Edit: This is from an Australian TV show. I haven't watched any other clips, but these guys seem like the sort who will make fun of just about anything.
As John pointed out in the comment section, this clip may be offensive to some. While there's certainly a time and place for exposing - and even laughing at - absurd claims and practices (and every movement has its Richard Cohens), there's a fine line to be walked between shining a light on those fringe elements and conflating them with the larger group they claim an affinity with.
Since, as always, your answers may vary, I'm leaving the clip up (at least for now) to let viewers decide for themselves which category this falls into.
3 comments:
Eugene,
I'm a pretty consistent reader of your blog and XGW. Though I am an "ex-gay", I find that your thoughts challenge and keep me honest and thinking about the process I am working through.
But, I do find it a bit hypocritical to mock with those that mock your brothers and sisters. As often as XGW in particular notes when gays are mocked (say, by the likes of Alan Chambers), I would figure that you all would be more sensitive to not glorying in another's weakness.
Just a thought. I do often wonder about the anger I feel vented from some authors on XGW. I know how deeply personal it is, but I also think that because of that we should be more gracious, not less.
John,
Thank you for your comment. You're right, I do need to be careful not to lose sight of who might see what I post and how it might appear to them. As easy as it is to get caught up in my own busy world, it's in those moments that misunderstandings can cause the most damage.
I agree with John about the need to be sensitive, but I think we also need to be critical of approaches that are especially outrageous and harmful. In an effort to either defend or attack ex-gay ministries or therapies both sides will either refrain from criticizing obvious abuses while the other side says that it is all equally as dangerous and harmful.
Comedy serves to open up a discussion to see the absurd, and truly Richard Cohen's methods are absurd. But also once I leave the US, most people I meet think that the whole ex-gay thing is nutty, and if nothing else, I think this clip shows how some others outside the US see the movement as extreme and wacky. This is pretty consistent with the folks I've met in the UK and Sweden, even Evangelical Christians.
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