Do "ex-" people bother you?

Certainly, an ex-gay person should not ever attempt to force such a lifestyle on another person. But I think there's a marked difference between forcing it on someone and sharing it with someone. Everybody has a story that honestly describes the person they are today, and everybody should have the freedom to share that story. Gay people who are living a perfectly out life should be able to share their journey with others. Likewise, ex-gay people who believe they have succeeded in living the life they want should also be free to share that story. I'm just tired of ex-gay being a dirty word. I'm a Christian, and I can understand the mindset that goes into an ex-gay orientation, and it honestly usually comes from a place that seeks to honor God. I don't think someone religious should be raked through the coals for having the courage to stand by their convictions. And I say that for both gay and ex-gay people. Living out and living ex-gay both require courage. Certainly, it's different types of courage, but it's courage nonetheless.

 

Well, I could never really see eye-to-eye with such values, as I see them as highly authoritarian. But if that's your opinion, so be it.

 

What it all comes down to is that I sometimes see a disturbing "us versus them" mentality when it comes to gay people and ex-gay people. I really believe it is possible for both sides of the same coin to find common ground and respect for one another as human beings. Seeing eye to eye is not a requirement. Just a willingness to agree to disagree is all it takes. I also think invalidation is a pernicious evil. Gay people should not automatically invalidate the ex-gay experience. Nor should ex-gay people invalidate the lives of practicing gay people. To do so in both cases comes dangerously close to stripping humanity from another person, which always leads to a dark place.

 

Again, I don't quite agree. If you like tea and hate coffee, but you live in a culture where tea-drinking is looked down upon and drinking coffee revered, and you choose to drink coffee and not tea - you're fake. Therefore I see little validity in it. If adding to that you also make it a point to tell other tea-loving coffee-haters to drink only coffee, you're just an a**hole. But up to that point of trying to convert others, I don't really care much. Anything after that, I won't stand for, however.

 

Not really~ One of my main mottos in life is "Don't judge someone else's journey~"

If they've been pressured into it, like "reformed gays" or something, I feel sad for them, but, again, unless they're asking for my help, it's not my place, or my desire, to change them~