Has anyone seen the recent George Alan Rekers story?
There are lots of articles on the go, so it's easy to find out more about the story and the travel companion online.
Titled and opened to just have a place where it can be discussed. It's difficult to find anything impartial on it, so research it with that in mind.
The criteria by which Rekers selected his traveling companion. The full list is not safe for work, but here are some highlights:
Tastes / Specialties / Fetishes: Vanilla, Leather, Anal, Oral, Shaving, Spanking, Role Playing, Kissing, Toys, FeetTalents: Modeling, Go-Go Dancing, Stripping, Massage, Travel Companion, Tour Guide, Interpreter.
We are also informed of the status of his body hair, his foreskin, his preferred sexual position, and other things that are very important to know about one's "massage therapist" and the one who will "lift one's luggage". Or so I'm told. I've never been in the market for a massage therapist/porter. Perhaps there's a technique I'm unaware of that requires a foreskin to schlep baggage with? Or is that a role-playing technique of which I'm unaware?
I'd really like to know. Can anybody help me out? :)
Pretty stupendous huh?
The daily show had a picture of the two at the airport, the travel assistant was standing off to the side, like a kid waiting for his parent, while Rekers was unloading his luggage from a cart.
Tastes / Specialties / Fetishes: Vanilla, Leather, Anal, Oral, Shaving, Spanking, Role Playing, Kissing, Toys, Feet
Role playing, you say. D&D? Vampire?
Why is this even newsworthy? I just assume that all of these frothing anti-gay types are just closet cases. Does this really surprise anyone?
Funnily enough, recent studies show that most homophobes aren't just closeted and hiding it, their just jerks.
I think personally though, there is a largish subset of closeted gays in homophobic society, but they approach with a personal and powerful disgust because they fear it in themselves. So I think thats why you see them in high ranking positions in anti-gay movements, everyone mistakes their personal disgust and self-loathing as dedication to the cause.
I don't think being gay negates or even slightly changes the damage he has done to the gay rights movement, it just means that on top of being a jerk, he's a hypocrite.
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I laughed and laughed when I first saw this (on the daily show). I love it, every time you hear about some "straight" guy in politics gettin some strange from a dude, it's never from the immoral left, it's always the "traditional" family values, anti-gay crusading homophobes on the right. [crossesfingers]I can't wait for it to break that Fred Phelps got caught in a singaporean whorehouse having a gay orgy. [/crossesfingers]
I laughed and laughed when I first saw this (on the daily show). I love it, every time you hear about some "straight" guy in politics gettin some strange from a dude, it's never from the immoral left, it's always the "traditional" family values, anti-gay crusading homophobes on the right. [crossesfingers]I can't wait for it to break that Fred Phelps got caught in a singaporean whorehouse having a gay orgy. [/crossesfingers]
At eighty years of age, I'd be frankly a little impressed by his dedication. More than likely he's just a jerk though!
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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I laughed and laughed when I first saw this (on the daily show). I love it, every time you hear about some "straight" guy in politics gettin some strange from a dude, it's never from the immoral left, it's always the "traditional" family values, anti-gay crusading homophobes on the right. [crossesfingers]I can't wait for it to break that Fred Phelps got caught in a singaporean whorehouse having a gay orgy. [/crossesfingers]
Insert obligatory 'Fred Phelps is a noted democrat contributor' here.
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I laughed and laughed when I first saw this (on the daily show). I love it, every time you hear about some "straight" guy in politics gettin some strange from a dude, it's never from the immoral left, it's always the "traditional" family values, anti-gay crusading homophobes on the right. [crossesfingers]I can't wait for it to break that Fred Phelps got caught in a singaporean whorehouse having a gay orgy. [/crossesfingers]Insert obligatory 'Fred Phelps is a noted democrat contributor' here.
Well if the conservatives have RINOs, then surely the democrats can have DINOs.
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I laughed and laughed when I first saw this (on the daily show). I love it, every time you hear about some "straight" guy in politics gettin some strange from a dude, it's never from the immoral left, it's always the "traditional" family values, anti-gay crusading homophobes on the right. [crossesfingers]I can't wait for it to break that Fred Phelps got caught in a singaporean whorehouse having a gay orgy. [/crossesfingers]Insert obligatory 'Fred Phelps is a noted democrat contributor' here.
?
That would have little bearing on how left- or right-wing he is, I would think. We know there are plenty (albeit a shrinking number) of both conservative democrats and liberal republicans. Phelps is as socially conservative as anyone could get. I don't see why you would want to turn this thread into a democrat/republican issue.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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He might be a radical social conservative when it comes to gays, but in other ways he's not. Social conservatives don't stage demonstrations at a military funeral.
