Articles in Anti-LGBT
Rachel Maddow on George "Rentboy" Rekers
George Rekers is the co-founder of the Family Research Council and is paid to convince school districts and state courts that gays can be cured. He is also secretly gay, as we learned in this week’s “Rentboy” scandal. Rachel Maddow explains:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Hmm. “When people have built their careers, their professions, on professions of their own sexual moral rectitude – David Vitter, John Ensign – when people have built their careers on trying to make life miserable and dangerous for gay people while they themselves are secretly gay – Larry Craig, George Rekers – then congratulations, you’ve made the news!”
Makes me wonder which Alaskans who have built their careers on making life miserable for gay people might be secretly gay…
Breaking Free from ABT: One Man’s Journey
Does Anchorage Baptist Temple really do exorcisms to cast out the demon from gays? Yes, they do, and they set family members against each other. In an interview with The NorthView (published in its April 2010 issue), RJ described his struggle to break free from ABT and come out as a gay man, a struggle that nearly tore apart his family. He shares his story in the hope that it will help others who are coming out or supporting a gay family member, and even help members of ABT.
“I sincerely hope people from ABT read it. Perhaps it will be a wake up call for them to stop ignoring the things going on around them and perhaps they will open up their hearts and experience a little more love.”
Thanks, RJ, and happy birthday!
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One Man’s Journey
This is an interview with RJ, a gay man raised in Anchorage Baptist Temple. RJ agreed to this interview in the hope that sharing his story and what he has experienced and learned will perhaps help others who may be walking a similar path or, at least, let them know they are not alone.
Editor: Let’s start with the basics of your background.
RJ: My grandparents moved to Alaska in the 1950’s. My mother and I were both born here. My grandfather was a minister. My father was a chaplain who worked in the ministry. In my early years, I lived with my father in Talkeetna and did my schooling through a Christian home school program. Our whole family was very involved in church. In the 1990’s, when I was 11, we moved to Anchorage and became very involved with Anchorage Baptist Temple (ABT).
My father and step-mother both worked at ABT to offset the school bill as it is really expensive to go there. Both taught Sunday school. Sunday they drove busses to pick up kids for Sunday school. We attended Sunday school in the morning followed by church and church again on Sunday night. On Monday night we had bible study, Tuesday night was visitation, Wednesday we had church and Awanas, a Christian program sort of like the Scouts, Thursday night was prayer meeting, and Friday night was open gym or “Destination Unknown,” a youth activity. And, of course, I had school Monday through Friday. Saturdays we would often go to Reverend Prevo’s house for dinner or meet with other church people. For a long time, I looked up to my father and I looked up to Prevo so much.
Editor: How long did this last?
RJ: I went to ABT through 6th, 7th grades and was kicked out in 8th grade.
Editor: What happened in the 8th grade?
RJ: For years I believed everything I was taught. The church was my life. Then, I began to notice and to realize things about the people all around me at ABT and, at the same time, I began to suspect I was gay. I saw so much hypocrisy, too many holes, too much difference between what the church people were teaching me and how there were acting in their own lives. But we were not allowed to talk about it or to question. We had to pretend everything was good. The biggest sin was to question. Instead of providing an answer, they would ask “Why are you being blasphemous?” I began acting out and got kicked out of school several times.
Editor: How was it to realize you were gay, especially since you so looked up to your father, Prevo, and the youth ministers?
RJ: At ABT we were taught anti-gay propaganda. We were taught gay rights are special rights. ABT provides families with an anti-gay “educational” video by Focus on the Family to watch at home. There were also exorcisms which ABT called “demon warfare.” The youth ministers and everybody else were taught this same anti-gay philosophy. I started to realize they were talking about me. The first time I kissed a guy I vomited a day straight over the conflict that it felt so right and I must be a horrible person – the worst thing I can be.
Editor: How were things going at home since your father and step-mother were so involved with ABT?
RJ: The whole gay issue tore me away from my family. There are generations of ministers on my father’s side of the family and to this day they do not speak to me because I am gay. Before I came out, I remember my step-mother telling me that I was so like her brother except that he was gay and I would never be.
It was always made clear that it was not okay to be gay. My whole life began falling apart. When I was 13 I told my father I did not want to go to ABT church or their school. I told him I would go to church only if I could go to public school. He responded by locking me in my room with a board and nails. I kicked down the door and came flying through it like a hellhound with fists flying at my father. I got arrested for malicious destruction of property and went to McLaughlin for three days, followed by family court, a shelter, and foster care. My whole teenage time was spent bouncing between the Laurel shelter, foster homes, Convenent House, Maplewood, and my mom’s house. I was on probation. Lori Rodriguez was my P.O. and she was a phenomenal case worker.
