Exodus Board Member Joins Nazi Revisionist At Uganda Conference

Jim Burroway

February 24th, 2009

A Uganda-based anti-gay group has announced that American Nazi revisionist and anti-gay extremist Scott Lively will appear at a three day conference in Kampala, Uganda beginning on March 5th.

Exodus Board member Don Schmierer

Exodus Board member Don Schmierer

Joining him will be Exodus International board member Don Schmierer. He heads a group called His Servants, and is the author of five books related to ex-gay counseling. He’s been quite a globe-trotter lately, having traveled to Seoul, South Korea, in March of last year, as well as to the Ukraine last summer.

Also joining them will Caleb Lee Brundidge, a staff member at Richard Cohen’s International Healing Foundation, which advocates the controversial “holding” or “touch” therapy to cure homosexuality.

Scott Lively is co-founder of the international anti-gay extremist group, Watchmen On the Walls, which has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group. He is also the author of The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party, in which he writes that “the Nazi Party was entirely controlled by militaristic male homosexuals throughout its short history.” In other words, it was gay people who brought World War II to Europe, built the gas chambers, and sent as many as twelve million people to their deaths.

Scott Lively speaking at a Watchmen conference in Riga, Latvia

Scott Lively speaking at a Watchmen conference in Riga, Latvia

Lively’s brand of rhetoric is unusually vitriolic, even by some of the more ardent anti-gay standards. He regularly describes gays as being sick and “followers of the Father of Lies.” When the Watchmen On the Walls held a rally in Novosibirsk, Russia, Lively excused Satander Singh’s murder in Sacramento. Lively contends that “civilization and homosexuals” are engaged in a full-blown war, which is part of the Devil’s design to destroy civilizations:

There is a war that is going on in the world. There is a war that is waging across the entire face of the globe. It’s been waging in the United States for decades, and it’s been waging in Europe for decades. It’s a war between Christians and homosexuals. … Now, the homosexual movement has been winning this war in the United States, and it has been winning this war in Europe. And we’re looking at the future collapse of Western civilization.

This sort of extremist, paranoid rhetoric will probably go down well at in Kampala. Stephen Langa, Director of Kampala-based Family Life Network which is organizing the event, sees gay people posing the familiar sinister threats to children:

[Langa] says homosexuals in the country were boosted by a December 2008 Court victory which declared that it is unconstitutional to discriminate against homosexuals and that they should enjoy the same rights as enjoyed by other Ugandans.

Langa in a statement today said several homosexual groups are active in Uganda and are busy recruiting school boys and girls at an alarming rate using a variety of methods.

Lively struck up a friendship with Langa (PDF: 1.7MB/22 pages) during a tour of the African content Lively undertook in 2002. Like Lively, Langa is not immune to spreading demonstrably false conspiracy theories on this so-called recruitment drive (PDF: 8 pages):

In most cases, porn is a tool used by the homosexuals as the first step toward introducing homosexuality (sex between people of the same sex) to a conservative society like Uganda. They know that if they come directly, they will not be accepted, So what they do is introduce pornography first to that society. The porn then corrupts the minds and morals of that society. After that goal has been achieved, they then introduce homosexuality as an acceptable alternative to heterosexual (sex between a man and a woman) sex. This is because it is much easier to introduce homosexuality to a porn addict than a non-consumer of porn. For example, the founder of Playboy Magazine, was a self-professed homosexual.

In 2004, Langa spoke out more specifically on what he sees as the threat to schoolchildren:

“FLN has also found out that homosexuality and lesbianism are spreading like wild fire in schools,” Langa said.  “There is rape inside schools and sex among students themselves. We have also found incest and cases of teachers molesting children and a lot of abortions,” he added.  Much of the promiscuity is germinating from viewing pornography in the media and the Internet and blue movies.  “If nothing is done to address the present state of affairs, the present generation of parents will find themselves having to bury their children instead of their children burying them,” Langa stressed.

This conference will be taking place on very dangerous ground for LGBT citizens and residents of Uganda. Martin Ssempa, the influential evangelical pastor at Makerere Community Church, has called for open season on LGBT people:

August 2007, Ssempa led hundreds of his followers through the streets of Kampala to demand that the government mete out harsh punishments against gays. “Arrest all homos,” read placards. And: “A man cannot marry a man.” Ssempa continued his crusade online, publishing the names of Ugandan gay rights activists on a website he created, along with photos and home addresses. “Homosexual promoters,” he called them, suggesting they intended to seduce Uganda’s children into their lifestyle. Soon afterwards, two of President Yoweri Museveni’s top officials demanded the arrest of the gay activists named by Ssempa. Terrified, the activists immediately into hiding.

