Fundi camp for gays (need advice)

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2005-06-13 11:11pm

Dalton wrote:
Fleet Admiral JD wrote:Perhaps Dalton could get something on MSNBC?
I'll see what I can do about it.

EXCELLENT!!!

Justforfun000 · Post by **Justforfun000** » 2005-06-14 07:26pm

Guys I'm so proud of you all and very very happy that action is being taken. I just saw this tonight, and this hit me like a bucket of ice water. Honestly. I can't believe this kind of thing can be legal.

It wasn't that long ago that I remember making a few arguments against the seemingly knee-jerk reaction that parent's have the right to raise their kids as they see fit, and also have the right to their knowledge and control of their sex life and so forth. I STRONGLY disagree with this extreme viewpoint and believe the truth is somewhere in a MUCH more moderate middle. There is far too much dictatorship attitudes toward children. They need raising yes, but controlling and dominating? NO! This situation is so reprehensible it makes me empty inside. I hope this insanity is made as public as possible and will help galvanize sensible people into realizing that enough is enough and religious shit has got to be held more accountable and critically looked at.

Fleet Admiral JD · Post by **Fleet Admiral JD** » 2005-06-14 08:17pm

Know what's funny? I supported Bush this past election. I support the Iraq War. I go to church as often as I can. Yet I still find this disgusting and I'm campaigning against it.

And Dalton, you are the man.

Justforfun000 · Post by **Justforfun000** » 2005-06-14 08:44pm

Know what's funny? I supported Bush this past election. I support the Iraq War. I go to church as often as I can. Yet I still find this disgusting and I'm campaigning against it.

Actually....It's not that funny. In a related post I stressed the importance of shades of grey. Hell, I'm gay, my parents support me and my rights, but because of their perception (misguided in my opinion), THEY support Bush, and we're Canadians.

It's OTHER issues and attitudes that shone through as more important.

Even in my own case I was on Bush's side regarding his strong response to the terrorism. He doesn't lack balls at least. But I strongly disagreed with his Iraq decision. NOT because of the war itself, but because he should have approached it differently. His bullshit about WMD was the problem. He should have said we are going after Saddamn because we SHOULD have finished it in the 80's and I'm taking a step towards liberation of dictatorship regimes. It would have garnered him more respect and it would have been justifiable. Of course the fact that it would have been a CLEAR declaration of eventual war on North Korea would be the argument that this was not realistic.....

Davis 51 · Post by **Davis 51** » 2005-06-16 04:51pm

NEWS UPDATE!

QAC wrote:DAY EIGHT...LIA PRESS CONFERENCE>.

Alot of people turned up today to demonstrate infront of Love In Action. Very polite police officers arrived around 9:00am and joked around with us. They left. Around 10:00AM the media begins to flood the action and we get high energy, chanting "this is what love in action looks like". They start instantly grabbing everyone for interviews, and we hand them QAC press packets including handouts from organizations like the APA, and a history of EX-GAY organizations. Then our friend, Tommy from LIA comes out and informs the press they should be getting inside, and they do so.

The press conference was closed to the public, you had to either be a "friend of LIA, or from the PRESS". EJ, and Brett both got inside, and we will be posting a fully uneditted mp3 of the press conference later today, as well as pictures. Be on the look out for major news coverage on every station, as well as print tomorrow in the CA, and the Flyer next week. I'm not sure how the press is going to turn out, as we all know, these folks are trained to do these sort of things and back up their reasoning without having a spot left to shine, so it's hard to tell what the media will do with everything they've shot today. More soon.

PLEASE COME OUT TOMORROW-8:30-the last official day of protest.

It seems that the protests are going very well. If anyone is in Memphis tomorrow morning, please stop by.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2005-06-17 10:18pm

http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2005/06/16/1

Gay.com just caught it. Looks like it's working!

Stark · Post by **Stark** » 2005-06-17 10:32pm

gay.com? Holy shit!

I'm glad to see things being so active there!

Darth Servo · Post by **Darth Servo** » 2005-06-18 12:52pm

Stark wrote:gay.com? Holy shit!

I'm glad to see things being so active there!

