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09/24/2007

The Chambers Has Two Faces

by Jeremy Hooper

Alan060503-701491In their report on the so-called "Family Impact Summit," the People For The American Way's Right Wing Watch blog described professional "ex-gay" Alan Chambers like so:

We heard a lot about those "ex-gays" and then were addressed by "an ex-gay" in person: Alan Chambers, the president of Exodus International. Chambers worried about "the militant activist groups out to co-opt family life, our rights, and change America into an America that is only good for them." We were told that these “militant gay activists” were "trying to co-opt our very way of life."

In fact, the phrase "militant gay activist" was bandied around so much, I felt silly for having left my weaponry at home … I was also ashamed not to fit Chambers' image of what a gay man is: a "jaunty mustached muscleman," apparently, in contrast to the "nice young people, old people, and attractive women" progressives are said to use in our commercials and media campaigns. Chambers also claimed that "the gay activist movement is wealthy. None of us in the pro-family movement are making money. I am in poverty compared to what the executives of the pro-gay movement are making."

Chambers concluded by saying, "We have to stand up against an evil agenda."

Which, if true, only seems to confirm what we told you earlier this month in reaction to an appearance Mr. Chambers made on "The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet." What we said at the time is that when on mainstream television and in places where folks outside of the "pro-family" bubble are present, folks like Alan will put on a completely different, more accessible front. For example, on the "Mike & Juliet" show, Alan refused to give a straight answer about his religious views on homosexuality, and summed up the whole debate by saying, "We live in a free and tolerant society; people can choose to live how they want." Yet when at "pro-family" pow-wows like this "Family Impact Summit," he and his buddies will resort to the sort of words that play to that crowd: Fear, stereotypes, misinformation, and demonization.

This public vs. private, two-faced message is SO enraging for those of us "jaunty mustached muscleman" who follow this sort of thing. We know the truth that lies beneath their public-friendly message, as we've heard them make comments like:

"The people who are transgendered, the people who are in homosexuality, I would venture to say from personal experience that they’re not at peace," ..."and that true love isn’t able to be found in those types of relationships." [A. Chambers, 11/06]

And we see how they hide the truly damaging nature of their work in order to convince the masses that they are simply a friendly, welcoming, non-controversial movement that seeks only the right to self-determination. But the general public, being far less likely to investigate "ex-gay" minutiae or read publications like Focus on the Family's CitizenLink, is much more likely to be duped by the ruse.

Would Alan go on national television and say, "We have to stand up against an evil agenda"? Absolutely not! And just the sheer fact that he has to have two different faces to handle different audiences speaks volumes about his whole socio-politco-religo enterprise!

Family Impact Summit: 'Jaunty Musclemen,' 'Gay Aliens,' and the 'Homosexual Agenda' in PowerPoint [Right Wing Watch]

**SEE ALSO: Here is an email we got from our buddy at Queertardo:

Last night I carefully chose my words and asked Alan Chambers in the comment section of this blog, if he really said all the anti-gay things the media and bloggers have quoted him as having said at the Family Impact Summit. I asked him if it was fair to his adopted children that he is living in poverty or was he just generalizing about gays when he said the following; "the gay activist movement is wealthy. None of us in the pro-family movement are making money. I am in poverty compared to what the executives of the pro-gay movement are making. "We have to stand up against an evil agenda."

Instead of answering my question, he deleted my comment.

So much for honest dialog. So much for the truth.

You may think I am beating this matter into the ground, but honest questions deserve honest answers. He has accused GAY people of being wealthy, with an evil agenda of trying to destroy "his way of life." I also asked him if he said; "the militant activist groups out to co-opt family life, our rights, and change America into an America that is only good for them," and "Militant gay activists" are "trying to co-opt our very way of life."

Please go to his blog and show him these words and ask him politely for an honest answer. We deserve to know if he was being honest that he is in poverty and raising two adopted children, or if he was bitterly complaining, loudly generalizing or if he was just grandstanding to a rabid audience of sick anti-gay fascists to get applause.

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Your thoughts

Has anyone seen my jaunty mustache? I seem to have misplaced it. Some time in 1982.

Posted by: Timothy | Sep 24, 2007 5:01:33 PM

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