TPM:
Dixon, who is now married to a woman and had three children with her, revealed in 1991 that he had identified as gay for five years until a “religious experience” led him to be straight again …
I’m sure Dixon’s working on the movie script for it already: 5 Years A Gay.
This should really have nothing to do with his campaign for governor. What he identifies as is between him and his family as far as I’m concerned. I just hope he shows more of a generous spirit than the typical Republican should he be elected.
Maybe the good congressman could tell me how I ended up becoming gay then? I had a happy childhood, with supportive parents, a wonderful circle of friends, a great education and never suffered from abuse, teen-age acne or angst. I guess that just means that I’m evil incarnate.
His mother is aghast at the fact that he attempted suicide, but probably doesn’t realize just what caused it (and in case she needs help, I’ll provide her with a mirror).
O worse yet … Oh Sweet Jesus, I’m coming.
Logically speaking, saying that one had identity confusion because of abuse is not the same as saying that all gay people “became” that way because of abuse. I’m very close to a man who was abused as a child and have read about it somewhat from actual experts, not GOP politicians. Indeed temporary sexual identity confusion is not infrequently a result of sexual abuse. (Whether that leads to five years living as a gay man or can be cured by religious experience is an entirely different matter.) I would be as loathe to say his description of his experience is false as I would be to say that to you. I guess I’d be even more reluctant. I would have a hard time telling someone who was abused as a kid that his understanding of his experience and his identity are full of crap.
Since he’s from the Bible Belt of Missouri I doubt it.
Greatness, itself:
According to friends, Heenan-Lynn started getting “weird vibes” from Oppel upon her return from a December trip to Barbados with her father, investment banker Jonathan Oppel, 55, and his new wife Cassie, 31. Sources close to the Oppels report that Amanda, who had been distant from her father prior to the vacation, “really bonded” with him on the trip. She also reportedly spent a great deal of time with fellow travelers and close family friends Greg and Karen Garner, and even more with their son Brad, 23, heir to the Garner office-supply empire.
Did also used to be black and liberal?
Religious conversion therapy makes someone suddenly straight like a tanning salon makes a white person suddenly Hispanic.
Of course and I’m certain that WWSS is aware of this point. The question is whether this particular Republican candidate is also aware of it. In general, Republicans are quite happy to generalize from their own case to all cases, especially when the conclusion conforms with their ideology. This guy could be an exception to that Republican rule, but given that he is described as a staunch defender of “traditional marriage” and that he presents his own (apparent) realization about his sexual orientation as a “religious” insight, the signs are not promising.
Jeebus’ just ‘flipped Dixon’s switch’ one fine day…and VOILÀ!
Praise Jeebus!
The little wify’ has that “He recoiled with less disgust when I told him we were making babies for the Lord” look. And his visage in that single photo reveals the depth of his joy!
I think some of the comments here are being needlessly smug or even harsh. No one knows the scale or nature of the abuse that he suffered, nor do they know how he handled emotionally or mentally. If he is happily married, then he is happily married. If he was suicidal prior, then whatever form his recovery came in, even if it seems politically expedient to say it was a religious experience, shouldn’t it just be nice that abuse or self loathing didn’t claim another victim?
And Larry Craig just has a “wide stance.”
While his individual case may merit some understanding, does a day pass in which someone on the right doesn’t do or say something that if it were a liberal doing or saying it half of the MSM would be busting down his or her door for the “real story”? DId he “come clean” with the public because he was worried about someone otherwise outing him? This isn’t really the same kind of thing as young, mostly, males being abused by Catholic priests. And as there is next to nothing particularly pointed in the New Testament about homosexuality, the Christian faith has fuck all to do with it.
I think I would be more convinced of his “religious experience” if he changed his name to something other than “Dixon”.
That poor man. The terrible stigma and shame that was THRUST upon him by the Right , and the church. …so he sought to join them? HHmm wonder what the former Homosexual says when his Republican peers talk of abdominations, gays as pedophiles and that slippery slope to beastiality? Poor guy, what with the whole “you gonna burn in Hell, Sinner!” thing
Just a sad tragic mess of a human being. See folks, Religion kills. It kills reason, and sanity. When it comes to these damaged and dangerous Christians, it must be said, “The altered mind, alters all.”
When has that EVER HAPPENED with ANY elected Republican official? WHEN?
“There are people who to this day try to turn politics into a blood sport. This sort of approach discourages many good people from public service,” he said. “While it is disappointing, I will have no fear of those who wish to tear down others for their gain. I will have no part of it.”
Yet here you are Sen Dixon-- running as a Republican.
Sounds as if you are still conflicted-- and in a worse way today.
jw1
No, you’re wrong. They want to believe that religion can cure the ghey.