The Ex-Gays

if you tell yourself a lie for long enough it becomes a truth. Maybe?
whateves if they are cured or just pretending let them have their fun.

 

I think the whole thing is dangerous. From what I have read a lot of people that have tried it have had bad results and became more screwed up because of it.

 

it sounds alot like brainwashing to me.

 

They bother me. They can't accept who they are so they lie about it and oppose those who they should support and be one of. Its a horrible thing to do.

 

It's like forced repression and it's scary. It's got to be kind of torture for them. Every time you have a homoerotic thought you'd mentally have to dive into a biblical abyss. It could create intense self-loathing and that can't be healthy.

 

Never heard of any specific ones but I'm positive they exist.

 

I think everyone loves lesbians so no one cares to cure them!

 

Well all i know is that orientation has been proven by many medical studies and groups to not be 100% "reversible", but it goes one step further. Its been proven that the teqnicues some of these places use cause very harmful side-effects. Depression, Post-Traumatic Stress, and other deep emotional issues that are not easy to cure. The suicide rate from people in some of the more hard-core places seem to be through the roof from studies ive read. As for "teaching you to live a straighter life" to me that seems like they are just teaching you how to NOT be yourself. That cannot be a good thing either. Some of the things they do for that ive heard of are "group bonding time" over a football match on TV while drinking beer, and other such "sterotypicial" masculine things. They also teach you how to be gay but marry a woman, but thats just hurting the woman and seems unfair to me.

This is all just from my opinions of facts ive read, not stupid propaganda (both sides have that btw, not just the pro-conversion side)

 

I think its all a bunch of bull-crap, it's a bunch of bible thumping douch-bags(can we curse on here?) that have a sad innate detestion of those different than they who get off on making us feel miserable for the way we turned out, and the ex-gay are poor sould that have been petrified into believing that if they don't deny their true identity, who they are, they will for-ever burn in hell.

 

I think it's sad and it doesn't work. Just a bunch of bible thumping
homophobes,trying to "cure" us. I guess living a lie is so much better?

 

I know some "ex-gays" actually. None who went through therapy and the like, but those who were convinced they were lesbians and no longer are. One is engaged to a boy, one now dates boys exclusively as far as I know. Another is now transgendered, and as far as I know is interested in both boys and girls. Meaning that I don't know a single lesbian anymore, and I used to know tons (more than those three, I assure you).
Do I think it's possible for people to change? I don't really know, as I have never tried. And even if I had, just because I couldn't doesn't necessarily mean someone else can't. I think it is possible for people to realize they were mistaken, and perhaps some people use that as a way to push the whole topic of "ex-gays." Of course, there's also the possability that these people are just BSing it and have never had a homosexual thought in their lifetime.

 

In deep denial and full of more bullshit than the people who wanted them cured. Or maybe they're victims who are ruining it for the rest of us, I don't know.

 

I don't have any judgement regarding anyone with any-whatever- they THEMSELVES perceive as a problem. If someone feels gay, lesbian or what have you and they're not comfortable with it, well I suppose some of these organisations may help them. Right?

k. thattherewasthepoliticallycorrectBS <--see that, BS in capitals!

Firstly, what in the world is there to CURE/change or whatever term they use to indicate "un-gay-ing" anyone? (I get really sick and tired of the use of the word CURED, like its some dangerous disease...)

Why not try a much more simple approach? Something called the persuit of happiness perhaps?
That is a tad difficult when one is defacto denied the right to be. Weird, ain't it that some christians seem to pet more effort into curing gays then feeding the starving. I wonder, what would Jesus do?


Secondly, it's not all adults these radicals (yes, I'll explain later) reach. Some of the victims of these radicals are children.

Hmmm...Matthew 19 somewheres.... some are born this way, while some are not and so on....and that bit about let the children come to me, do not hinder them....

somehow this seems like hindering...If indeed God is so great, would he need such petty human intervention to do His work? I find this notion blasphemous in its own right. I was taught that believing is all about a personal relation with God. I doubt that personal incorporates "but you can only do this our way..." I think that a God who created the heavens and the earth in all such diverse magnificense is a whole lot less dependent upon his self-ordained priests than these themselves think.

Then, don't these radicals fit what Jesus called "false teachers"?

I suppose one could call the search itself for answers like these the cost of liberty.
strict rules and regulations on how to live life are to some so dear, they'd rather forsake the unsecurity that comes with the quest for answers. A certain mr. P. Henry said/wrote something quite nice about that, long time ago..

Thirdly, Then there is this nagging threat...hatemongering, bigotry, you are not one of us, you have no right to exist, for you are wrong and therefore you must change...to what we deem fit.

This, although not always spoken aloud and clear (insinuations are in fact the chosen tactics of the wicked, who speak with double tongues) in fact denies the very right to life, which is meant to be lived out, free from fear.


Soooo, these radicals (I would explain my choice of words) are just that because of the fact that they do not adhere to a few principles known to be true for all mankind. In fact, this stand makes them the enemies of freedom, they would forsake the entire enlightenment merely to accomodate their version of faith. So did the RC church. They lost.
Reason, not dogma will prevail over all. Now I come to think of it, Wasn't that just what Jesus told us? Be reasonable?

I'm not very religious at all, but Jesus was kinda a cool dude...see what I mean?

 

To be blunt, it's a load of crap. You can't pray the gay away. You can only repress your feelings and force people into denial which is unhealthy and wrong.

 

The thing I really don't understand about these ex-gay therapies :

If it works : why are there any gay people left ?
Let's assume it actually worked. Ok. So at the age of 15, I discover I'm gay. I go on a 4 week intensive therapy course and come back cured. No more name-calling, no more hiding, no more ostracism. Why would anyone choose to remain gay in a society like ours if there was a way to change that ??

The fact is that the only thing these "therapies" achieve is self-loathing and shame. Sure, if I hit you in the stomach every time you drink milk, them your are going to end up hating milk and will likely be very hesitant ever drinking it again. I'm sure you can achieve the same result with homosexuality.
But none of this changes your sexual orientation ! You now hate the thought of same-sex attraction, but you still don't like the opposite sex any more than you used to. You're still gay. The only result of the therapy is that you now hate yourself for it.