Bachmann: Pray Away the Gay

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

So everyone who says they are "cured" is lying?

No, they're in denial.

[King]

Why are there successes (albeit very little) in "cureing" if there is a gay gene?

My theory is anybody in a subculture so naive that it thinks "praying gay away" would work doesn't understand bisexuality at all and just considers it to be homosexual behavior.  Most ex-gay "success" stories I imagine could have gone either way and just were pushed towards the heterosexual side.  I doubt any legitimate gay or transgendered actually came out of this "fixed."

[Penelope]

So everyone who says they are "cured" is lying?

No.

They are simply bisexual, in denial, or both. Think about it. If you were in such an environment as a place that promised to "pray away the gay", and everyone was pushing you to not be gay, and the entirety of your experiences when facing your homosexuality resulted in those same people calling you a fag, then what do you think they would do?

They force themselves toward heterosexuality in attempt to appease and fit in with those around them, and appease the christian god.

Peer pressure and fears of a man in the sky who hates them for what they are.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Ummm, God doesn't hate gay people. He doesn't even hate Satan.

[Penelope]

Ummm, God doesn't hate gay people. He doesn't even hate Satan.

read: tough love.

[sg0508]

The scary thing in this country is that talking about this absolute nonsense actually increases support amongst a moronic group of people and doesn't decline it. 

[TheGlobalizer]

I'm praying Bachmann's stupid away.

Well, praying Bachmann away.

(Best part is that I'm an atheist.)

[Badger]

I'm praying Bachmann's stupid away.

Well, praying Bachmann away.

Pray harder.

[TheGlobalizer]

I'm praying Bachmann's stupid away.

Well, praying Bachmann away.

Pray harder.

I'm an atheist, remember?  Praying doesn't do sh**.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

I sincerely doubt that it is possible to "pray the gay away," and I think programs intended to cure homosexuality are incredibly destructive in nature on a mental level (essentially, a program designed to destroy and rebuild a person's identity).

Still, I can't quite deny the existence of people who were gay, but later, evolve to a point where they no longer desire same-sex relationships. It's comparable, somewhat, to a man who desires thin, fit women he's younger, but later in life develops a fetish for larger women. It's also comparable to the fact that while such a change might happen, forcing it over the course of a few weeks or months would require nightmarish levels of psychiatric meddling that could cause permanent mental scarring. And even if you could "cure" it ... would the risks be worth it, considering that there's nothing medically or psychologically wrong with being gay?

[Stranger in a strange land]

So everyone who says they are "cured" is lying?

You can't be "cured" of homosexuality any more than Michael Jackson could be "cured" of his blackness. You may look straight to the outside world, but it turns you into a miserable wreck of a human being.

["'Oeps!' De blunders van Rick Perry Indicted"]

It's comparable, somewhat, to a man who desires thin, fit women he's younger, but later in life develops a fetish for larger women.

I'm not convinced this has ever happened either. Fetish? More like a compromise.

[TJ in Oregon]

To believe in a Christian God means to believe that with God all things are possible, so in that sense I do believe it is possible to "Pray away the gay".

But, just as someone said earlier, you don't get everything you ask for. The expectation of being "cured" seems a little unreasonable to me. For bisexuals it would be easier to cope with same-sex attraction and maintain one's religious beliefs (if these beliefs include the idea that homosexual acts are sinful); simply only act on the straight part. But, for individuals with a deep-seated same-sex attraction, the answer of celibacy is the only way to reconcile this. In society today, celibacy may seem foreign and strange, but it can be done. This line of action (or inaction rather) requires a constant vigilance and sounds a little depressing. I really do feel sorry for anyone in this position and I understand why a lot of gays are displeased with the idea. It isn't fair, but life isn't fair. Perhaps the focus of what we ought to be telling people is to pray for a way to make it through our struggles in life rather than a way out of them. Our role model is should be Jesus and he carried his cross through until death, rather than constantly hounding the Father to remove his burden (though he did ask once the night before).

