Monday, February 05, 2007

Whitman's PFOX Flyer

We got an email over the weekend from a student at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda. He had seen a copy of the PFOX flyer that teachers were forced to hand out at Quince Orchard High School, and he said the flyer they were forced to hand out at Whitman was different. He sent us a copy of it:



This is creepy. PFOX says sweet things about "unconditional love" and eliminating prejudice and discrimination, which is a good way to lure teenagers into contacting them. They are especially interested in attracting gay teenage boys.

They say "PFOX supports tolerance for everyone regardless of their sexual orientation."

That should be easy enough to check out, shouldn't it?

Peter Sprigg is the PFOX representative on the MCPS citizens advisory committee. So what does he say?

HERE is an article from Christian Century magazine, quoting PFOX's rep Sprigg:
Sprigg noted that heterosexual marriage offers society natural benefits that same-sex unions naturally do not, such as children. He also said society has a legitimate public-health interest in opposing homosexuality.

Tell me, how do you "support tolerance for everyone regardless of their sexual orientation" while at the same time "opposing homosexuality?"

Or, how about this? When President Bush appointed a gay man to be the United States’ Global AIDS Coordinator, and Condoleezza Rice referred to the man's partner's mother as his "mother-in-law," Sprigg said: "The deferential treatment that was given not only to him but his partner and his partner's family by the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is very distressing."

Oh, they treated the guy like a human being, and spoke as if his family were a real family -- how terrible.

Hey, here's one of my favorites. This was a couple of years ago when PFOX's Peter Sprigg and others decided that a web site with a "tolerance pledge" was really a front for SpongeBob SquarePants and other gay-advocate cartoon characters.
“If you look at the Web site, it becomes pretty clear that a part of the agenda is to change the definition of family to include virtually anyone who chooses to be called a family, including homosexual couples and homosexual couples raising children,” said Peter Sprigg ... “Much of what they have is coded language that is regularly used by the pro-homosexual movement such as ‘tolerance’ and ‘diversity.’

“Ultimately we feel that this is being used as propaganda to indoctrinate very small children to accept a different definition of family.”

So it turns out the guy's actually opposed to tolerance itself. But ... I thought PFOX said they support tolerance.

Look, I could go on all day -- PFOX does not support "tolerance for everyone regardless of their sexual orientation." That's ridiculous. The whole reason they exist is to try to keep young gays afraid to come out, and to convince those who have come out to go back into the closet. Their message is a lie, and their deceitful methods are deplorable.

19 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

"This is creepy."

What's creepy is TTF's determiation to make sure anyone who is gay stays that way.

February 05, 2007 2:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"teachers were forced to hand out"

What about all the other stuff their employer tells them to hand out? Are they "forced" to do it?

TTF sick use of propagadictic language is pathetic.

February 05, 2007 2:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I gather from your comment Jim, you do not believe in unconditional love. You put conditions on that love. You can only love and accept that person if the person thinks like you.

February 05, 2007 2:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

PFOX claims to advocate for "unconditional" love but in reality, PFOX only urges parents to show love for homosexual teens who have "unwanted" same sex attractions. PFOX does not advocate for parents to show any type of love for teens who embrace their same sex attractions. If I missed that on their website, please provide a link to it.

You on the other hand, show nothing but contempt for Jim and those of us who support teens regardless of their sexual orientation. You're the one with the problem and it's the same problem PFOX has. You only show so-called "unconditional" love for teens who willingly force themselves to live a lie. You and PFOX are the ones putting conditions on your love for teens.

I've got news for you: if you don't love gay and straight teens, your love is CONDITIONAL.

February 05, 2007 3:07 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
What's creepy is TTF's determination to make sure anyone who is gay stays that way.

No that’s creepy. Who ever said that gay people want to turn straight again? did it ever occur to you that maybe they don't want your help it takes a lot to come out after doing so why would you feel the need to change yourself so certain sick people in society can find you acceptable

February 05, 2007 4:31 PM  
Blogger andrea said...

Wow, who knew that straight people were being harassed for their sexual orientation. I guess I am lucky to have lived my life with people who were supportive of my heterosexual orientation. PFOX supports "former" homosexuals-that sounds pretty conditional to me.

Anons- your talk is nonsense- these people do not love those who are gay- they love them only if they will try not to be gay.

And you know what- people who are gay will alwys be that way- TTF has nothing to do with it. It is a fact- like the "ex-gay" propaganda movie with the guy who was having homosexual sex after he made the movie or Ted Haggard who after all his praying and lying found out that he was who he was.

February 05, 2007 4:31 PM  
Blogger Priya Lynn said...

Excellent post Jim. You really highlighted the hypocrisy of PFOX's claiming to support tolerance for all regardless of sexual orientation on one hand with their opposing "homosexuality" on the other. These guys are so full of double-talk and deception it must really mess with the minds of any gay kids tricked into contacting them.