Editor: Wow. What happened after you were thirteen?
RJ: When I was 14, I came out to my mother. I said, “Mom, I think I’m bi.” She said, “No, honey, I think you’re gay.” Later, she told me she thought I was going to be transgender. She told me I used to dress up with her make-up. My brother was a gay hate monger until I told him. When I was 15, I came out to my father in the Anchorage Daily News when they published a letter I wrote. He called me and asked, “Are you sure?” My step-mother said, “No, you’re not gay. You’re just confused.” I moved to Palm Springs when I was 17. Palm Springs was my “gay education.” My birthday there was a white party. What a way to turn 18! I made a lot of friends and learned about what that kind of gay life was like.
I returned to Alaska and, since I had no place to stay, I told my father it was just a phase, moved back with him, and back into the closet. I tried to pray my gay away. I begged God. I would have given anything to be straight.
Editor: Is this when the exorcism took place?
RJ: Yes. I went back to ABT. They had been studying Bob Larson‘s “Deliverance” exorcism ministry. They had a class to teach how to cast out demons on Friday nights. There was a questionnaire to determine if I had done something to open a portal which leads to demonic possession. The questions were things like did I try to control the weather, change stop lights, read horoscopes, use tarot cards and, of course, have sex with a man.
Editor: What happened at the exorcism? Who was there?
RJ: The exorcism took place at ABT. There were others there as well. I sat down and started crying. The Board of Directors, deacons, classmates, and family prayed over us. They anointed us each with oil and tried to cast the demon out.
Editor: Wow. I don’t know what to say. What happened next?
RJ: The reason I am telling you this is because I was in foster homes and shelters. I did not have anyone to look up to or with whom to talk. There wasn’t gay TV. Everyone said AIDS was God’s punishment. I want others to know they are not alone. When I was 19 I began developing a good group of friends, ones to last a lifetime. My friend Chris got me out of there. Tasha, who is another friend and a devout Catholic, said “Whether I agree with it or not, I don’t understand how what people do in their bedrooms has anything to do with me.” And, that gave me my first glimmer that maybe I was okay. They did social things with me when they knew I was gay. The father of one of my friends was a minister and he said “It’s not my job to judge you. It is my job to love you. If God is angry at you about anything, it is probably because you used to be friends with him.” I wonder, how can I have a relationship with God when everyone I know who follows him tells me I am the devil? When I do something wrong, I have a heavy conscious. But when I lie in bed with my partner, I feel no guilt. I know that being with him is right and I know God loves me.
Editor: Where are you now in your relationships with your mother, father, and ABT?
RJ: My mom is a great supporter. Mom was a cab driver and she took me to introduce me to Myrna’s and the GLBT community. She comes for all my Imperial Court functions. Last summer she was at the Assembly hearings. She saw a guy carrying a sign that said “I was born Black. You chose to be gay” and asked to meet Prevo. She said to Prevo and the group with him “Do you remember my son? He grew up in your church. I watched your message of hate try to destroy him, to teach him to hate himself. My God is a God of love and healing. This message of hate is something you are going to have to answer to God for one day.” Then my mom walked away. One of the men jumped up and said he did not want her to walk away angry and wouldn’t she please eat with them. She agreed and had a hot dog with them. Then she stood up and said “I sat down and ate with you. Will any of you sit down and eat with my son?” She was met with silence.
My dad is still a struggle but we are starting to build a dialog. My father has made significant steps in my direction. He sent me some e-mails which I ignored. Then one came and the subject line said “I don’t care that you’re gay. I just want to talk to you.” Considering where he started from, my dad has come a long way and I give him a lot of credit for it.
We have all made mistakes and ABT hates us now. I pity that church. You keep everything quiet, don’t talk about the problems the people are actually having. There is no real community.
Editor: I know you are telling your story to hopefully help others. What final things would you like others to know who may be having an experience similar to yours?
RJ: Get out and talk to as many people as you can. Ask questions. Ask other religious leaders. Don’t be afraid to talk about it. I don’t think any one person can impose on us their particular interpretation of things. You have to have your own personal relationship with God. I wish I had spoken up sooner. I discovered a lot of people already knew I was gay and did not care. The people that are going to be there for you are going to be there for you.
Editor: Is it okay if people contact you if they are walking a similar path and want to reach out?
RJ: Yes. I can be reached via e-mail.
Fetish Ball raised money and questions
Fetish Ball was a wild success Saturday night, with impressive costumes, sexy games, a packed house, and about $8000 raised for the Four A’s food bank to provide meals for people with AIDS. It also attracted a negative comment on the blog and a snarky poetic response. Sarha, Ms. Alaska Leather, wrote,
Fetish Ball 2010 will go down in history as the biggest fetish fund raiser ever! Thank you to those that attended the planning meetings, participated in setup and tear down, ran game booths, walked the runway and worked so hard to make this happen.
