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News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyMay 12th, 2010
The more Rekers speaks (or writes via email), the deeper he digs his hole. Earlier today Christianity Today followed up on George Rekers’ resignation from NARTH, in which, despite having paid an escort to, well, escort and nude-massage him through a ten-day trip to Europe, Rekers insists “I am not gay and never have been.” Sarah Pulliam Bailey got a follow-up statement from Rekers via email saying that he is currently receiving counselling from a team of three “Christian counsellors” (sound familiar?) “so I can more fully understand my weaknesses and prevent this kind of unwise decision-making in the future.”
What those weaknesses are, he would not say. But just so you know, he’s not gay and never has been.
Meanwhile Rekers says his wife will be retiring soon and will accompany him on trips when their sons are unavailable.
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anteros
May 12th, 2010
oh i think i get it… he’s not gay… he’s married, right? he’s just a married, same-sex attracted man who has sex (kinda sorta) with men, for a fee. on a hook-up website, that would probably be abbreviated as DL-SSA-MSM-$$$ or something like that… that’s not gay, right?
Maurice Lacunza
May 12th, 2010
Nice Anteros. Rekers says his wife will be retiring soon and will accompany him on trips…isn’t that what Ted Haggard put in place?
And, didn’t BTB call it out when they said he would do the usual game play: christian counselors, camp, forgiveness, and then join some off the beaten trail ministry?
Disgusting. The Christians really turn a blind eye to their own gay leaders but they burn at the stake the rest of us. Appalling.
queerunity
May 12th, 2010
I’m not gay either, my weakness is just that women don’t turn me on and men do.
Brian
May 12th, 2010
Yes, I too suffer from unwanted same-sex attraction. It’s just that I’m not the one who doesn’t want it…
Ben in Oakland
May 12th, 2010
Can a televised statement from him, iwth his wife standing behind ihm wearing sun glasses, be far behind?
Oh wait. Larry craig already did that.
I needed a wide stance to lift my luggage while I was hikin’ the appalachian trail to show that I’m not gay…
But my desires are still down on their knees in the mensroom at a park in florida.
or sumpin.
Lindoro Almaviva
May 12th, 2010
Come to think about it I am not gay either. It is just that every time I see a man with a hairy chest and a nice sculpted beard, and nice blue eyes and great hands and a nice firm….
No, I am not gay, never was, never will.
Unless Gil Marini comes calling, then I will be the gayest man in the face of the whole earth.
This is the perfect scenario to explain how things go from sad, to funny to pathetic in 7 days or less.
Brian
May 12th, 2010
Do you think next he’ll say he didn’t inhale?
Ben in Oakland
May 12th, 2010
Brian: it is very difficult to inhale if your throat is blocked. try it and you’ll see.
Silly.
Priya Lynn
May 12th, 2010
Rekers is the perfect symbol of the failure of the “exgay” movement. I’m unhappy with myself because I feel sorry for him – he’s spent his life living a farce and now in his 60’s instead of recognizing the futility of pretending not to be gay he’s going to waste what little’s left of his life continuing to struggle to please the bigots who’ve deprived him of happiness all these years.
Ben in Oakland
May 12th, 2010
Priya– they may have deprived him of happiness all these years– who knows?
but they certainly didn’t deprive him of an awful lot of cash. money can’t buy happiness, but it certainly helps.
Richard Rush
May 12th, 2010
“In a follow-up e-mail to Christianity Today, Rekers said that his wife will be retiring soon and will accompany him on trips when their sons are unavailable.”
Huh? Most men I know with working wives coordinate their vacation time to travel together. They don’t wait until their wives retire. And Rekers says, even after she retires, she will only accompany him when their sons are unavailable. Would she only be going to carry his luggage? If his sons were not available to go on his recent trip, why was it so urgent for him to travel during that exact time period whereby he was forced to hire a rentboy?
Rekers must still be shell-shocked from the revelations of his homosexuality, because every statement he makes is bizarre. Or maybe he is just so accustomed to spouting scientific/religious bullshit all his life and having his audience say amen.
B John
May 12th, 2010
Well Richard, he had to go at that exact moment because that particular rent boy was in dire need of Christian Counseling, which could only be done in a hotel in a foreign country. And besides, his wife wouldn’t want to be having to sit around the hotel lobby waiting on the counseling sessions to finish up.