Also, why on earth is a presidential candidate going around saying this? I can't imagine what she intends to do as president involving this as piece of her platform. What's next, will she start writing self-help books?

[milhouse24]

I've met a few men who I swore were gay, but were married to women.  Also, not to sound weird, but I've met a few effeminate white guys who were married to asian women, its a strange correlation. 

So it seems to be fairly common that effeminate gay men have managed to marry women and have children, but perhaps are still in the closet, or transitioned out of the closet.  So I wouldn't say its completely impossible for a gay man to decide he wants to have biological children and become a father. 

["'Oeps!' De blunders van Rick Perry Indicted"]

So it seems to be fairly common that effeminate gay men have managed to marry women and have children, but perhaps are still in the closet, or transitioned out of the closet.

Which brings us back to the Bachmanns:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU66lIHW1dU

[milhouse24]

I've also noticed how a lot of women like having gay male friends because they like the same things like fashion and other stuff; and eventually a lot of these women try to turn these gay men into their boyfriends.  Also, I read a story about how the birth control pill alters women desires and they seek out more effeminate men who would be better fathers and more caring; rather than masculine men who are better warriors. 

[King]

I've met a few men who I swore were gay, but were married to women.  Also, not to sound weird, but I've met a few effeminate white guys who were married to asian women, its a strange correlation. 

So it seems to be fairly common that effeminate gay men have managed to marry women and have children, but perhaps are still in the closet, or transitioned out of the closet.  So I wouldn't say its completely impossible for a gay man to decide he wants to have biological children and become a father. 

You do know that being gay involves being sexually attracted to similar genitalia and not whether a man is interested in football or Broadway?

[pbrower2a]

I've met a few men who I swore were gay, but were married to women.  Also, not to sound weird, but I've met a few effeminate white guys who were married to asian women, its a strange correlation.  

So it seems to be fairly common that effeminate gay men have managed to marry women and have children, but perhaps are still in the closet, or transitioned out of the closet.  So I wouldn't say its completely impossible for a gay man to decide he wants to have biological children and become a father.  

Did you realize that another way exists for gay men to become fathers?

Adoption!  Siring is easy. Nurturing is a huge investment of time, effort, and lost opportunities for hedonism.

I've met a few men who I swore were gay, but were married to women.  Also, not to sound weird, but I've met a few effeminate white guys who were married to asian women, its a strange correlation. 

So it seems to be fairly common that effeminate gay men have managed to marry women and have children, but perhaps are still in the closet, or transitioned out of the closet.  So I wouldn't say its completely impossible for a gay man to decide he wants to have biological children and become a father. 

What profound ignorance!  Maybe they just like women with powerful brains and small breasts. Or maybe they find something particularly attractive about some alien culture.

Your judgment of effeminacy might be correct, but the correlation between stereotyped masculinity and homosexuality is weak.  Think carefully about what that sways about Asian men... and be sure to note that Asia itself is no cultural monolith. 

I could go on... but I suggest that you get some counseling. You have an obsession with something that need not dominate your life. Decent people do not have sex as the sole focus of their lives.

[Ban my account ffs!]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/43734540#43734540

I went to college with the guy being interviewed here.  (We actually sang in the men's choir together)

[Middle-aged Europe]

I would rather like to see homophobia "cured" at last.

[minionofmidas]

I'm praying Bachmann's stupid away.

Well, praying Bachmann away.

Pray harder.

Maybe we should organize a Forum Prayer Group to that purpose.

[Bluegrassball]

I mean prayer is a form of therapy no?

No.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Decent people do not have sex as the sole focus of their lives.

You are a machine!

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

That's probably pbrower's dumbest statement yet, as it implies that opebo is not a decent person.

[RIP Robert H Bork]

That's probably pbrower's dumbest statement yet, as it implies that opebo is not a decent person.

Well, he isn't.

In fact, saying that opebo is not a decent person would probably be the first good thing pbrower2a has ever said.