Jesus Fucking Christ: evangelical bigwig opposed gay marriage "because it takes the dirt and danger out of clandestine sex with rent-a-men"

Man I know this is extremely touchy-feely territory & I can also get into the schadenfreude of hateful hypocrites getting their comeuppance for sure, but amidst that feeling when this sort of thing happens I usually also feel a terrible sadness.

...

I mean, fuck these guys for all the harm they do, but that they spend most of their lives in this prison of shame is tragic to me. getting all the way to old age without ever allowing yourself the chance to be who you are without hiding it? having a whole family to whom you can only show part of yourself? that is so sad, what a sad world.

― brad whitford's impotent rage (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Wednesday, May 5, 2010 9:20 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark

to go back to this for a second. j0hn's post got me thinking about compassion and politics in this case. j0hn's point is totally sound but i find i just have a limited amount of mercy for guys like this. a lot of people are self-hating for any number of reasons but very few make a whole damn career out of it, which j0hn also said.

rekers himself was the one who chose to be a public face of anti-gay politics, is it right then to judge him as such, rather than as a broken-down guy with a twisted life? i know you must be miserable, dr. rekers, but by ye fruits (lol) we shall know you, so fuck you -- is that fair?

putting on my scolding PC hat, i have to say i'm a little uneasy with the rent-boy punchlines, lolsy as they are. give a thought to Lucien the whore. it's not an easy life.

I don't think any of them have (intentionally) been at Lucien's expense.

there's more homophobia in media rentboy jokes than reker's entire career

can i see your math on that?

He is proving how much he likes america by only renting american boys rather than giving into free socialised european boys.

In London, those now loiter on the half-dead part of Oxford Street by Centre Point, if dude is willing to go free-range.

lol that was phrased in a challopy way, sorry. i just don't think that the secret-gay's anti-gay career affects society at large or gay people nearly as much as omnipresent assumptions and stereotypes about hot man sex or whatever do, even if they appear to be relatively harmless and played for laughs, and that valuing person x's bad, bad public career against the dysfunctionality of their personal lives in order to feel good about condemning something is such a red herring. i mean, i'm not the one who's comparing ethical sums here! x-post

i'm afraid i don't understand what you mean there.

what i said was, yes, i made a judgement, but then wondered if the judgement is fair, and wondered if the public/private split really matters

Dear Matt P: No

The rentboy lulz I've seen don't seem any more specifically homophobic than the Ashley Dupré lulz tbh. Whereas...

During a presentation on research conducted by George A. Rekers, professor of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science at the University of South Carolina, the presenters noted that “boys and girls adopted by lesbian and homosexual couples show a greater level of stress than that which is already generated by their status as orphans or children abandoned by their biological parents.” They added that this situation “produces diverse trauma and behavioral disorders that can even lead to suicidal tendencies or attempts.”

“According to various studies containing testimonies from children of homosexual parents, most them of admit to suffering strong emotions, such as fear, anxiety, apprehension, shame and anger in trying to hide from their friends and relatives the homosexuality of their father or mother,” they continued.

http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=ab3efae8-b9bf-4269-828b-13604acaa059

ha, then i agree with you. i get annoyed by the schadenfreude in instances like this and i'm trying to articulate why. not arguing w/ anyone per se. it might sound like it just cuz it bugs me.

x-post ok, i was waiting for someone to give an example! the guy can go fuck himself obviously. but i still think there's a better way to deal w/ the damage of "research" like that than to hang the author for being a fuck-up. i think it's good to know to clear the air for some, but it doesn't really change any opinions imo, or self-opinions. it's not like it has to. but when people think it's more important than it is or proves something that it doesn't -- not thinking of anyone here -- then it's annoying and wrong imo

there's more homophobia in media rentboy jokes than reker's entire career

I think I might get what you're saying. More or less homophobia, I don't know, but whereas Reker's homophobia is considered unacceptable, it seems pretty OK to mock the hustler boy and whatever you imagine he did with Reker.

One of my best friends just told me he went out on a date with "Lucien" last year.

date or "date"?

He wouldn't say, but they're still friends.

I'm not very fond of Miami New Times' coverage of this, btw.

A few commenters there have brought up a key point -- how exactly did the MNT reporters know to look for them in the first place?

It's an excellent question, and the answer may prove interesting, but it's hard to pay attention when the man himself is sending amateur-hour letters to Miami New Times like this one:

Dear [reporter who got the ball rolling],

If today's news story in the Miami New Times is accurate, I have been advised to retain the services of a defamation attorney in this matter, because the fact is that I am not gay and never have been.

My travel assistant called me this afternoon earnestly asking me to clarify on my website that he worked for me as a travel companion and not as a prostitute. I completely agreed with my travel assistant that it is absolutely true that I hired him and he worked for me as a travel companion and not as a prostitute. I also read to him the first sentence that has been posted on my website for several days that says, "A recent article in an alternative newspaper cleverly gave false impressions of inappropriate behavior because of its misleading innuendo, incorrectly implying that Professor George Rekers used the Rentboy website to hire a prostitute to accompany him on a recent trip."

Two days ago a professor friend of mine recommended that I ask my travel assistant to send me an email saying what happened on the trip so I could post a statement on what we agreed on. When I called my travel assistant to ask if he would write a statement to me, he asked me to send him questions to remind him of what topics about our trip he should write to me about, which I did on May 4.

Here are the four questions that I sent my travel assistant at his request two days ago, together with the answers we agreed on in our phone conversation this afternoon:

1. Did Dr. Rekers in fact hire you to lift my luggage when necessary as a travel assistant during the trip, because I cannot do so myself since I had surgery?
Together we agreed that I in fact hired him to lift luggage when necessary as a travel assistant during the trip, because I cannot do so himself since having surgery. We agreed that this is what my travel assistant agreed to do for pay prior to taking the trip.

