Posted on 01/29/2003 11:29:48 AM PST by Notwithstanding
Summary: You be the judge. A letter form the editor in chief.
... I bring these matters to your attention because of a threatening phone call I received a few weeks ago from a fellow psychologist. On page 78 of our last issue, PT ran a small ad for a book called A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality by Joseph Nicolosi, Ph.D., and his wife Linda. Nicolosi is a psychologist who specializes in trying to help unhappy gays become straight. Apparently feeling that this rather modest contribution to the literature on homosexuality wasn't getting enough attention, the psychologist, who identified herself as a lesbian activist, called me at home on a Saturday to tell me that PT should not have run such a heinous ad, that she was speaking for "thousands" of gays who were going to boycott PT, "and worse," that Dr. Nicolosi was a "bigot," that no gay person had ever successfully become straight, that homosexuality was entirely determined by genes, and that sexual conversion therapy had been condemned by the American Psychological Association. I told her that the editorial department at PT has no connection whatsoever with the advertising department, but she was unimpressed. She subsequently posted messages on the Internet urging people to harrass me at home (no one else ever did) and to send me complaint letters.
In all, I received about 120 letters, many of which exemplified a bad game of Telephone: Some people complained about an anti-gay "article" PT had published; others referred to an anti-gay book I had published and people who weren't subscribers said they were dropping their subscriptions. Several writers suggested I was a "Nazi" and a "bigot," and one compared me with the Taliban. A surprising number of letters asserted that gays have a right to be rude or abusive because they themselves have been abused. Most echoed the same points that my caller had made....
(Excerpt) Read more at psychologytoday.com ...
Everyone can claim it's genetic and normal (equal to heterosexuality) all they want, but all I see is a "I want to therefore it's normal" argument. That is not enough to change the definition of marriage and family. It is not enough to force the concept on all children in school, church and the Boy Scouts. It is not enough to change the definition of morality. It only takes a couple of eyes and half a brain to know the human species was designed (or evolved -- whichever you prefer) for opposite sexes to mate.
These things may not have had anything to do with you, madg. They have to do with ME and MY FAMILY and with WHAT I BELIEVE IS RIGHT. The Gaystapo is out and at war with normal, decent American families.
Madg - this is really one of the most preposterous things in the homosexual gaydeological mantra. Anybody with a serious psychological disorder experiences that disorder as a part of him/her self. I knew a girl who couldn't stop buying things - she drove herself deep into debt buying things that she didn't need. When confronted by friends about her problem (which was destroying her), she repeatedly claimed that she was normal and that that was part of her. It WAS part of her - it wasn't normal - and it's a condition which psychologists can frequently cure. The person with the disorder is the person LEAST able to understand its abnormality. Homosexuality is incredibly abnormal. If you're homosexual, you can choose to live your life with that condition - that's your business. But don't indoctrinate my kids with the idea that it's normal - it's not. Don't tell them that anal intercourse, high levels of promiscuity (often with anonymous partners), short lifespans on average, etc. etc. are normal. They're obviously not.
Theres absolutely no proof of this. In fact, the twins studies prove just the opposite. Identical twins have never had a 100% concurrence rate, at best only a 0-50+%.
Wrong!! Its 0 to 50% unless you want to believe a faulty volunteer study since discredited by one of the original researchers.
So what you are saying is if we can manipulate nutrients to the placenta during gestation we can cure the disorder of homosexuality? Exactly what are the nutrients involved? Oh, and what viruses and bacteria cause genetic homosexuality in general? Would you be so kind to cite some of your science that supports these conclusions?
Sorry gonadal ridges are common to BOTH sexes, by 6-7 weeks of fetal life, fetuses of both sexes have two sets of internal ducts, the Mullerian (female) ducts and the Wolffian (male) ducts. In males, the gonadal ridge develops into testes as a result of a product from a gene located on the Y chromosome. This product has been termed the "testis determining factor" or "sex determining region of the Y chromosome" (SRY). In females, the absence of SRY, due to the absence of a Y chromosome, permits the expression of other genes which will trigger the gonadal ridge to develop into ovaries.
Not only does intersex disorder have nothing to do with homosexuality, your assertion genetic female is wrong premise.
Wrong again science dude. Its the chromosomes that determine gender, thats why EVERY Syndrome of Abnormal Sex Differentiation is specific to either an XX combination or an XY combination.
With all due respect, equus (you're a smart person and everything) but telling me I don't understand evolution and genetics at all really does not make your case.
Genetics, "a branch of biology dealing with heredity and variation," or, "the science dealing with the interaction of the genes in producing similarities and differences between individuals related by descent" is also very mathematical. When a gene is both recessive AND non-reproducing in anyone who shows the trait (plus the other variables you are wanting to add) it should become rarer and rarer throughout time. While science is still learning about genetics, the precision of it is amazing.
Besides, you cannot argue both ways - that homosexuality is normal because it is genetic, AND it doesn't have to follow a pattern or logic because genetics doesn't have to make sense. It's one way or the other. Yes, traits can skip around. However, homosexuals cannot reproduce. IF the gene is recessive as well, that's significant. If you are arguing that sexual attraction is a matter of degree then you are saying that we are all somewhat bisexual. I don't buy that. Nothing about the physical condition of humans supports that theory.
Evolution is equally amazing and precise (in theory). There are reasons behind each change. Characteristics are developed slowly, over time, and with purpose. We lose traits we don't need and gain ones we do. Is that not the theory? If homosexuality were a natural phenomenon, it should have evolved physically as well. The ONLY so-called evidence anyone has to prove homosexuality is genetic is the "I want to" argument, plus the study of some gay activists who discovered a brain difference in gays. Well, other brain studies have found that stimulating a certain area of interest -- music for example -- at certain ages, develops that part of the brain. So when a claim of "genetics" is made solely on a "difference in the brain," it seems to me that nature vs. nurture is still at issue.
I do not pretend to be an expert in any of this. I don't think you are either. But there are some logic and science issues that don't fit, imo.
There is far more evidence to suggest that homosexuality is NOT physically normal, but it is an emotional/mental variation -- abnormality -- of unknown origin (some decent theories out there).
And yes, some mental illness is hereditary, but it is not "normal" as in ideal-give-em-kids-to-adopt, and it does not have the reproduction issue.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.