« Go back a post || Return to G-A-Y homepage || Haul tail to next post »
04/23/2007
Dobson, Perkins, LaBarbera: The Next Generation
So what's the best way to become a "pro-family" superstar? Well, apparently it's to wear a shirt to your high school on which you condemn gay students and the acceptance of such. After all, that's exactly what Tyler Chase Harper did back in 2004, and ever since, we've seen the "pro-family" movement trot him out as if he's some sort of a hero.
Most prominent among the public appearances has been a "Day of Truth" anti-gay video on which Harper is featured (below is a refutation of that video from the pro-gay Truth Wins Out organization):
In addition to the video, we've also seen the Alliance Defense Fund use Harper in other ways to promote their "Day of Truth," with the young blonde serving as a sort of mascot for the whole anti-gay cause:
And we've seen our opposition staunchly defend Harper's one-time "right" to wear an anti-gay tee to school, using his and other legal cases as examples of the way public schools stifle their rights to "religious freedom" and "free speech/expression."
Well now the so-called "Americans For Truth" organization has given Harper an outlet for his own thoughts, posting an article penned by the one-time high school martyr and current Wheaton College student. A brief sample from that article:
A person trapped in homosexuality is often like a cancer victim who is unaware of their disease. A “good hearted person” would gladly cry with them, hug them, and hold their hand beside their deathbed. Yet would it not be an abominable thing to leave that person in ignorance or self-deception concerning their condition? Truly selfless love would compel you to burst into the room screaming, “Friend, you have a horrible cancer and it is killing you as we speak! Come with me and we’ll go to the Doctor who can save your life!”
Homosexuality is dangerous. People who are given over to a homosexual lifestyle are far more likely to experience disease, mental illness, drug abuse, depression, alcoholism, suicidal tendencies, and even a shortened life span.[1] It is understandable that the Bible speaks so harshly against sexual “freedom”.
Yes, he compared being gay to having cancer. A juxtaposition about which we're unsure who should be more offended: Happy gays, those who truly have terminal cancer and know the grim reality of such a situation, actual doctors who truly have the science-backed power to cure people (unlike the "pro-family's gay "cure," which is backed by no reasoned body), or Christians who don't think that one loses their attachment to God because they happen to posses a certain sexual orientation. But hey, why decide who should be most disturbed? Isn't there enough offense hereto go around? We think so.
Though perhaps most amusing/telling/sad about the above quoted passage lies in the foot note that Harper has included to back up his claims. He says of his above [1]:
1. One could make the claim that some of these symptoms are caused by the “homophobia” of others; however, studies conducted in communities where homosexuality is widely accepted have concluded that symptoms are only aggravated in such a setting.
-The dangers of homosexuality are validated by a large amount of research pulled from various sources. I encourage you to search the matter out more deeply.
So basically he's saying in his research section: "Oh, uhm, I've seen some studies somewhere that said accepted gays are miserable, so yea-- just trust me." So clearly he's learning the "pro-family" ropes (though even they usually pull some convoluted, misrepresented, junk data out of their arse to back their claims).
And then he who now swims in the waters of a movement that thrives on junk science and ignoring the reality of gay life encourages his readers "to search the matter out more deeply"?!?! Uhm, you mean in ways like you and your mentors CLEARLY HAVEN'T, Chase?!? Because dude, seriously, if you think a dude who loves a dude is at a similar risk for hardship as one who smokes cigarettes in a tanning bed made of asbestos, then you clearly have not done your reasoned, rational homowork!
::sigh:: It's all just so sad. And nervy. And dangerous (like cancer).
To read more of Harper's article, you can head over to AFT's website and read the rest of the lines he's clearly been fed by adults who should know better. Just be careful if you're straight and your queer office mate comes to read the article over your shoulder. We hear second-hand gay can be just as deadly!
Chase Harper Tells Wheaton College Students to Speak the Truth about Homosexuality [AFT]
Your thoughts
You called the video you posted "anti-gay," but it was made by Truth Wins Out, a pro-gay organization highly critical of the so-called "ex-gay" movement. Just thought I'd point that out.
Posted by: Zac | Apr 23, 2007 12:25:49 PM
Zac: No, no -- we intentionally linked to TWO's counter video, but I see where it could have been confusing. We've altered the text in order to minimize confusion.
Posted by: G-A-Y | Apr 23, 2007 12:28:05 PM
How long before this poor kid comes out and tells his story of living a life of self hate and denial?
Posted by: Zeke | Apr 23, 2007 11:38:31 PM
I just watched an interview with Chase Harper. In the interview he claims that no students were offended or complained about the message on his shirt, then after he lost his lawsuit on the AFT website he says "The next day I wore a T-shirt plainly declaring the Biblical truth that “Homosexuality is Shameful.” I had a ton of other students coming up to me and asking what the hell I was doing wearing a shirt like that. "
What bothers me is, for as often as Chase uses the word Truth, he obviously does not know it's meaning. So Chase, You are both a bigot & a liar, my question is this, have you always been a liar and a bigot, or is this something you have learned in your church?
Posted by: Sheldon | Jan 2, 2010 11:12:04 AM
comments powered by Disqus