You haven't heard of that webpage before? I've seen it on billboards lots of times and I'm not even gay.

Post by **Dalton** » 2005-06-18 06:05pm

I passed on this story to a guy I know who works on Scarborough Country. I'll see what happens...

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2005-06-18 07:22pm

And now it's on POE News!

Xiphias at POE Forums wrote:You must not know much about gay people.

But you're absolutely right, it's a cult-like re-education camp that attempts to program people to feel such shame that they completely repress their desires. I cannot, cannot stress the amount of damage this can do to these kids, when they're already scared and ashamed, when their families, friends, and communities have rejected them.

These are the kids that grow up and go through cycles, where they have anonymous sex without even learning the names of their partners, then are overcome by shame and self-disgust, repent, and then repeat when they just can't hold back. They're the ones that end up spreading AIDS because they're too ashamed to buy a condom, unable to actually emotionally connect or be monogamous with the partners they make.

They get married and have kids, but still continue living their secret, shameful lives, until one day their wife is getting a check-up and is told she has chlamydia...

I believe what this person posted is the goal of these reeducation camps: to perpetuate the sexually-transmitted diseases through social engineering, then hold the selfsame STDs up as reasons to keep the camps running, the antigay laws passed, and people suffering and dying.

Davis 51 · Post by **Davis 51** » 2005-06-21 07:15pm

Shit. I just found out that last friday, his parents extended his sessions for 6 more weeks.

Check the below link. (you need to scroll down a bit.)

http://www.cherrybloss.org

Cherrybloss.org wrote: Congratulations, Zach. You've Been Lied To. Again.
Today's news is that our friend Zach is to remain in the program for 6 weeks at this point. John Smid could not wait to seize this opportunity to make an example out of him because, after all, now Zach is his pet project. He wants to be 100% sure he can get a result that he can parade around in front of the media, so he will spend the next six weeks breaking him in this facility to turn him into the clone that only his family can love. To Smid, he couldn't be more thrilled. He will start to claim, I'm sure, that there are suddenly people lining up to pay him to put their child through his "indoctrination" program.

His parents, for whom I asked mercy and consideration, are being complicitous with this intent. I no longer ask my readers to be meritorious towards them: someone please use the proper legal channels in place to put a stop to this right now.

One of the things people need to understand: there is a coalition who has been fighting this whole thing from day one. There is only one coalition who has been there since day one, and if you've been touched by this story then they need your support. They need for you to work with them.

If you have plans you'd like to execute, something you'd like to see happen, a course of action you think might be helpful in putting an end to all of this, it would be a good idea to write to them and find out how you can help before flying off the handle. BELIEVE ME, everyone is upset. Everyone is tense right now.

However, one of the things everyone here has learned over the last two weeks is that there is an effective way to deal with things and an ineffective one. When you concoct news stories from pieces of other stories, then create and attribute quotes to members of the coalition without even contacting them, you look irresponsible and you make everyone look stupid. Are you listening to me, you certain widely-read gay & lesbian news source?

Adding to the chaos have been a number of people who've decided to take matters into their own hands in regards to this tragedy without first considering what the potential outcome of their actions might be. People are acting because they are angry, not in spite of their anger. That's going to screw things up, folks.

To those people and/or groups, I suggest you get in touch with the Queer Action Coalition at fighting.homophobia@gmail.com before you proceed with your plans.

To people in the community at large in Memphis, don't be scared off because of that big ol' "Q" word. Whether you're straight, gay, bisexual, lesbian, black, white, red, yellow, purple and polka dotted -- whoever you happen to be, your voices need to be heard. Community leaders, church leaders, people in the theraputic community, civic leaders -- now is the moment where you're called upon to do something that prevents the endangerment of a child.

It's not just up to me. It's up to all of us to just do even one thing. If everyone works together, we can all be a part of history in the making.

If we all work apart, nothing good can come from the chaos.

On the plus side, there seems to be some legislature on this.
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ed ... 42005.html

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2005-06-21 10:10pm

Representative Miller Introduces Legislation to Curb Child Abuse in Residential Treatment Programs

Bill Would Affect Facilities both in U.S. and Abroad

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

WASHINGTON, DC -- Representative George Miller (D-California) today announced new legislation to combat child abuse at residential treatment programs in the U.S. and abroad.