February 05, 2007 7:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You just proved my point.
You do not love unconditionaly the person that wants to get rid of his same sex feeling. You want to tell him to think like you do.
You want to take away his choices in life. You want to tell others what to think. YOu don't want others to think for themselves.
That is sad.

February 05, 2007 8:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"You want to tell him to think like you do."

Oh really? Show us who said that.

Any rational person who reads the PFLAG mission statement (http://www.pflag.org/Vision__Mission_and_Strategic_Goals.mission.0.html) and the PFOX mission statement (http://www.pfox.org/about.htm) can easily see which group stresses loving people regardless of their sexual orientation and which group stresses loving those with unwanted same-sex attraction.

February 05, 2007 10:18 PM  
Blogger JimK said...

Dana, I thought that was pretty clever, too. First they undermine PFLAG by "borrowing" their acronym and half the stuff it stands for, then they sneak that "X" in there (after complaining about the T and the Q). I guess we can acknowledge that they have a talent for sneaky underhanded trickery, even if there is no content to their message.

JimK

February 06, 2007 9:28 AM  
Blogger Priya Lynn said...

Robert, here's a link that might be helpful if you haven't sent that letter you were talking about, although I suspect you already have.

http://www.outfront.org/library/experts.html

Its What Mental Health And Medical Experts
Say About "Curing" Gays

February 06, 2007 2:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes, the unbiased mental experts at OUTFRONT.COM.

February 06, 2007 2:23 PM  
Blogger Priya Lynn said...

Anonymous at February 06, 2007 2:23 PM

No, anonymous, outfront just reported the information from the unbiased experts at the American Pyschiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Medical Association. The foremost authorities oppose the use of harmful "conversion therapy" and you've got nothing but quacks and your insignificant self supporting your baseless contrarian viewpoint.

February 06, 2007 6:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"The foremost authorities oppose the use of harmful "conversion therapy""

Why is only therapy for homosexuality harmful? Seems the same arguments would apply to programs to change any habit- from smoking to overeating to poor time management. Trying to make people change these ingrained habits might cause them to feel depressed, you know.

Warped.

Let's see a statement from each of these organizations saying conversion therapy is harmful.

February 06, 2007 11:15 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"The potential risks of 'reparative therapy' are great, including depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior, since therapist alignment with societal prejudices against homosexuality may reinforce self-hatred already experienced by the patient the APA opposes any psychiatric treatment, such as 'reparative' or 'conversion' therapy which is based on the assumption that homosexuality per se is a mental disorder or based on a prior assumption that the patient should change his/her sexual orientation."
-American Psychiatric Association

"Clinical experience suggests that any person who seeks conversion therapy may be doing so because of social bias that has resulted in internalized homophobia, and that gay men and lesbians who have accepted their sexual orientation positively are better adjusted than those who have not done so."
- American Psychiatric Association

[The American Psychiatric Association] … "encourages and supports research by the National Institute of Mental Health and the academic research community to further determine "reparative" therapy's risks versus its benefits."
-American Psychiatric Association Position Statement on Therapies Focused on Attempts to Change Sexual Orientation (2000)

"Most of the emotional disturbance experienced by gay men and lesbians around their sexual identity is not based on physiological causes but rather is due more to a sense of alienation in an unaccepting environment. For this reason, aversion therapy is no longer recommended for gay men and lesbians. Through psychotherapy, gay men and lesbians can become comfortable with their sexual orientation and understand the societal response to it."
-American Medical Association

"For nearly three decades, it has been known that homosexuality is not a mental illness. Medical and mental health professionals also now know that sexual orientation is not a choice and cannot be altered. Groups who try to change the sexual orientation of people through so-called conversion therapy' are misguided and run the risk of causing a great deal of psychological harm to those they say they are trying to help."
-American Psychological Association

"Confusion about sexual orientation is not unusual during adolescence. Therapy directed at specifically changing sexual orientation is contraindicated, since it can provoke guilt and anxiety while having little or no potential for achieving changes in orientation."
- American Academy of Pediatrics

February 07, 2007 7:38 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, I see. It's harmful because it might make them sad.

Oh dear!

February 07, 2007 6:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"It's harmful because it might make them sad."

That's exactly right. Attempts to alter sexual orientation can lead teens to feel sad which can lead to depression which can lead to suicide -- even double suicide as we've just seen right here in Montgomery County.

It's time to stop the insanity of putting LGBT people down. It is time -- in fact is long passed the time to support all MCPS students.

MCPS Mom

February 07, 2007 7:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Oh, I see. It's harmful because it might make them sad."

Read those statements by the APAs, AMA and AAP again Anon. This time try to notice that they mention a lot more than "it might make them sad." Attempts at conversion therapy lead many clients to experience:

-depression, anxiety and self-destructive behavior
-self-hatred
-internalized homophobia
-a sense of alienation in an unaccepting environment
-a great deal of psychological harm
-guilt and anxiety

February 08, 2007 7:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice design of blog.

August 13, 2007 3:22 PM  

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