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04/05/2007
What Pete, you mean we reject this data just like the scientific community does?
In regards to the new "research" from Paul Cameron suggesting that gays live a shorter lifespan, Americans For Truth's Peter LaBarbera today says this:
Homosexual activists reject seemingly out-of-hand any research that shows homosexual behavior, generally speaking, is unhealthy compared to normal sexuality. At some point, however, pro-”gay” advocates need to explain why so many homosexuals are dying so young. (And you can’t blame it on “homophobia” — you know, those anti-gay bastions of Norway and Denmark…) When they do, we’ll relay their explanations to you. –Peter LaBarbera
Our explanation:
In actuality, gay activists, just like every credible body of science, reject the work of Paul Cameron as a whole. He was dropped from the American Psychological Asociation in 1983, and most everything he has ever said or written has been widely refuted by most everyone, not just gays. When he publishes his "studies," he does so in journals such as Psychological Reports, who fully admit that their content is made up of "experimental, theoretical, and speculative articles in the field of general psychology." They are one of the only publications who would even consider a study with Cameron's name attached. Furthermore, the junk science used in this research usually involves collecting data from obituaries found in gay newspapers and publications, meaning that mostly homosexuals who have been active in the gay community or directly involved in some way are taken into account. This leaves hundreds of thousands of gay men and women unrepresented, and unfortunately pays particular attention to those whose lives might have been cut short by extreme circumstances (especially considering much of this data was culled during the first decade of the AIDS crisis).
While we haven't yet been able to pour over this latest work, a cursory examination of his methodology certainly looks like he's using his same ol' bag of tricks. We promise to dedicate some time to the "findings" over the weekend and to expose whatever representations we may find. However, it's kind of like the "boy who cried early death" at this point -- reasoned folks have been given no reason to believe one thing that escapes from the mouth of Paul "Unless we get medically lucky, in three or four years, one of the options discussed will be the extermination of homosexuals" Cameron!
Feel free to pass this along, Pete.
Study Shows “Gay Married” Lifespans Average 24 Years Shorter than Hetero Marrieds in Norway, Denmark [AFT]
*UPDATE, 4/9: Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin has a great, in-depth analysis of Cameron's latest. We've passed both ours and Jim's along to Peter; let's see if he posts.
Technorati Tags: Paul Cameron, Peter LaBarbera
Your thoughts
There really might be something to Cameron's hypothesis - if I read one more thing like this, I may have a stroke.
Posted by: Mike in the Tundra | Apr 5, 2007 11:29:24 PM
Are they sure that they just don't look younger when they die? I mean, what self respecting gay man want's to actually appear his age? I can see why this would throw them off...
Posted by: Todd | Apr 6, 2007 1:00:22 PM
Hey, these jerks may have a point. After all, Pope John Paul II lived to be 85 whereas gay writer William Burroughs only made it to 83. You know William Burroughs? Born six years before John Paul II, spent his entire life having sex with men in different parts of the world, was a full-time heroin addict for many years, experimented with virtually every drug known to humankind (and even went searching for more in the South American jungles)......and lived to a ripe old age, finally expiring of heart failure. Meanwhile God saw fit to curse the celibate, gay-hating Pope's final decade with Parkinson's disease.
There's a moral here but it's not the one the Americans For Truthiness want you to see.
Posted by: John C | Apr 7, 2007 9:00:38 AM
The newspapers and magazines that Mr Cameron culled his data from tend to have a younger readership... so the deaths reported tend to be younger. It isn't that gay people die young - it's that they tend to leave the "gay scene" at a certain point (eg, to settle down with their life partners), and from there on their deaths are unlikely to be noted by Mr Cameron.
His methods are flawed, and the scientific community knows it. But as long as the conservatives want to hear his voice, he'll keep on singing the same flawed tune..
Posted by: Anon | Apr 7, 2007 9:37:50 PM
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