?Phelps is as socially conservative as anyone could get. I don't see why you would want to turn this thread into a democrat/republican issue.
Which was my point :-) I've found homosexuality really does transcend an easy qualifier of Left/Right. You've organizations like GOProud and sites like Gaypatriot.net on the political right, and people like John Edwards on the left. (not to mention the White House being upset about the speculation on Kagan's orientation. (personally, I couldn't care less).
As to Reeks himself, here's what I wrote earlier when it first broke.
As to this guy, it is possible that he just wanted conversation/research (I talk to a lot of submissives I’d not top, just for ’shop talk’) Still it was stupid.
If he was doing more than research… then yes I do feel sorry for him, to fight against one’s urges and then give in is always devestating. (if he’s been doing this a lot, I’m less than sympathetic)
If he believes he’s gay, and that the impusles can be overcome, then his position is understandable (no position jokes please!). Converts are often the most zealous. Hopefully this isn’t as bad as it seems.
I stand by that. I hope that he wasn't buggering young boys, and it is hard to try to change one's base nature.
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He might be a radical social conservative when it comes to gays, but in other ways he's not. Social conservatives don't stage demonstrations at a military funeral.
?Phelps is as socially conservative as anyone could get. I don't see why you would want to turn this thread into a democrat/republican issue.
Which was my point :-) I've found homosexuality really does transcend an easy qualifier of Left/Right. You've organizations like GOProud and sites like Gaypatriot.net on the political right, and people like John Edwards on the left. (not to mention the White House being upset about the speculation on Kagan's orientation. (personally, I couldn't care less).
So we can agree that left, right, liberal, conservative, democrat, and republican are largely b++%$+~$ labels invented by people who have too much time on their hands to categorize an infinite variety of ideologies into tidy columns? ;)
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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So we can agree that left, right, liberal, conservative, democrat, and republican are largely b@##!!&& labels invented by people who have too much time on their hands to categorize an infinite variety of ideologies into tidy columns? ;)
Oh, I think lables are good, as long as they're applied broadly.
Like I said with Reeks. He may honestly have thought he could 'pray away the gay' in himself. I mean we're always hearing about 'mutable sexuality' in discussion now, why not assume it's mutable in a specific direction. If he did, then these weekend trips were likely a source of great pain and guilt to him, like me overeating or an alcoholic falling off the wagon. Rather than decide to accept that, he instead pushed harder, like any faithful convert. To continue with the alcoholism metaphor, he didn't bury himself in a bottle, he joined a temperance league.
I don't excuse his actions. I do however feel he is worth sympathy, if the above is true. It's my understanding his 'encounters' were with adults. I don't care what adults do behind closed doors.
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So we can agree that left, right, liberal, conservative, democrat, and republican are largely b@##!!&& labels invented by people who have too much time on their hands to categorize an infinite variety of ideologies into tidy columns? ;)Oh, I think lables are good, as long as they're applied broadly.** spoiler omitted **
Like I said with Reeks. He may honestly have thought he could 'pray away the gay' in himself. I mean we're always hearing about 'mutable sexuality' in discussion now, why not assume it's mutable in a specific direction. If he did, then these weekend trips were likely a source of great pain and guilt to him, like me overeating or an alcoholic falling off the wagon. Rather than decide to accept that, he instead pushed harder, like any faithful convert. To continue with the alcoholism metaphor, he didn't bury himself in a bottle, he joined a temperance league.
I don't excuse his actions. I do however feel he is worth sympathy, if the above is true. It's my understanding his 'encounters' were with adults. I don't care what adults do behind closed doors.
I agree, I have no problem with what adults do behind closed doors. That being said, what I do have a problem with is his stance that homosexuality is curable (which hasn't been recognized by the APA since the 70s IIRC). This stance causes tremendous pain to not only the individuals who undergoe this "treatment" but to the gay community as a whole by perpetuating a myth that homosexuality is an abnormal mental health condition. For him to cause all of that harm only to serve as the poster child for how wrong he is is deplorable at best.
I do however feel he is worth sympathy, if the above is true. It's my understanding his 'encounters' were with adults. I don't care what adults do behind closed doors.
I wouldn't, if he gave us the same courtesy. He made a living for decades doing the opposite, so I think outing him is completely fair game.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
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I wouldn't, if he gave us the same courtesy. He made a living for decades doing the opposite, so I think outing him is completely fair game.I do however feel he is worth sympathy, if the above is true. It's my understanding his 'encounters' were with adults. I don't care what adults do behind closed doors.