2. Did you in fact lift my luggage during the trip each time it was necessary, or did Dr Rekers lift his own luggage during the trip?
We agreed that my travel assistant did in fact lift my luggage each time it was necessary, that I did not lift my luggage, and my travel assistant did all the lifting.

3. Did Dr. Rekers hire you as a prostitute for the trip?
We agreed that I hired him as a companion and to help with luggage, and that I did not hire him as a prostitute for any sexual purpose.

4. Did Dr. Rekers spend time explaining how the Christian faith is based in love to you during the trip?
We agreed that I explained the Christian faith to my travel assistant in conversations on several days during the trip.

Sincerely,
George A. Rekers, Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science Emeritus
University of South Carolina School of Medicine
Fellow, American Academy of Clinical Psychology
Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, American Board of Professional Psychology

together with the answers we agreed on in our phone conversation this afternoon:

Truly wonderous stuff, that.

completely agreed with my travel assistant that it is absolutely true that I hired him and he worked for me as a travel companion and not as a prostitute.

Admirably legal prose.

that letter is amazing

And then there's this.

The conversation was too sad, by then, and we couldn't bear to follow it. The whole thing felt pornographic. One of us took a bathroom break; the other of us left the couch and stood by a window.

oh fuck off

The NT reporters were practically getting massages too throughout.

Maybe all four of them are in on it.

thankin u rekers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K63GUKF9EOc

so wait people actually say things like "I'm getting pressured out of the gay community"?

I guess they do when they are actually getting pressured out of the gay community.

4. Did Dr. Rekers spend time explaining how the Christian faith is based in love to you during the trip?
We agreed that I explained the Christian faith to my travel assistant in conversations on several days during the trip.

Mostly the 'Love thy neighbor' part.

it was sort of disconcerting to get to the bottom of that article and have this ad sitting next to it:

http://imagec12.247realmedia.com/RealMedia/ads/Creatives/TheVoice/mia_House-BOM_050510_300b_ROS/mia_House-BOM_050510_300b_ROS.gif

Yeah, I though Angel was the worst "Rent" character too...why put him in that ad?

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2010/05/my-interview-with-jo-vanni-roman.html

'He was definitely totally gay for me.'

"Well, I do have to get up early for an interview. You know that guy, the gay reporter on TV?"

Hahaha - that's great. I think I have a crush on Jo-Vanni.

Or maybe it's a desire to protect him.

http://chazonator.blogspot.com/2010/05/i-am-original-reker-rent-boy.html

This is turning into some Tiger Woods bullshit.

Furthermore, Rekers is no Pastor Ted Haggard. Those who know me are aware that Ted Haggard has become a friend of mine. I believe Ted Haggard is a faithful husband to his wife. He is a dedicated Christian, and he is no enemy of gays.

wait what

I felt an attraction to Pastor Ted the first moment I laid eyes on him. I wanted him, and I couldn’t help myself. I knew he was married and I knew it was wrong, but I wanted this man and I was determined to get him. I thought of ways to let him know how I felt. I planned how I would test him and see if he wanted me to. I fantasized about having an affair with Pastor Ted Haggard. For as much as my hard cock wanted it my conscience wouldn’t allow me to make a move on him. I gave him every opportunity to make an advancement on me. I remember waking up and finding him reading the bible on his treo, which is an older kind of I-phone. He would pace back and forth, in his boxers, and pray. One morning, I woke up with wood, and I saw him pacing back and forth. He was wearing different underware this time. They were tight and white. I could see the full impression of his cock and I swear, I almost came on myself just looking at him. As he walked back and forth his huge cock moved with his left leg and his balls jiggled inside his package. I couldn’t stop starring at him, and when he almost caught me I pretended that I was praying too. I was praying. Praying he would fuck me!

what the fuck blog is this

On the interwebs, no one knows u r lyin.

his balls jiggled inside his package

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6ysl_lq7IU

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2010/05/_despite_what_anti-gay_evangel.php

Also, this, asking a lot of the same questions raised here at points:

http://blog.unzipped.net/2010/05/what-a-mess-george-rekers-miami-new-times-penn-bullock-brandon-k-thorp-and-rentboy-jovanni-roman.html

The editor wrote this in the comments section:

Chuck Strouse says:
I am the editor of Miami New Times. No money was paid to a source in this story and nothing unethical or illegal was done. Our reporters have no personal relationship with anyone involved in the story. For anything more, read the stories that will continue to appear on our website and in print.

Meantime, the two reporters tell their side of the story.

his balls jiggled inside his package

um, ow?

I just...

Thorp and Bullock went about the task of writing their story methodically. First, it was not Roman that tipped them off to the lead the young man was in Europe with Rekers. Instead, it was a friend of Roman’s, who was an ‘authorized user’ of his e-mail account. Apparently, while reviewing Roman’s contacts, he came upon the escort’s famous client, and contacted his friend, Bullock. His goal was to expose Rekers, a married man, for hiring a male escort.

Kinda inevitable:

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/05/rekers_resigns_from_board_of_ex-gay_group_narth.php?ref=tn

Meantime, more 'how the story happened' stuff:

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2010-05-13/news/how-george-alan-rekers-and-his-rent-boy-got-busted-by-new-times/

The two guys standing nearby make the young man even more uneasy. One of them holds a hot-pink digital camera, and both are trying hard not to look his way. They keep stealing glances, which the young man tries to ignore.

more slash fiction, I see.