Fetish Ball is an annual theme party hosted by the Anchorage fetish, leather and s/m community. It’s not a specifically gay event, and many heterosexual people attend. Ms. Alaska Leather, one of the event organizers, is married to a man. But gay people have always been involved, it’s a benefit for Four A’s held at Myrna’s, and the event and poster were listed with other GLBTA weekend events last Friday on the blog.
Soon after the post went live, an anonymous comment appeared:
Fetish Ball 2010??? with a medical theme??? And those in the LGBT community wonder why they aren’t openly accepted… lol!
During the ordinance hearings last summer, Bent gained several anonymous trolls. They are attracted like moths to certain topics, such as the UA policy change and transgender issues. Posts that describe discrimination against LGBT people will often get a comment saying that we deserve whatever bad treatment we get. Some of the comments are openly hateful, like this one, for example, and these below the post.
The Fetish Ball comment isn’t as hateful as those, but the string of false assumptions between gays and fetishes and the lack of acceptance or rights was more than I had time to deal with on the weekend. So I posted the comment on Bent’s Facebook wall under the Fetish Ball link and waited to see how the friends would respond.
The first person easily summed up the situation:
Everyone has fetishes. The LGBT community and allies are just more willing to embrace it instead of acting like hypocrites.
Well said. The next person responded with a poem! She’s a transwoman who attended the ordinance hearings and noticed that some of the haters have a trans fetish:
The fundies sneering at me in halls,
for going to the fetish balls,
Are the ones behind restroom doors,
who hit on me to drop my drawers.Only Baptists have asked me to,
do the things that Baptists rue,
to spread my legs for them to see,
When all I want to do is pee.Spitting on me when I pass,
Then stand behind to watch my ass,
Brimstone public testimony,
Then privately ask to see my pony.Sunday mornings go a-churching,
Friday nights ask me for birching,
For churchman insults heaped a-plenty,
Hun, you’re never going to get any.
She added, “I am not particularly appreciative of the behavior expressed towards me by certain orthodox individuals. Perhaps they believe that God doesn’t exist if no one is looking.”
SNAP! I’m glad I’m on her side.
Thanks to the FB friends for answering an ignorant blog comment with insight and creativity. And thanks to all for a great event that raised funds for a good cause.
Day of Silence events in Alaska
Break the Silence in Anchorage on Friday at Pride Prom, a hate free dance for ages 14-19. The theme is Gender Bender, but dress up formal or semi-formal however you want. $6 at the door, 6-11 PM at Kincaid Park Chalet.Break the Silence in Fairbanks at 5pm in the quad in front of the UAF Wood Center for a Break the Silence scream, then gather in the Alumni Office Lounge for food, music, and friends. A Breaking the Silence Drag Show is on Saturday at the Hes Rec in the MBS complex, and the ICOAA’s Duchess Dixie will be performing. [Note: The UAF Gay-Straight Alliance won a Diversity Enrichment Award last weekend. Congratulations!]Break the Silence in Juneau at a DoS after-party in the Juneau-Douglas High School commons from 4-5:15 p.m. with a special guest performance by the Juneau Pride Chorus! Friends and family members are welcome to attend.
Anchorage waits for outcome of Midtown race
Clary: Gays = Drunks and Cheaters
Andy Clary is the son of Anchorage Baptist Temple’s Glenn Clary. But he doesn’t want us to judge him as an assembly candidate based on his ties to Jerry Prevo or his enthusiasm for Mayor Sullivan. He wants to be judged by his own words, and by his current church. So what is ChangePoint’s stand on gays? Pastor Dan Jarrell wrote on Feb 22:
“God doesn’t hate people who are homosexual; he hates what homosexuality does to people.”
WTF? That’s twisted. Jarrell also calls us “pernicious,” which means destructive in a sneaky way:
“Perhaps the most pernicious behavior of gay and lesbian activists is their effort to indoctrinate children and encourage the promulgation of their alternative lifestyle…”
And what about Clary? During last summer’s battle for the jobs and housing ordinance, he was a staff writer for the anti-ordinance Alaska Standard and he wrote:
“Now, before I go any further, let me say that I am opposed to the ordinance myself, but for very different reasons. You see, I am a committed follower of Christ, and although I believe homosexuality is not a lifestyle that Christ approves of, I see it no differently than other sins such as alcoholism or adultery. Why do we Christians lash out against one sin so differently than we do any other? We need to be reaching these people not tearing them down.”
