Posted on 12/31/2005 5:08:42 PM PST by SmithL
New York -- Charles Socarides, the psychiatrist famous for insisting that homosexuality was a treatable illness and who claimed to have "cured" hundreds, has died. He was 83.
Socarides, died Dec. 25 of heart failure at a hospital near his Manhattan home, his family announced. A funeral Mass was held Friday.
He waged an unsuccessful battle to reverse the American Psychiatric Association's 1973 decision to remove homosexuality from its list of mental disorders, and brushed off frequent condemnations by colleagues who considered his views hurtful.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
God bless him ... a long life of diligent effort, it appears.
He should be considered an honored hero of the psychological association; but of course, that wouldn't be PC, and they will do their best to ignore him.
I've always thought of him as a quack, though a generally harmless one.
Curious. Why think of him as a quack? Hundreds and thousands of former homosexuals are just that -- former homosexuals. Given the rampant diseases and other problems of homosexuality, it's a great thing for people to give up this lifestyle.
Doesn't make any difference to me either way, but I think that the concept of "curing" homosexuality is quackery.
"brushed off frequent condemnations by colleagues who considered his views hurtful."
What's more hurtful -listening to someone tell you your sexual desires are aberrant, or never fitting in with mainstream America and perhaps dying early of a painful illness?
"Doesn't make any difference to me either way, but I think that the concept of "curing" homosexuality is quackery."
Especially if you're Greek.
I'm not sure you are right. There are many claims of people who say they have been cured. It's hard to tell, because anyone that tries to do research on that is vilified by the politcally correct establishment.
I've read where these people have been physically attacked by groups like act up.
Right or wrong, "hurtful" is a word that needs to be eliminated from everyone's vocabulary. Only a lib would use it.
I look on Dr. Socarides and his colleagues the same way I look on the small minority of biologists who hold to the ID theory: They're naturally going to be isolated by the majority for holding views that don't mesh with the rest of their peers. It also doesn't help that most of the people who get funding to look at the results are either sympathetic towards or funded by groups that have a vested interest in proving that homosexuality is a mental disorder.
I've read where these people have been physically attacked by groups like act up.
Now that's just a shame. I hope that the perpetrators were prosecuted.
There is still debate going on with cured gays, if they were ever gay originally or not, or if they have been cured or just went back into the closet of if they are bisexual and are ignoring one side.
This is one of those things that will always draw emotional arguments.
One of the things I've noticed is that alot of the cured gays, who victimes of sexual molestation, who blamed themselves and never recieved therapy.
Which brings about the question, were they gay in the first place, or were they screwed up in the head from being molested, blamed themselves and engaged in gay behavior before recieving therapy and help and being "cured"?
Homosexual Agenda Ping.
God rest his soul - he was a fighter whose goal it was to serve the truth and help as many people as he could.
1. Homosexuality is not usually a choice (although some homosexuals, such as that female basketball player whose name I can never remember, among others, have admitted they chose homosexualiy), but it is not innate. Of course, homosexual sex acts are a choice, as are all acts of sex [not counting being forcibly raped].
2. It is indeed often caused by relationships and experiences in childhood or adolescence, and the causes are becoming more and more clear. Links below give more information - such as the fact that a large majority of homosexuals were molested when young, actually a huge proportion. Also connected with poor relationships with parents.
3. There are many who have left the "gay" world, and the MSM and homosexual agenda pushers (but I repeat myself) shut them up - to the point of violence. Dr. Robert Spitzer, who originally considered homosexuality innate, has changed his mind, and has concluded that they can change.
4. A lot of armchair generals on the thread; gotta love the "all the gays I know" kind of stuff. Those who have studied homosexuality and homosexuals for years, who are not "gay" activists or promoters, have come to the conclusion that it is indeed a psychological dysfunction, and many homosexuals can change.
Freepmail me and DirtyHarryY2K if you want on/off this pinglist.
Read the stories of former homosexuals, and decide for yourself:
http://www.drthrockmorton.com/idoexist.asp
I Do Exist
http://peoplecanchange.com/
Men Who Have Left Homosexuality Showing Others the Way Out
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1420619/posts
Root Causes, Homosexual Consequences
http://www.narth.com/docs/pieces.html
How Might Homosexuality Develop?
Putting the Pieces Together
And check Scripter's home page for a list of organizations that help people leave the "gay" life, plus lots of other info:
http://www.freerepublic.com/~scripter/
Can pedophiles be cured?
Socarides background is similar to that of Robert Spitzer's. From the inside cover of Socarides book, Homosexualitiy: A Freedom Too Far:
In this explosive book, Dr. Socarides, an early and persistent advocate of civil rights for homosexuals, dares to relate how gay politics has sold society on the notion that same-sex is "a normal variation, like left-handedness."If somebody isn't sure where they stand on this issue, they may find this of interest: Dr. Robert Spitzer Interviewed In 'Christianity Today' Magazine. Read that very carefully. Take special note of who Dr. Spitzer is, what he used to think and what he thinks and says now.Dr. Socarides knows that homosexuality is not a normal variation. Nor are gays "born that way" - another idea that has been created by pseudoscience and accepted as truth...
Now couple the above with the very important results of the Twins Studies, a summary of what science has stated and the extremely important growing number of ex-gays. After reading the above links you should have a better understanding of the issues.
The prevailing theory is that they can't be cured, but may be able to control themselves.
For some reason some people believe one group and not the other...and they should ask themselves why...
Funny, they could not argue his views were wrong, they had to argue that they were 'hurtful'.
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