“There is no excuse for placing children in unlicensed programs with badly trained and abusive staff members, which could lead to mental, physical, and sexual abuse,” said Miller, the senior Democrat on the Education and the Workforce Committee. “It is truly frightening when the very people entrusted to care for and protect children are actually the ones who endanger them. Residential programs for children should be licensed and meet reasonable safety and staff training standards.”

In November 2003, Miller asked then-Attorney General John Ashcroft to investigate the World Wide Associations of Specialty Programs (WWASP), an organization with several campuses in the U.S. and abroad that provides “behavior modification” programs for troubled youth, for allegations of child abuse and human rights violations.

Miller first requested the investigation after The New York Times ran a series of articles containing the allegations against WWASP. Despite repeated follow-up requests, however, the Department of Justice refused to investigate. Meanwhile, allegations of abuse continued to surface in published news reports. In December 2004 and January 2005, news agencies reported that five U.S.-owned residential treatment centers in Mexico had been closed by local authorities for numerous health violations and for placing children in punishment cells.

In an effort to deal once and for all with the problem of abuse at residential treatment programs for children, Miller today introduced the “End Institutional Abuse Against Children Act.” The bill would:

* provide $50 million in funding to states to support the licensing of child residential treatment programs. States would have to monitor the programs regularly to ensure their compliance with licensing requirements;
* establish federal civil and criminal penalties for the abuse of children in residential treatment programs;
* expand federal authority to regulate programs located overseas but run by U.S. companies and provide civil penalties for program operators that violate federal regulations; and
* require the State Department to report any abuse of American children overseas.

Residential treatment (or “behavior modification”) programs are intended to help children with behavioral problems, like substance abuse. Miller stressed that many of these programs provide safe, valuable services to children and their families. But he said that stronger legislation was clearly necessary to ensure the safety of all children in such programs – and particularly in programs overseas, where organizations have moved their facilities to avoid existing U.S. laws.

“Parents are sending their children to these programs because of a promise that they will help resolve difficult behavioral issues, like substance abuse,” said Miller. “But the way kids have been treated at some of these facilities would make any parent shudder.”

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

###

This will fuck Tranquility Bay over hard too. I hope this shit blows the entire behavior-modification-camp thing to international awareness.

It didn't work for Britain, it won't work for Amerika.

Vicious · Post by **Vicious** » 2005-06-22 01:15pm

Oh. My. Fucking. God. These people are seriously twisted. Just reading a few of their rules made me gag. That people can go about doing things like this and call themselves responsible citizens makes me sick. Fuck the Stormtroopers. What we need is some good ol' fashioned Sith justice. Unleash the Dark Side on these fuckers and roast 'em. I don't care if the parents consented to this place. This has to be illegal. The methods they're using are inhumane. Does no one actually learn history anymore? Does no one see the resemblance to the concentration camps and GULAGs? What the fuck is wrong with this country when places like this are allowed to stand? What can I do? Are there places I can contact or petitions I can sign? I've already signed the Free Zach petition. Send me a line at mike_161@yahoo.com or post here. This is definately something that has to be stopped.

Davis 51 · Post by **Davis 51** » 2005-06-26 07:36am

Major Victory! The Associated Press has picked up on this!
And so has the Washington Blade!

This is great news folks. This has gone completely mainstream, and LIA is being investigated by the State of Tennassee, along with the Department of Children's Services!
As I am halfway around the world, I am limited to internet access, so I might not be posting as often for the next few weeks. But I will be sure to keep in some touch!
Keep up the Fight![/url]

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2005-06-26 08:09am

This will fuck Tranquility Bay over hard too.

I don't think so. TB is in Jamaica, isn't it?

And its nice to see a Congressman doing something because it is morally right, rather than for money, votes, or political manuevering.

Davis 51 · Post by **Davis 51** » 2005-06-26 10:28am

I just changed the link in my sig to a slightly different petition. This one is more elaborate. If you already clicked the link and signed the petition, please do so again, as this one has many more signatures already.