“These people”? He might have more success in reaching out to “these people” if he didn’t compare our loving families to chronic drunks and cheaters.
“What if some simply have not found answers to the tough questions they have? For instance, why is it that some people struggle with homosexual tendencies their whole life and others do not? It is the same as alcoholism. Some people are predisposed to certain types of behavior…”
Many gays and lesbians are comfortable with our natural and God-given sexuality. What we struggle against is the stigma of being different and the anti-gay prejudice of people like Clary.
“Finally, to answer the question, “Should you legislate morality?”, clearly the answer is again, no. It cannot be done, nor should it be done.”
The religious right often tries to legislate morality, as long as it’s their own moral interpretations that get promoted. Does he really mean that we shouldn’t have laws against murder and rape?
Clary told the Anchorage Press that he grew up in Prevo’s church where his father is assistant pastor:
“I have my own beliefs and I don’t agree with my father on everything. Yes, I grew up at that church; I do not attend there now. People will just have to judge me on myself.”
So he agrees with his father on most things, including his opposition to gay rights, but not on everything. What are the disagreements? He doesn’t say. But he belongs to ChangePoint now. Here are more quotes from the anti-gay ChangePoint article by Clary’s pastor:
“There are no reasonable grounds for considering same-sex unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage…”
“Support ministries that offer help, hope, and healing to those affected by homosexuality. Exodus International is one example of an effective effort to provide a way out for homosexuals who want help.”
Being gay is not a sickness that needs healing. Prejudice is the sickness. The pray-away-the-gay methods used by Exodus have been discredited over and over, but churches like ChangePoint and ABT continue to push the “ex-gay” lies.
Jarrell also tells his church members to become politically active against gays:
Get involved in the political process supporting any effort to preserve a biblical definition of marriage as a life-long, intimate partnership between one man and one woman.
And they have their own anti-gay “pernicious indoctrination” class for children:
There are many excellent tools available for any parent wanting to instruct their adolescent child about marriage, sex, and family issues… ChangePoint’s Due North program for 6th grade girls and boys is exceptional as well, get your kids involved.
How sad for those kids, especially the LGBT ones and their parents.
So, in his own words, Andy Clary thinks that gays (“these people”) are struggling with a lifestyle like alcoholism and adultery. His current pastor calls us “pernicious,” pushes harmful pray-away-the-gay methods, and encourages church members to get involved in politics against gay rights. Sounds close enough to Prevo.
This is NOT who we want to represent us on the Anchorage Assembly.
Allies and Opponents in Tuesday’s election
ABT pastor’s son runs for Anchorage assembly
“Clary’s father… is an assistant pastor at Anchorage Baptist Temple and has been a Republican Party activist. Andy Clary belongs to the same political party but a different church, ChangePoint. When asked at a candidate luncheon how he has served the community, he cited church work. He taught Sunday school, led men’s studies and cooked food for different events,” according to yesterday’s ADN article.
On an Assembly that’s been fractious over Sullivan’s leadership, Clary makes it clear he is allied with Sullivan, who became mayor last July. He served on Sullivan’s transition team, held a fundraiser at McGinley’s, the pub Sullivan co-owns, and says of Sullivan, “Generally, I like what I’ve seen.”
AK Family Council attacks the Girl Scouts
In case you didn’t know, it’s not your mother’s Girl Scouts any more. While the Boy Scouts of America has remained true to its traditional ideals, the Girl Scouts have gone full tilt into feminism/sexual revolution/GLBT politics. And doing their best to export it internationally.
It is enormously disappointing that an Alaskan coalition would forward such inflammatory statements without having made any contact with Girl Scouts of Alaska. Girl Scouts is a non-religious values based organization that strongly respects families and makes no statements or stands on girls’ sexuality.Girl Scouts of Alaska builds girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place. The values that Girl Scouts stand for are what’s stated in the Girl Scout Promise and Law, essentially unchanged since 1912.
Denny’s update and Hater Quote of the Day
Denny’s received a pile of email about the local anti-trans incident reported by Anja on Tuesday, and leaders of the Anchorage LGBTA community are in contact with the manager/owner. Meanwhile, an anonymous hater left this comment on the Bent post:
you people need to face the facts, by people I mean gays, trans whatevers etc. You are not “normal” and though you are allowed to co-exist in our society it does not mean everyone has to accept your lifestyle. you all need to grow a thicker skin, remember the saying sticks and stones can break my bones but names will never harm me ? get off your politically correct high horse and shut up already
Note to Mayor Sullivan: Do you really think this hater will treat his neighbors, co-workers, clients, employees and renters fairly and equally – without discrimination – when he learns that they are gay or trans? FAIL