This is no idle threat. Homosexuality is officially illegal in Uganda. Conviction can lead to a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, while sodomy carries a penalty of fourteen years to life.

Click here to see BTB’s complete coverage of recent anti-gay developments in Uganda.

quo III

February 24th, 2009

The expression “Holocaust revisionist” is usually used to refer to someone who denies that the Holocaust occured. As this is not Lively’s position, what is the justification for applying the term to him? It’s misleading and creates confusion.

John

February 24th, 2009

I thought that Hugh Hefner founded Playboy magazine and is very much a committed heterosexual?

werdna

February 24th, 2009

Much as I despise Scott Lively (and I was doing that way back in the ’80s when he was just one of the main kooks in the OCA!), I think quo’s right that “Holocaust revisionist” isn’t the right term to describe him. That term is generally preferred by Holocaust deniers who consider the term “denier” to be pejorative. As quo says, Lively doesn’t claim the Holocaust didn’t happen, he just blames the gays.

Lively could properly be described as a historical revisionist because he presents an unorthodox (and asinine) interpretation of events, but being a historical revisionist is not, in itself, a bad thing. As with any historical work, it depends on the quality of the scholarship. In Lively’s case, he’s guilty of very bad scholarship.

Also, you might want to check your reference to the deaths of “12 million people in the gas chambers.” While the figure for how many non-combat deaths the Nazis were responsible for varies depending on what criteria are employed for counting, gas chambers were just one of numerous gruesome ways people died at the hands of the Nazis. I’m pretty sure the figure for gas chambers alone is much lower than 12 million. I know this is getting into niggling territory, but when you start off by accusing someone of being a Holocaust revisionist it’s wise to be careful with your own historical claims.

That aside, I want to say how much I appreciate the consistent focus on Africa on this site. Your posts about happenings on that continent don’t always generate as many comments as ones focusing on North American and European events, but they are very valuable, nonetheless.

MADG

February 24th, 2009

I think of Lively as a crypto-historian… among other things.

Jim Burroway

February 24th, 2009

Thanks for the critiques. I’ve changed his description to “Nazi revisionist” and modified the description of how people died.

AJD

February 24th, 2009

I think “theocratic fascist” would describe Mr. Lively accurately.

Timothy Kincaid

February 24th, 2009

For example, the founder of Playboy Magazine, was a self-professed homosexual.

82 year old Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy, currently has three girlfriends, two of whom are 19 year old identical twins. From all accounts, Hef is still quite sexually active and is very very heterosexual.

As for being “a self-professed homosexual”, Hefner reportedly tried sex once with a guy (he received oral stimulation) and while he found it interesting, once was enough.

Even the most strident of raging homophobes should break out in giggles at the idea that Hugh Hefner is gay. If something this nutty doesn’t completely discredit Langa, I don’t know what would.

Jason D

February 24th, 2009

From what I understand “Holocaust Denier” applies to:

– People who say the holocaust never happened.
– People who say the facts about the holocaust (number killed, intent to kill, that gays were rounded up with the jews and other “undesirables”) are not accurate.

They “deny” the truth of the holocaust in whole, or in parts.

And from what I’ve read “Holocaust Revisionist” is the term deniers prefer, as it lends credibility to their claims. Much how Anti-gays prefer the term “family values” to describe their philosophy. Actual historians, using facts, often find that some claims about history are not entirely accurate, and as new evidence emerges, it refines and modifies our understanding: this is historical revision, and is a well-accepted part of historical research and development.
“Holocaust Revisionists” start from the point of view that the holocaust did NOT happen, or was greatly falsified or exaggerated, and search for evidence to support this theory while ignoring, dismissing, or attempting to discredit legit sources.

For this reason, historical revisionists avoid using the term “Holocaust Revisionism” to describe their legitimate work. It has been tainted by the intellectual slight-of-hand of Deniers.

Holocaust Denier is, in my opinion, the most accurate about Lively, as he denies the facts about homosexual persecution by the Nazis, as I mentioned above, “Holocaust Denier” applies also to those who believe the holocaust happened, but deny well-established details about it’s scope, implementation, or victims.

AJD

February 24th, 2009

It’s worth noting that the Southern Poverty Law Center refers to “The Pink Swastika” as a work of Holocaust revisionism.

SharonB

February 24th, 2009

Uganda,
Jamaica,

both on my DO NOT VISIT list.

mike/

February 24th, 2009

sometimes i think that i may have been living under a rock for most of my life.

in the back of my head, when i read these things, i wonder if these people have ever “met” let alone known any one lgbtq.

in my many years, i don’t recall meeting people as they describe. i have not considered myself to be any kind of predator nor any of my friends either.

i don’t think that these people are ignorant; i believe that they are idiots – too stupid to even know they are ignorant.

oh, by the way, it was a group of 9-year olds i taught one year who came up with that definition of an “idiot”. they were much smarter than… well, these idiots…

David C.

