Exodus International App Removed From Apple
Well, when these anti-gay groups spew hatred and misinformation, perhaps their apps should be pulled, or at least, relegated to the fairy-tale aisle.
Apparently, this app offended lots of people, and it’s a fact that when something (or someone) irritates a large enough crowd, then it gets censored, even in a free society; kind of like those who carelessly fling the N word about. I wonder. Would said groups be so eager to reinstate this app if it taught that to cure an infection, you just inject the patient with mega doses of arsenic? What if it said that it’s wrong to have five fingers and so, everyone should chop off their pinkies?
I’m uncomfortable with any belief system that teaches that we humans aren’t good enough (or holy enough) as we are; particularly when such doctrine discourages pursuit of one’s naturally-occurring sexual desires. This is particularly irksome when its proponents have no scientific data to back up their bluster. Yet they zero in on the young (who cannot yet think critically) like vultures, to program them to think similarly. These tactics are wrong, IMHO.
There are mounds of scientific data supporting the notion that homosexuality is as natural and predetermined to some as heterosexuality is to others (When did you choose to be straight, or gay for that matter?).
As far as the “pro homosexual” movement goes, I’ve not heard anyone suggesting that it’s better to be gay than straight. No one is out there, campaigning to get straight people to become gay. All they say is that if a person IS gay, then he should be accepted AS gay, and not ridiculed or ostracized for it, or be compelled by society to ”fix” it.
But the anti LGBT crowd does in fact say that it’s better to be straight than gay; their whole doctrine is based on the notion that homosexuality is a sin, and as such, should be excised from the soul. They’re constantly telling gays how they need to learn to be straight (or celibate at least). The reach of this approach extends way farther than that of the “pro” gay crowd’s.
So these two movements are not equivalent in the scope of their teachings. The one teaches tolerance based on the science and independently verifiable evidence (and yes, lack of evidence), while the other teaches prejudice and discrimination based strictly on word-of-mouth dogma. Thus, the gay acceptance position would seem to be far safer to teach to the thirsty, all-accepting minds of children who are big users of these Apple apps, while the other would (and is) dangerous because of the hatred it generates.
If homosexually is bad for a person’s mental and physical health, then this is most likely due to the adverse reactions (bullying, exclusion, discrimination, et al) to it that the person experiences from others, and nothing inherent in the orientation itself.
In and of itself, homosexually has no adverse effects in the body. In fact, those gays who are fortunate enough to be able to surround themselves with supportive friends, lovers, and family are quite happy and healthy though their homosexual orientation remains.
It’s only when people treat the gay oriented as sub human by keeping them out, teasing them, committing violent acts against them, shunning them, and so on, that being homosexual has a sad toll. The problem though, does not lie in the state of homosexuality, but rather in the bullies who reject it. Bullies blame their victims for being dumb. Yet that’s no excuse for bullying. Thus, the bully is still a bully, no matter the disposition of his victim. So it is too, with the anti gay crowd.
March 25th, 2011 at 5:01 pm
I hold that this 2000 years of “empirical evidence” that some Christians offer in support of their anti-gay beliefs, is faulty. It is tainted with prejudice, revulsion for what’s different, and it provides an excuse to harbor or incite hatred as well as to exclude. Thus, it undermines diversity in our culture. As such, I shall resist this doctrine always. If anyone who is homophobic can’t devise a better reason for teaching that homosexuality is a defect, than that some mythical figure (God) said that it is, then they have no business spreading this disguised hate speech around, and I will withdraw my support from any venue that permits them to do so. They can teach this in their churches if they must; but not in the Apple store – IMHO.
March 26th, 2011 at 11:39 am
When one advocates a position that essentially teaches that gays are errant, disordered, defective, and so on, then they implicitly advocate exclusionary behaviors by society. I mean, it’s just as if you effectively teach someone that a stove is harmful to them. If they learn the lesson well, then they’ll probably avoid it in the future.
In this case, you are at least partly responsible for that imparted lesson, even if you did not teach them specifically HOW to avoid the stove per se. Avoiding the stove is an outcome of the lesson that a stove is harmful, just as discrimination is a logical outcome of teaching that homosexuality is inherently wrong.