You can purchase an autographed copy of Anything But Straight by sending a $35 check or money order to:
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Wayne Besen
PO Box 25491
Brooklyn, NY 11202
If you want to get a good morning laugh, check out funny man Peterson Toscano's take on Zach's latest blog and the way the media, gay and anti-gay advocates are trying to read the tea leaves. For those who don't know the story, poor little Zach came out to his parents and they whisked him away to an ex-gay boot camp.
3 Comments:
That was a great post, but bear in mind Peterson wrote that after Zach up up his "New Blog" post, and before his more recent update to it. There are things in that update I'd really like to hear both Wayne and Peterson talk about. Not to analyze the poor kid, I agree he needs people to respect him and just let him speak for himself insted of trying to put thoughts into his head. Jeeze...you can understand he's probably had more then enough of people doing that to him. But its the situation with kids and places like Refuge in general you're seeing there, that is interesting.
In the more recent update Zach talks about how he's not allowed to be with his friends unless there is at least one other male in the group, how his parents are watching what he posts, and his anger after his father told him he didn't want him blogging any more. I thought Wayne would understand the part about No Female Only Groups since it touches on one of those new theories about "de-mystifying maleness" the ex-gay deep thinkers are onto these days.
Zach also mentioned in his recent update how good it felt to be in the company of the other "clients", who he could talk to without being judged. If you saw the recent news about the BBC telecast "Sad To Be Gay" you know that a British guy was in there recently trying to go the ex-gay route, and he left in part after becoming disturbed at the presence of a 16 year old girl who was, like Zach, there against her will. I am wondering if the other clients Zach is talking about in that update, who actually wanted to be there, were as disturbed as that British guy was at seeing a gay teen in there against his will. This is sheer speculation on my part, and Wayne would understand the dynamics going on there a lot better then me, but I wonder if maybe the other adult clients may have been a bit protective of Zach while he was there.
I've heard chatter from Zach's Memphis friends to the effect that he wants to stay as far away from Smid now as possible. But he said in that update to his "New Blog" post, that he really enjoyed the company of the other clients, and that they were the only good thing about his having to go there. It would be really interesting to know what those other adult clients thought when they say a gay teen in there against his will. I wonder if they even knew Smid was doing that.
You know...gay teens really don't have many adult gays they can talk to. There are so many issues there regarding child abuse and the label of being child molesters that gays are always tarred with, that make the community very relecutant to deal with the needs of gay teens. It would be a really ironic, and sad thing, if the only gay adults that one poor kid in Memphis has been able to freely talk to and feel like he wasn't being judged in any way, were the ones trying hard not to be gay in Love In Action.
posted by Anonymous, at
8/18/2005 10:20 AM
