Just when you thought the Republicans couldn’t get any further out of touch with reality, the Texas GOP is now endorsing Reparative Therapy. This therapy, which some people call “Praying the Gay Away,” purports to be able to get rid of homosexual tendencies. Oh, where to begin.
First of all, any therapy that wants you to have your genitals hooked up to electrodes, or expects you to sniff a jar of feces whenever you have a “bad” thought, is clearly warped and twisted. Which is why it is not endorsed by any credible mental health organization anywhere in the United States. Not one.
People who voluntarily seek out therapy of this nature would be better served seeking out therapy to uncover the source of their self-loathing, because being gay is not a choice. It’s not like deciding which shirt you want to wear to bring out the color of your eyes. It’s actually more like the color of your eyes, come to think of it. It’s something you’re born with.
Think about it. Who would choose to be gay? Would you want to be in a minority group that is constantly ridiculed, threatened, outcast and discriminated against? Would you volunteer to be in a group that has such a small statistical sample that you would have an even harder time finding a life partner? Life is hard enough. It’s not a choice. It’s just who you are.
Anyone who thinks that the sexual orientation of a gay friend or family member needs to be “fixed” is looking at that person from a place of sickness. Why would you support a group that has that attitude? And why would you want to vote for someone with such delusions? Who sits down and thinks, “Yeah, I approve of people who want to emotionally scar others for life by using a method that sounds like it sprang from the dark ages”?
This is a therapy that teaches that something very basic about you is wrong and needs to be tortured out of your system. Woo hoo! Sign me up! I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
Wouldn’t it just be easier to teach respect for yourself and for those around you?
Ignorance abounds.
[Image credit: tolerance.org]
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