And Rekers is just getting counseling to help him learn to make better decisions (like how to not get caught next time). You know, because after 60 years of putting himself in the public spotlight, and supposedly earning a PhD, he hasn’t managed to learn how to make good decisions for himself. It’s not counseling to make him straight…nope, already there.
A number of blog posters and commenters had previously written suggesting showing some pity for the guy, and not being so harsh in our judgement. They almost had me convinced. If this jerk would just show one ounce of humility, go quietly away, and STFU, maybe I could give him a chance to see if he has some redeeming qualities. I’m now seeing why all the judges kept dismissing his testimony as a waste of the courts time. So far, not one intelligent phrase has crossed his lips.
Jonathan Oz
May 12th, 2010
For what its worth I agree with Reker in his statement that he is not gay, but then for me, “gay” implies not merely a sexual orientation, but also an ease with and an acceptance of that sexual orientation.
By my definition, Reker has a homosexual sexual orientation, but the dear boy is galaxies away from being gay.
Timothy Kincaid
May 12th, 2010
B John,
I may have even more pity for him than if he did come to his senses. At least then he might have hope for a fulfilling future and the opportunity to reverse his damage.
Now he only has a life of empty yearning surrounded by disillusioned spouse, family, and friends to look forward to – all while knowing that he’s a fraud. What a miserable existence he’s selected for himself.
It is truly truly sad that this guy is incapable of facing the truth.
Norm!
May 12th, 2010
HUH? He is married?!? I somehow missed that from the coverage.
What medically-ailing husband ditches the wife and rents a boy to go on a European vacation? (Rhetorical question.)
Sounds like the Rekers have an untraditional marriage to me.
Maurice Lacunza
May 12th, 2010
To Richard Rush,
I think you are right about Rekers being shell shocked. The truth that he has hidden, and for expensive reasons, is out of the bag. He is for sure in shock, disbelief and reeling from shame and God knows what kind of accountability to whom. He is spouting some awfully bizarre stuff.
And, you are correct say that in the past, he may have been able to spout a few bible sounding excuses to his audience and they all said Amen to him. As a result his real behavior stayed hidden. Now, the problem is bigger and the real world is asking for the truth because of his anti-gay occupation. His family and church wants to believe his lies because the truth is unbearable to them: Gay people exist no matter how hard you try to fight it.
Lynn David
May 13th, 2010
Rekers may be bisexual or homosexual, but he is not gay. He doesn’t deserve to be called gay or use the label for himself unless he should come to that point of acceptance of his true self.
Lynn David
May 13th, 2010
http://www.jesusandmo.net/2010/05/07/ahem/
Jamie O\'Neill
May 13th, 2010
You’ve got to check out
http://teensextoday.wordpress.com/
It’s one of Rekers’ websites. The page is headed “Benefits of Forgiveness”. Here’s the text …
Forgiveness is an essential part of any relationship. Professor George has written an excellent article on the benefits of forgiveness within relationships. Check out the first two paragraphs of his article (you can purchase the full article below).
“Like everyone, there have been times that you and I have needed to forgive someone else. And, like everyone, you and I have had times when we’ve needed to be forgiven by someone we’ve offended.
Are there emotional and spiritual benefits to forgiving another person? What happens to our emotions when we decide not to forgive someone? Does experiencing forgiveness have the power to heal damaged emotions or heal a serious psychological disorder? There are some striking and sometimes surprising answers to these kinds of questions…â€
DN
May 13th, 2010
When Rekers takes his wife on vacation, will they write up a contract specifying what sexual acts she will perform on him?
Speaking of which, I know that escorting is legal because you’re not paying for sex – you’re paying for the escort’s time and whatever two consenting adults agree to do is OK. Well it seems to me that writing a contract explicitly laying out the sexual nature of the transaction wouldn’t be quite above-board…
Tina-cious.com
May 13th, 2010
I don’t really think he’s gonna be traveling all that much from now on.
Unless it’s on the city bus to get his welfare check.
Maybe Ted Haggard will give him a ride.
mikeksf
May 13th, 2010
I read on an earlier post that his son is adopted. Is that true?
Ben in Oakland
May 13th, 2010
He’s a rekersexual. It’s kinda like a fauxmosexual, but without the “diamond” tiara.
Dibs on the coinage and rights.
Christine
May 14th, 2010
Yes, Norm, he is married and has 5 adult sons.
This information is provided in his short bio in the 2009 book edited by Julie Harren Hamilton (NARTH President). Rekers has a chapter in that book.
What I am curious to know is why wouldn’t his wife be able to travel with him if his sons are adults?
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