You definitely run with the wrong crowd. You need to find yourself some less angry and hostile people to be around.

Remember, though, if you want to be around pleasant, friendly, nice and happy people, you’ve gotta put out pleasant, friendly, nice and happy. People tend to gravitate to those who are similar in outlook and attitude.

Next time our crowd goes to the UofA hockey game (the good guys lost last night, by the way), you should come along.

Okay, our team lost so maybe last night wouldn’t have been a good example. But I know of a real kickin’ Christmas party next weekend.

-Disputed Mutability: This seems to me to be a serious communication problem. I think those driving past the protesters would find the messages they heard at LWO confirmed rather than undermined by what they saw.

-Jim Burroway: This is the fundamentals of marketing 101, and we’re failing miserable.

-Timothy Kincaid: Careful Jim. With these sorts of comments you may become the new Marshall Kirk or Hunter Madsen

Lol. Here, here, Timothy. We certainly wouldn’t want anyone to know about our conspiracy plan to openly achieve equality.
~~~

To the point though, I agree with the “communication problem” portion of the problem.

How much does it cost to make 10,000 copies of your own DVD these days?

You guys are already making videos.

Why not make a short video highlighting the lies and flaws of Love Won Out, and pass those out at protests?

It would seem that with such a gesture, neither side would feel pressured to be prepared to engage the other in any confrontational way. Any confrontation could be directed toward watching the video and / or included contact information.

And in addition, each year we can fling out our unused inventory at gay pride parades.

© Paul Cameron needs to be made a household name productions.

(Thoroughly enjoyed reading it too DM – thanks. Better you, and Jim, than me!)

This struck me as “the guts”.

Difficult words? No, that’s the funny thing. The words themselves are quite easy. It’s the living of the thing that is hard … don’t see how it would be made easier for anyone by what Focus had to teach and offer that day. That was the biggest gaping hole in the conference … virtually no practical content on how to live … no counsel on how to support someone else (like your child! hello parents!) in doing so. Everything was directed towards “healing,” towards attraction change, towards making it all go away.

This betrays — along with much else that DM mentioned, and regardless of what disclaimers are made — what LWO intends.

Far from a focus on “strugglers” (or whatever they’re self-identifying as today), we have instead a primary aim of mis-presenting homosexuality and gay people.

Plainly it isn’t intended that the audience walk away with some refreshing “new” ideas about how to love and support anyone in conflict (on this, or any other matter).

Nope, what you’ll hopefully walk away with is a deep feeling of sadness and pity for those poor pathetic people; so misguided, such lost souls that we need not even bother respecting them.

And with an attitude like that, so much else is therefore possible. In a passive, but nevertheless still aggressive, way.

ie we no longer, in this day and age, think it acceptable to call gay people “low-life”.

Instead, we now want you to burst into tears and weep for how their lives could have fallen so low.

A low-life. A low life.

What a difference punctuation makes…

It can say:

-I’m not actually upset, my face is just shaped this way.

-I’m mad at you.

-I’m an angry person.

-I’m a sad person.

-I’m a lonely person.

Left to their own devices, what do you think a confused parent is going to believe about that frowning gay activist?

I think Disputed Mutability is pointing out the old adage, you get more flies with honey than with vinegar.

You can’t really counter confusion with anger.

I infiltrated LWO in Sacramento a few years ago by obtaining press credentials issued by our Sacramento gay press. While FOF was reluctant to allow access they did so knowing it would cause bad publicity not to allow it.

By being press the conference fee was waved.

I wore my rainbow flag jacket and made sure everyone I interviewed up front knew I was representing the gay press.

Also I was able to talk to John Paulik, Frank Worthen and other leaders of the ex-gay movement.

It was all I could do to keep from asking Paulik, “Child, if God has healed you of homosexuality, how come he left you with all of the symtoms?”

He did not have a butch bone in his body. :)

No doubt you think Ex-Gay Watch and Box Turtle Bulletin are part of the vast antigay conspiracy because we both dare to suggest that anger and judgment are sometimes not the best methods of communicating the truth to the public.

Perhaps you’re one of those on “the opposing side”?

DM I think you hit the nail on the head:
“it’s a mistake to confuse the LWO organizers, presenters, and exhibitors with the variety of ordinary people attending the conference for one reason or another.”

Look, there are parents, friends, relatives of gay men & women who are at these conferences because they are completely conflicted and they want to figure out in their own minds how they can help ‘correct’ their loved one. They want to believe their Bible and their church’s position on homosexuality.

What they don’t realize is that ‘correction’ is not an option. But I guess for those with a bit of a mind, that would go without saying.

LWO and it’s various related conferences will continue to pursue a more ‘nice’ and ‘kind’ approach.

However, it won’t work because in the end, the reality of homosexuality as a normal state will override their derisive rhetoric.