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2005-06-26 04:21pm

HemlockGrey wrote:
This will fuck Tranquility Bay over hard too.
I don't think so. TB is in Jamaica, isn't it?

And its nice to see a Congressman doing something because it is morally right, rather than for money, votes, or political manuevering.

TB is owned by WWASP, which had been specifically cited in Rep. Miller's reasoning behind the bill.

Setesh · Post by **Setesh** » 2005-06-28 08:37am

After showing this to fresh hope I was......no there is no adjetive to describe this feeling, thier responces.

This looks like standerd rehab to me.

looks pretty standard to me

The second is from board admin Cindy

Davis 51 · Post by **Davis 51** » 2005-06-28 10:27am

Maybe for drugs, and alchohol addiction, but for homosexuality, you can't just apply the same formula. That would be like trying to send a person to rehab for being Black, or Asian. You just can't change things like this. There is a big difference from telling a druggie his life is worth nothing because he is a druggie, and telling a homosexual that his life is worthless because he is gay.

Post by **The Wookiee** » 2005-07-18 05:59pm

UPDATE: Ron Reagan just did a monologue about this on his show, Connected Coast to Coast. I'll see if I can get a transcript soon.

Daltonator · Post by **Daltonator** » 2005-07-18 06:20pm

MSNBC.com

Ron Reagan wrote:Summer’s here, meaning thousands of kids are heading off to camp and participating in a host of familiar activities: hiking, canoeing, archery, re-programming their sexual orientation. Don’t you remember that from your summers at camp?

It’s part of the so-called refuge program, one of several similar efforts to turn gay teens straight. When a 16-year-old gay Tennessean known only as Zach blogged about being forced to attend one of these camps, other bloggers jumped in and the issue reached new prominence.

According to the Reverend John J. Smid who runs the program in question, the goal is to put “guardrails” around the teens’ sexual impulses. To that end, there are rules: no secular music, no more then fifteen minutes behind a closed bathroom door, no contact with other gay folks, and, for reasons I’d rather prefer not to imagine, no Calvin Klein underwear.

Reverend Smid himself claims to be a recovered homosexual. He goes on to say, “I may see a man and say, he’s handsome, he’s attractive, and it might touch a part of me that is different from someone else.”

Reverend, that would be the gay part.

At the heart of this is the notion that people choose to be gay so they can chose to switchback. Common sense suggests otherwise. Remember coming home from school and telling your parents you decided to be heterosexual? I didn’t think so.

But the homophobic fringe clings to this mean-spirited fiction so they can deny that issues like same sex marriage are matters of civil rights. After all, if certain people are simply born gay, it wouldn’t be fair to persecute them. So, to stave off this uncomfortable reality, they induce in vulnerable teens the same self-loathing that so obviously troubles men like Reverend Smid.

E-mail RReagan@msnbc.com

Davis 51 · Post by **Davis 51** » 2005-07-18 10:48pm

Reverend Smid himself claims to be a recovered homosexual.

I knew it. He is a closet case.

It seems this has hit mainstream. The New York Times just did a piece on the protests.

Oh, and Zachs last name has been found out. I think it is Stark.

Molyneux · Post by **Molyneux** » 2005-07-18 10:53pm

The Wookiee wrote:UPDATE: Ron Reagan just did a monologue about this on his show, Connected Coast to Coast. I'll see if I can get a transcript soon.

Can't wait to read it ^_^
Ron Reagan is one of the good guys...

sketerpot · Post by **sketerpot** » 2005-07-19 11:52am

Molyneux wrote:
The Wookiee wrote:UPDATE: Ron Reagan just did a monologue about this on his show, Connected Coast to Coast. I'll see if I can get a transcript soon.
Can't wait to read it ^_^
Ron Reagan is one of the good guys...

Look up. Daltonator posted the transcript already.

Oni Koneko Damien · Post by **Oni Koneko Damien** » 2005-07-19 01:04pm

Just did a quick check on Zach's blog. He hasn't updated since the third of June. Does anyone know of any other site that may have updates to *his* situation, as opposed to, say, the situation of everything going on around him?

~Damienkitty