February 24th, 2009

[I] don’t think that these people are ignorant; i believe that they are idiots – too stupid to even know they are ignorant. —mike

Who is to say whom is the bigger idiot, the idiot himself or the idiots who follow him. Lively is a very dangerous individual as long as there are those that lend what he says any credibility whatsoever. That Lively’s nonsense gets any traction tells us a lot about the nature of deeply seated bigotry, and how easily those that follow blindly are far more deadly as instruments of the fantastic lies he and those of his ilk make up.

John

February 24th, 2009

Since Alan Chambers and Randy Thomas have not denounced Don Schmierer’s support for Mr. Lively and his advocacy of violence against gays and lesbians, I guess these sort of views are perfectly acceptable in the Exodus Organization.

Perhaps Alan and Randy would be a little less comfortable with all this if they were in a crowd of rabid homophobes being whipped up by Lively’s violent rhetoric. Randy and Alan might realize that they presented more obvious targets for the crowd than me and my boyfriend.

quo III

February 25th, 2009

I think “Nazi Revisionist” is actually worse than “Holocaust Revisionist.” It looks as though it suggests that Lively is a Nazi. I know that this isn’t what Jim is trying to suggest, but even so, that’s how it comes across.

jerome

February 26th, 2009

Its like you people are just haters of peoples oppions and views. because someone does not support homosexuality cannot be named anything evil.
this man is welcome to uganda, where his views will find a fertile ground. i will assure that after the conference many ugandan will se the truth. how long shall we be under the dominance of the west. you think all that is good in your contries are good in our country! on contrary. we have right to listern to his views and we make a right discion.
jerome in Kampala.

Stephen

March 1st, 2009

Dear Jerome,
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, I couldn’t agree more with you.

However, I would like to say that it is very very sad that a beautiful country like Uganda, with it’s widespread culture of tolerance(true), live and let live attitude, is being slowly but surely led down a track of hatred, intolerance and widespread misinformation.

This conference is the greatest example of neo-colonialism, an american jetting in to incite the discrimination of a part of the Ugandan people. He is coming to make money by playing into people’s greatest fears, the so-called gay agenda, recruitment, molestation, rape. And unfortunately he will be listened to because he is white (yes, that counts a hell of a lot in our very stil colonized minds) and american and saying exactly what they want to hear.How about corruption,poverty, AIDS, education and other issues that really require our time and money.

Have you heard of the decision by Burundi’s senate to repeal a bil that would have criminalised homosexuality.Is Burundi any less African than Uganda? Or has Burundi realised, after much suffering, that discrimination of any kind is dangerous and sets precedents for other human rights violations. The civil liberties of gays cannot be stripped away because they are different and these standards are UNIVERSAL.

To others on this thead, I want to say that people like Schmierer are dangerous and in their battle for power hey care not if they endanger the very livelihoods if not lives of a community that is already at risk. I am scared and I have reasons to be.
Stephen, Kampala

Father Anthony

March 15th, 2009

It is preposterous that the anti-gay lobby in Africa continues to misuse christian scriptures and doctrine to rabble-rouse.

Though we christians tend to lament secularization, one of its benefits is that it ensures zero tolerance of this kind of nonsensical religiosity, which demonises a section of the population.

Though we may still be quite spiritual in Africa(or so we think) we must go thru the pain of making our own discourse on the subject of homosexuality, using reason, discussion, and research as tools to aid our faith.Most importantly, a level of respect for differnt opinions must be evident at each stage.

We must also contextualize the sexuality debate to Africas other current challenges, since political and social forces are very key to the questions being formulated just now.

Although the Church is unlikely to accept same sex relationships, and appeals to scripture and tradition for its arguments, the fact remains that in every denomination in Africa, from orthodox to pentecostal, gays abound and not in small numbers, whether ‘out’ or closeted, with all the other sinners…

Some are active and some are not.All contribute also positively to the Life of the church in their albeit ”imperfect” state. The myth of ‘corrupting gays’ is based on fear and ignorance, but is one of those arguments that gets the hate juices flowing especially in the less informed and so makes rabble-rousing the easier.

Unfortunately the huge stigma associated with gayness in Africa means that many African christian gays will continue to be in denial about their sexuality and will often join the baying throng of theological anti-homosexuals who are becoming numerous, as they are dangerous.There is a kind of latent violence in their utterances, which is to me the opposite of Christian love. Father Anthony, Uganda

grantdale

March 15th, 2009

Father Anthony, thank-you for your words (and welcome, from us).