It's called taking the high ground :P
Like I said with Reeks. He may honestly have thought he could 'pray away the gay' in himself. I mean we're always hearing about 'mutable sexuality' in discussion now, why not assume it's mutable in a specific direction. If he did, then these weekend trips were likely a source of great pain and guilt to him, like me overeating or an alcoholic falling off the wagon. Rather than decide to accept that, he instead pushed harder, like any faithful convert. To continue with the alcoholism metaphor, he didn't bury himself in a bottle, he joined a temperance league.
I don't excuse his actions. I do however feel he is worth sympathy, if the above is true. It's my understanding his 'encounters' were with adults. I don't care what adults do behind closed doors.
I think most USians really don't care who Rekers (or anyone else) has relationships with as long as they are a consenting adult.
What torques me and many others off is when someone like him uses his position for decades to lobby and work against equality for other GLBT individuals. Even if he resigns from all his positions and quietly retires, he has more than enough money to ensure he never worries about his sexuality preventing him from an equal chance at employment, child adoption, housing, or same-sex spousal rights. He may be worth sympathy, but I'm having a difficult time feeling any for him.
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
I feel more pity for that man,
since he can never be who he truly
is. That's more damning than anyone's
opinions of him. If you can't be yourself,
then you're probably living a lie. But that's
just from my perspective.
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Why is this even newsworthy? I just assume that all of these frothing anti-gay types are just closet cases. Does this really surprise anyone?Funnily enough, recent studies show that most homophobes aren't just closeted and hiding it, their just jerks.
I think personally though, there is a largish subset of closeted gays in homophobic society, but they approach with a personal and powerful disgust because they fear it in themselves. So I think thats why you see them in high ranking positions in anti-gay movements, everyone mistakes their personal disgust and self-loathing as dedication to the cause.
I don't think being gay negates or even slightly changes the damage he has done to the gay rights movement, it just means that on top of being a jerk, he's a hypocrite.
Here's the thing most people are missing. Homophobia is a real phobia it's a real sickness. Phobia- an irrational fear or hatred of a certain thing. So for those closeted homosexual homophobes it's more of a fear disguised by hatred, for those heterosexuals it is just a hatred. Point is we try to put logic on something that is literally completely irrational. We try to villify the group when they are sick. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that homophobic behaviour is acceptable in anyway, but we also got to realise it is really a brain sickness that needs treatment. While I may disagree with the behaviour I still think it needs to be treated.
Here's the thing most people are missing. Homophobia is a real phobia it's a real sickness. Phobia- an irrational fear or hatred of a certain thing. So for those closeted homosexual homophobes it's more of a fear disguised by hatred, for those heterosexuals it is just a hatred. Point is we try to put logic on something that is literally completely irrational. We try to villify the group when they are sick. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that homophobic behaviour is acceptable in anyway, but we also got to realise it is really a brain sickness that needs treatment. While I may disagree with the behaviour I still think it needs to be treated.Why is this even newsworthy? I just assume that all of these frothing anti-gay types are just closet cases. Does this really surprise anyone?Funnily enough, recent studies show that most homophobes aren't just closeted and hiding it, their just jerks.
I think personally though, there is a largish subset of closeted gays in homophobic society, but they approach with a personal and powerful disgust because they fear it in themselves. So I think thats why you see them in high ranking positions in anti-gay movements, everyone mistakes their personal disgust and self-loathing as dedication to the cause.
I don't think being gay negates or even slightly changes the damage he has done to the gay rights movement, it just means that on top of being a jerk, he's a hypocrite.
Phobias are irrational mental illness, I agree. There are people with a literal phobia of gay people, beards, snakes, etc. Totally agree.
Most 'homophobes' have that mental sickness? I'd like to see some studies, etc., butI'm pretty sure that that is not the case, just like most racists don't have a mental phobia of black people. Now admittedly homophobia is often caused by complex social pressures, and it's not always a clear-cut one day you decide, 'you know what to hell with the gays.'
All that said, from what I know and have read, most homophobes are not closeted gays, and do not have a genuine phobia of homosexuality, they are mostly just either bigoted, intolerent or just jerks, or even worse in it to use the fear of gay people for their own personal ends, e.g. Joe Dobson and the Reverand George Alan Rekers.
All that said, from what I know and have read, most homophobes are not closeted gays, and do not have a genuine phobia of homosexuality, they are mostly just either bigoted, intolerent or just jerks, or even worse in it to use the fear of gay people for their own personal ends, e.g. Joe Dobson and the Reverand George Alan Rekers.
That's not fair. Rekers was also rears of gay people for his own personal ends. He's got more than one side.
I'll let Roy Zimmerman speak for me:
George Rekers Is Completely Heterosexual
I'll let Roy Zimmerman speak for me:
George Rekers Is Completely Heterosexual
Wow!