olympic
July 15th, 2005, 11:58 AM
The price of hatred
Preachers can raise a lot of money in their direct mailings by bashing gays from the pulpit. And politicians can get lots of votes by urging discrimination against gay Americans.
The father of Ronnie Paris is on trial for beating this child to death. The boy's aunt testified that the father 'was concerned that the child might be gay.'
But there is a price to be paid.
As the testimony unfolding in a Tampa murder trial this week demonstrates, playing to people's homophobic fears can have deadly consequences.
Ronnie Paris Jr. thought his 3-year-old son, Ronnie Paris, was "soft" and told a a friend that he "didn't want him to be a sissy." The boy's aunt testified that his father "was concerned that the child might be gay." Ronnie Paris Jr. was determined to change that. So he regularly boxed with the child in an effort to toughen him up, slapping him in the head until he cried.
He was going to beat the gay out of him, even if it killed the boy. And in this case, the prosecutor maintains that it did.
People like James Dobson, Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer, Rick Santorum, George W. Bush and others who preach hatred and intolerance can't divorce themselves from cases like this one.
Every time a gay teen kills himself, or Christian parents locks their child in some religious hell hole that tries to brainwash their child straight, the preachers of hatred should be given credit for the seeds of tragedy they have sown.
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Zach's father comes out
After reading about how Zach, a Tennessee teen who claimed in a blog that he was forced into an "ex-gay" camp by his parents, I wondered what kind of parent would do that to his or her child.
Zach, 16, of Bartlett, Tenn. His father discussed why he sent the teen to an ex-gay camp in an interview with CBN.
Thanks to Pat Robetson's Christian Broadcasting Network, I needn't wonder any longer. In an interview posted yesterday, Joe Stark came out as Zach's father.
Stark discussed his decision to send his son to "Love In Actions" camp:
"We felt very good about Zach coming here because… to let him see for himself the destructive lifestyle, what he has to face in the future, and to give him some options that society doesn't give him today," Stark said. "Knowing that your son... statistics say that by the age of 30 he could either have AIDS or be dead." …
"A lot of things that Zach spent a lot of his time doing were taken away," Stark said. "And I can see why they do it now. It's because, if you're not doing those things, then what are you doing? Sometime or other, you have to communicate with your family. And that's a big thing that has happened in our family — Zach is communicating a lot more with us." …
"To me it's not what's right and what's left, it's what's right and what's wrong," Joe said. "My wife and I will stand by that 'till the day we die, as far as homosexuality is not in God's plan — it's wrong."
It's unlikely that any amount of scientific evidence that homosexuality is not a choice will alter the Starks' belief that homosexuality is "wrong" and "not in God's plan."
So far it's been primarily gay men and lesbians that have been protesting Zach's involuntary reprogramming.
But can you imagine the uproar that would result if a gay couple sent their straight child to a camp so that the child could be reprogrammed to be gay? If the parents claimed they were following their religious beliefs, would that make their actions seem any less outrageous?
Just as states no longer allow parents to beat their children, even if the parents claim the Bible commands it, states should not allow parents to psychologically abuse their children using the Bible as a shield.
There's already enough scientific evidence to demonstrate that homosexuality is not a choice. Gay adults need to draw attention to the continued psychological abuse of gay youth, and demand that the appropriate state agencies step in to offer protection. In fact, that's what is occurring right now in Tennessee.
Preachers can raise a lot of money in their direct mailings by bashing gays from the pulpit. And politicians can get lots of votes by urging discrimination against gay Americans.
The father of Ronnie Paris is on trial for beating this child to death. The boy's aunt testified that the father 'was concerned that the child might be gay.'
But there is a price to be paid.
As the testimony unfolding in a Tampa murder trial this week demonstrates, playing to people's homophobic fears can have deadly consequences.
Ronnie Paris Jr. thought his 3-year-old son, Ronnie Paris, was "soft" and told a a friend that he "didn't want him to be a sissy." The boy's aunt testified that his father "was concerned that the child might be gay." Ronnie Paris Jr. was determined to change that. So he regularly boxed with the child in an effort to toughen him up, slapping him in the head until he cried.
He was going to beat the gay out of him, even if it killed the boy. And in this case, the prosecutor maintains that it did.
People like James Dobson, Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer, Rick Santorum, George W. Bush and others who preach hatred and intolerance can't divorce themselves from cases like this one.
Every time a gay teen kills himself, or Christian parents locks their child in some religious hell hole that tries to brainwash their child straight, the preachers of hatred should be given credit for the seeds of tragedy they have sown.
-------------------------------------------------------
Zach's father comes out
After reading about how Zach, a Tennessee teen who claimed in a blog that he was forced into an "ex-gay" camp by his parents, I wondered what kind of parent would do that to his or her child.
Zach, 16, of Bartlett, Tenn. His father discussed why he sent the teen to an ex-gay camp in an interview with CBN.
Thanks to Pat Robetson's Christian Broadcasting Network, I needn't wonder any longer. In an interview posted yesterday, Joe Stark came out as Zach's father.
Stark discussed his decision to send his son to "Love In Actions" camp:
"We felt very good about Zach coming here because… to let him see for himself the destructive lifestyle, what he has to face in the future, and to give him some options that society doesn't give him today," Stark said. "Knowing that your son... statistics say that by the age of 30 he could either have AIDS or be dead." …
"A lot of things that Zach spent a lot of his time doing were taken away," Stark said. "And I can see why they do it now. It's because, if you're not doing those things, then what are you doing? Sometime or other, you have to communicate with your family. And that's a big thing that has happened in our family — Zach is communicating a lot more with us." …
"To me it's not what's right and what's left, it's what's right and what's wrong," Joe said. "My wife and I will stand by that 'till the day we die, as far as homosexuality is not in God's plan — it's wrong."
It's unlikely that any amount of scientific evidence that homosexuality is not a choice will alter the Starks' belief that homosexuality is "wrong" and "not in God's plan."
So far it's been primarily gay men and lesbians that have been protesting Zach's involuntary reprogramming.
But can you imagine the uproar that would result if a gay couple sent their straight child to a camp so that the child could be reprogrammed to be gay? If the parents claimed they were following their religious beliefs, would that make their actions seem any less outrageous?
Just as states no longer allow parents to beat their children, even if the parents claim the Bible commands it, states should not allow parents to psychologically abuse their children using the Bible as a shield.
There's already enough scientific evidence to demonstrate that homosexuality is not a choice. Gay adults need to draw attention to the continued psychological abuse of gay youth, and demand that the appropriate state agencies step in to offer protection. In fact, that's what is occurring right now in Tennessee.