There is always going to be something interesting about someone who can start their history with “born on June 26, 1956 to Ugandan parents in Dublin, Ireland”.

(“Black Irish” — in the obvious sense!)

While good people can always wonder what and where our collective thoughts can take us, we always may be reminded of that universal Golden Rule: we all wish to be treated with honest kindness, and so must we also seek to treat others with honest kindness.

(We all fail, at times. But in our imperfection may we also fail without truly harming others.)

Despite our obvious impatience at times, we (who don’t live in Uganda) do also realise the burden on those who hope and work for change within Uganda. We all hope you may work to end ignorance, and fear, and violence. None should exist in a beautiful country.

You are in our thoughts, along with all those others who stand with you as brothers and sisters. They do need your support.

Our best wishes,

G&D

Aisha

April 17th, 2009

Oh thank God, that people like Sharon, should never step in our countries with their evil cultures-stay there and die like vampires, who cares if you people dont come, and Stephen with your Western civilisation leave us alone with our ignorance. If we are ignorant as you guys say, then why are you fighting tooth and nail to propagate your cultures in the whole world.

‘Smoking might not take you to hell quickly but it will make you smell like you have just been there’.
You know very well what’s to go carnal knoweledge you guys even though you are hiding the truth-its because you are possessed…….

William

October 15th, 2009

“I think ‘Nazi Revisionist’ is actually worse than ‘Holocaust Revisionist.’ It looks as though it suggests that Lively is a Nazi.”

Well, Quo III, Lively is certainly a Nazi Revisionist in the sense that he maintains that the Nazi persecution of gays as such didn’t take place, that the persecution was only of “effeminate” homosexuals, and that “non-effeminate” homosexuals were responsible for it.

Lively has also been busy encouraging the Ugandans to treat homosexual people in a very similar way to the way that the Nazis treated us, so if he’s not a Nazi, he’s something rather like one.

rcbarron

January 11th, 2010

We are all forgetting, facts and scholarship have nothing to do with anything. These guys know that lies and deception gain them what they want and unfortunately too many people are too ready to believe them. This is the problem. This is exactly the way the Bush administration worked…and it works!!! If only for so long.

So we have to do a better job messaging and less worrying about whether the messenger that has evil intent is telling the truth or who he is. Unfortunately most don’t seem to care, they only drink the rhetoric and act on it while we sit around and pompously talk about them being frauds. Rove taught them to shape and make up reality and we need to realize that is what we are dealing with and forget about scholarship! I promise you there is a capitalist angle to all this pandering…look deeper..bet there is something else behind their sudden concern for Uganda.

mitchell hirsch

February 17th, 2010

I am Jewish and Gay, perhaps giving me some inate insight into what’s going on. For one thing, the Holocaust: I’ve heard it all, Jews did it, Gays did it, Stalin did it for propoganda, Catholics did it, ect. OK. (“they” say) about 3 million Jews in Poland in 1933.About half a million Jews in Germany. Etc, Ect, Ect. Look at Europe today. There are I believe about 4,000 Jews now in Poland. In many parts of Eastern Europe, the people still, today, insist the Jews rule the world, and conspire to do so. I am from NYC. I know Jews, and Gays. I have never, ever, heard of this so-called conspiracy. Logically, that must mean either the Gays are anti-semetic, or the Jews are all homophobic, or both.
Only I it seems have heard anti-semetic, homophobic slurs, know the Ho;ocaust happened, have known survivors, with tatoos. My parents, and grandarents, and those of most of my Jewish friends growing up say they knew about the killings during the War.WWII veterans claim they saw the camps in Germany.
“after all that’s happened, I still believe people are basically good” Anne Frank

I give up,Let’s say not a single straight , German, Caucasian, Christian Laid a finger on a single Jew from 1933 to 1945. OK? So, what are we to do about this? Why, we must kill all the Jews for this fraud. Yes? Gays are from the devil. Let’s kill anyone we know is Gay. Why it would almost be as wonderfull as Iran? Or maybe even medieval Europe. Let’s burn witches while we’re at it. Burn all the Pornography.

And round and round we go.

Lou

May 20th, 2010

It’s amazing how religion is so easily overlooked as a mental disorder when in fact if you look closer you’ll see that its traditions are kept alive through mental slavery, abuse, promise of an unproven afterlife and a easy power grab for those who seek to rule over the feeble guilt ridden minds who believe out of fear and early childhood conditioning.

This is the true definition of evil that no one speaks of.

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