Comments on: Year in review – Top ten stories from 2006

By: Warren Throckmorton » Blog Archive » Year in review: Top Ten Stories from 2007

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 17:57:00 +0000

[...] it was so much fun last year, I decided to compile a top ten list of stories of the year on the blog. Since I am the only voter, [...]

By: Warren

Warren — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 04:27:58 +0000

Indeed, it is but some of these matters were covered extensively in other venues. Where is your radar aimed?

By: jag

jag — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 22:09:46 +0000

As for “stories of the year,” I was surprised to read your listing. As someone involved, these haven’t even crossed my radar or my colleagues. Perhaps it is all in the eyes of the beholder….and after all…it is your blog.

By: Boo

Boo — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 23:31:46 +0000

I must agree with Bussee and the anonymis’ choices for story of the year. Mainly because… well, you know why.

My humility is my best asset. I’m very proud of my humility.

By: Michael Bussee

Michael Bussee — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 22:51:56 +0000

I applaud both of you for the stand you took relative to the Berger and Schoenewolf debacles. NARTH has a lot of work to do to restore what (very little) cridibility it may have had before these articles, posted on their official website, came to light.

By: David Blakeslee

David Blakeslee — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 05:38:30 +0000

Michael,

I don’t think homosexuality needs to be reclassified as a mental illness for my point to be made. I think over time encouraging clinicians to be nuanced in their approach to same sex attactions and to include religious value systems in that in that process is potentially the biggest story of the year.

I do not require that gay activists abandon their agenda or that gay affirming therapists abandon their work. So, I think, it is potentially very even handed. If the APA does change to acknowledge diversity in this area it will be a 3-7 year process and we will only know I was right after the fact.

Regarding NARTH. It is a big story and a credit to Warren’s integrity that he took it head on and dealt with a lot of fall out because of it that many readers here know nothing about.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 04:42:58 +0000

Hands down, the story of the year is NARTH’s posting of two offensive and inaccurate articles on their website and then the poor handling of them.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 19:13:01 +0000

I agree with Bussee, the story of the year is the expose’ of NARTH.

By: Michael Bussee

Michael Bussee — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 18:30:53 +0000

Oops! My apologies for the numerous typos, above, My vision is still not completely restored. Thanks for allowing me to post.

By: Michael Bussee

Michael Bussee — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 18:28:27 +0000

I disagree. I think the APA event was a thinly veiled attempt to get the APA to re-classify homosexuality as a mental illnes and to acknowledge NARTH as a “scientitic” organization. No such luck. The APA (wisely) refused to budge on either point, repeating that NARTH had NO good scientific basis for reparative therapy and that such therapy may acytally do harm top clients.

In repsonse to the NARTH/EXODUS protest, the APA reiterated that clinicians have an ethical responsibilty to make clients aware of BOTH these points — while at the same time affirming a client’s “right to self-determination”. By the way, I have never suggested that clients don’t have a “right” to try reparative therapy. But the fact that that they HAVE a right doesn’t MAKE it right. Every gay person I know has gone trough some period during which they were unhappy being gay and desired some sort of change. That proves nothing, except the teriible negative impact of social and religious prejudice.

In my view, those who benevolently volunteer to help such gays “change” are just prepetuating internalized self-loathing. I believe their altruism is misguided — based on a misinterpreation of Scripture and their own religiouys/pilitical bias. AFter decades of trying, there is still NO good evidence that any therapeutic approach has actually switched a person’s sexual orientation from gay to straight. Even EXODUS admits that “Ex-gay” doesn’t mean “ex–homosexual”. (Joe Dallas)

The story of the year was the defection of Throckmorton and Blakeslee (among others) for NARTH’s poor editorial judgement and stubborn refusal to take full responsibility for its outrageous “experts” (Berger and Schoenewolf). They still have not made it right. I suspect they will try to re-write 2006 and claim it never happened. SHAME on NARTH for the blunders of 2006.