IMPORTANT NOTE:  Love In Action or Love In Action International mentioned on this page is nothing to do with the Love in Action charitable work for the needy by Billy Graham

If my knowledge of history is correct, many Europeans set sail centuries ago to escape religious persecution.  They headed west, and America was founded.

Generations later, it seems that some Americans have forgotten that their forefathers fled to the “new land” to escape persecution inflicted in the name of Christianity.

It has been a numbing couple of days since Zach’s story was posted.  Thousands have visited the page and hundreds have sent emails – all supportive of Zach.

I have looked at many of the blogs that are out there in cyberspace.  Many of the emails have pointed me there.  Then there are the server statistics that list the website our visitors surf in from.

And out there, hundreds of kids are crying – and in many cases, I suspect, crying literally – for help and understanding.  Why?  Because they are gay.  Because they are scared of their parents knowing.  Because when they have told their parents they are no longer respected.  Because the society they live in despises gays.

A lot of this goes down to fundamentalists of the Christian faith whose preachers preach fire and brimstone and interpret the Bible in ways they want to, with no regard to mainstream theological and linguistic scholars.  At the end of the day, religious fundamentalism is a form of brainwashing.

Here are two blogs from kids who pour their heart out.  The blogs have not been altered in any way, except that the name of a town in the first one has been removed.

“my entire family cannot stand my presence. they dont want to be around me at all and refuse to let me see my nieces and nephews because they honestly believe that gay people molest children. they call me evil, pervert, heathen, sinner, ect. whenever they see me. they constantly give my mother hell for not sending me to be “cured” and for allowing me to live under her roof. my mother tolerates my presence, but wants me to change. my lil sister (the only one still at home with me) doesnt believe im gay, just confused. she keeps saying that you cant be sure untill youve experimented. my mother and lil sis are the only tolerant ones. i mentioned leaving and my mother burst into tears, saying that she would be worrying if i were still alive and well if i left. she also said that i wasnt ready to leave (she’s right too....i dont have enough money.) i have no offline friends, and in my area, im probably the only gay guy for miles. i keep telling myself to wait it out, but i cant wait much longer. only two things keep me from suicide right now: my online friends and God himself (another issue i will talk about later....). i have nothing to sustain me here. no friends, no church, no school, no nothing. please, if ANYBODY lives in [ name of town removed], SC, contact me! i just want somebody to talk to, anybody to talk to, that wont tell me that im evil and going to hell and all that crap. i need a new reason to live, because the other two are wearing thin VERY fast. please....somebody help....”

Then, heading further south  and someone who is deep in the closet…

“Finally, a day alone. The whole family is out except me. I think this sort of thing as a blessing. Free to talk to my friends and do as I please all day. No one in this house really knows who I am. For some reason they all have this false image of me and it drives me nuts. They are constantly accusing me of things that I would NEVER do. AND MY MOTHER. Most days she is the worst of all. She is so worried about what other people think. She is always reminding me of how feminin I am and its really annoying.
“Boys Don’t do this”
“Boys Don’t do that”
I wish she would drop it already and just let me be me. They all get so cought up in this scene of being appealing to everyone else that they don't know who I am. This is a big reason why I am scared out of my mind to tell them. And after reading about Zach after he told his parents, I don't think i’ll be telling him any time soon.

My parents and my brother are very homophobic. It kills me inside everytime they make these stupid derogatory remarks towards gays. Like when they come on T.V. or something they all start saying mean stuff about them, and when i tell them to stop they have the nerve to say, “We don't do that”. They really need to think about who’s feelings they could be hurting before they open they're mouths to say somthing stupid.”

That is just two of the blogs we have come across.  In all probability there are a lot more in a similar vein.

Now, I am not saying that everything is rosy here in the UK or elsewhere in Europe.  It isn’t.  But one thing is for certain, things are not as serious as in Bush’s America where, a few days ago, it was suggested by a prominent “right winger” that perhaps gays should have to wear a pink triangle.

Back to history … remember Hitler’s Germany in the early 1930s?  And look where that led in 10 years.

■ African boys are being smuggled into Britain as intended human sacrifices, a report commissioned by the Metropolitan Police has revealed.  The children are brought to London and offered up in blood rituals at the behest of fundamentalist sects to combat evil spirits.  The authors reported claims of witchcraft, spells, and of HIV-positive people having sex with children in attempts to be cured.  The report was leaked to the BBC.  See The Independent and BBC.

LINKS

Gay Teen Has Further 6 Weeks in LIA Reparative Therapy.  The gay teen in Tennessee who “came out" to his parents last month and was promptly sent to a “Love In Action International Inc.” refuge for reparative treatment has to stay at the fundamentalist Christian institution for a further six weeks, DetourMemphis is reporting. - June 19

Gay Reparative Therapy:  Statements From Today’s ‘Love In Action’ Press Conference. - UK Gay News, June 16

A Gay American Teen’s ‘Blog’ Reveals the Hell Some Can be Put Through by Parents and Others - UK Gay News, June 14

Social Work Today - USA:  Reparative Therapy — What’s Broken?  By Kate Jackson (from May/June 2005 issue).  While science suggests that nothing is broken, this therapy seeks to “repair” homosexuals.

Memphis Flyer - USA:  Yellow is Blue and Pink's a Sin at the Love in Action Camp, by Chris Davis.  How does God make a gay man straight? In 1997, John Smid, the ex-gay director of Love in Action, a homosexual conversion center located in Memphis, tried to explain this mystery to a Memphis Flyer reporter ... (June 17 issue)

Resources

ChildhelpUSA® Tennessee website.  Define the forms of abuse including:  Emotional Abuse - Any attitude or behavior which interferes with a child's mental health or social development. This includes yelling, screaming, name-calling, shaming, negative comparisons to others, telling a child they are "bad," "no good," "worthless," "a mistake," etc.