that they should be ashamed of who they are, that they're not good enough, that they need to be more ... like ... you. People don't like that, in general. It has nothing to do with pretending you're not gay, it has everything to do with telling people there's something wrong with them, and that they should do what you're trying to do. Can you see the difference there? Nobody minds if you go back into the closet, that's your decision.

So .. that's the story. Somebody threw some eggs, somebody threw some paint on a couple of billboards, everybody discriminates against these poor guys.

17 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let me see. Not too long ago, Jim had scoured the countryside and found a family of sadly misguided people who protested at gay funerals but never committed any violence- and was acting as this was a story of national importance.

Now, he finds a story of actual violence (albeit mild) against people who repented of gay behavior and says, "What's the big deal here?" Then, he even goes so far as to say the ex-gays deserved the treatment because they dared to suggest others should follow their example.

Man, do you ever look in the mirror and say, "what a hypocrite I am"?

February 22, 2006 1:26 PM  
Blogger JimK said...

Good save, Anon. I'll bet Your Side is proud of you.

JimK

February 22, 2006 2:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"So .. that's the story. Somebody threw some eggs, somebody threw some paint on a couple of billboards, everybody discriminates against these poor guys."

Liberals would be outraged if this behavior was directed at any other group.

February 22, 2006 4:25 PM  
Blogger JimK said...

Anonymous, It must be very satisfying to say something bad about "liberals." I understand that there are guys on the radio all day long who do that. I have read some quotes by Ann Coulter saying things about "liberals."

It must be very satisfying.

Did your comment have something to do with this story, or have you just been listening to the radio and decided to satisfy yourself in this way?

JimK

February 22, 2006 4:36 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Did your comment have something to do with this story, or have you just been listening to the radio and decided to satisfy yourself in this way?"

Let's try it this way, Jim: If someone was throwing eggs at gays and paint at their billboards, you'd be turning reddish purple. People with a message different from you appear to fair game for abuse in your view. At least, if they don't keep it to themselves.

I used to seeAnn Coulter on Bill Maher's show years ago but I didn't know she had a radio show. Does anyone know the channel?

You guys have a misconception about me. I don't listen or watch much conservative media. I read the Wall Street Journal and the op-ed in the Post. Other than that, just observation of the facts.

February 22, 2006 4:57 PM  
Blogger JimK said...

So when you said "liberal" -- you meant me to take that personally? You don't know me, do you.

Also, I know gays get their share of eggs and worse, and, y'know, you don't read about it here. But it is funny you should mention it; you won't find people defacing their billboards because -- they don't put up billboards telling other people to be like them.

The fact is, this conference was a bust, there was nothing to say, so they tried to put out press releases to make people feel sorry for them.

And I'm wondering, why don't these macho men just stay home with their beautiful, loving wives? This reminds me of a conference of a thousand or so ex-junkies. Uh, no, of course, nobody's going to shoot up. And when somebody does, the others aren't gonna think hey, why not, are they ... Here's a whole conference of guys struggling not to have sex with other guys. Does this sound like a good idea to you?

JimK

February 22, 2006 5:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Keep slithering, Jim. We all notice that you are justifying persecution of people for nothing more than sharing their experience.

How do you sleep at night?

February 22, 2006 7:37 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"And I'm wondering, why don't these macho men just stay home with their beautiful, loving wives? ... Here's a whole conference of guys struggling not to have sex with other guys. Does this sound like a good idea to you?"

What makes you think their wives didn't come?

You've probably noticed- guys are everywhere.

February 22, 2006 7:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is purely hypothetical. Dr D is ignorant here. I know people like this. Their marriage seems fine.

February 23, 2006 8:02 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"As usual, the people who get screwed by these guys -- their wives."

Is this a set-up or something? Seems too easy.

February 23, 2006 8:05 AM  
Blogger andrea said...

That is the kind of marriage I really want- my husband struggling not to be with a man- and taking me as second best. If that is your idea of a fine marriage- well, that is very sad. Sort of like all of Anon's ideas.

February 23, 2006 10:05 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"That is the kind of marriage I really want- my husband struggling not to be with a man- and taking me as second best. If that is your idea of a fine marriage- well, that is very sad. Sort of like all of Anon's ideas."

Many marriages have someone struggling with a desire to be with someone else. It's not limited to ex-gays. Straights whose wives have let themselves go. Wives who want to try something adventurous. It's all common and can be dealt with. No tragedy.

February 23, 2006 4:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You know, there are women who like gay types. For women, sex isn't as paramount.

Based on your logic, though, we might be cruel to allow drug users to marry.

February 23, 2006 5:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"You are a very cruel man if you don't give a damn about setting up a woman with a closeted gay man."

There are a lot of lonely women out there. They'd be more than willing to chance it for a shot at a good relationship- and there's no reason it can't work. If he's gay, he's probably squeamish and sticky so they already know what they're getting into. They already know they might not wind up with Prince Charming.

February 23, 2006 7:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dr D always comes through in the end.

February 23, 2006 8:30 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

anonymous said, "There are a lot of lonely women out there. They'd be more than willing to chance it for a shot at a good relationship- and there's no reason it can't work. If he's gay, he's probably squeamish and sticky so they already know what they're getting into. They already know they might not wind up with Prince Charming."

Now why should anyone "just settle" because you or any other bigot says so? Did you just settle?" Maybe that explains alot.

Homosexuals/heterosexuals all want Prince Charming or even Princess Charming..but good luck in finding that.

February 23, 2006 10:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I was at the protest outside this conference. It probably didn't get more coverage becuase they do these conferences about one every couple of months. The news media has a short attention span.

I feel we need to fight these ex-gay groups and we need to fight them hard. The main problem I have is not with ex-gays themselves but with these organizations. On the Love Won Out website is says "A dynamic one-day conference addressing, understanding and preventing homosexuality." They don't say treat or cure, they say prevent. Their focus is on abusing youth with thier programs and workshops.

March 08, 2006 12:51 AM  

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