Friday, April 29, 2011

Dallin Oaks (paraphrased) We don't like gays and we're not sorry about it.


Long, long article here about aversion therapy at BYU. Hint, the participants had to sign releases stating that they knew that they would be shocked and that they would be given pornography to view. The reading is not for the faint of heart or stomach.

The picture is of Brigham Morris Young, Brigham Young's son.

Dallin Oaks, then, here, here, and here; in the thick of things.

Dallin Oaks, now:
"The aversive therapies that have been used in connection with same-sex attraction have contained some serious abuses that have been recognized over time within the professions," Oaks says. "While we have no position about what the medical doctors do, we are conscious that there are abuses and we don't accept responsibility for those abuses."

Notice that Apostle Oaks doesn't say that he didn't know what was happening; he doesn't say that he discouraged (or encouraged) showing pornography to suicidal kids while shocking their genitals (and now shocking our consciousnesses), he merely says that it isn't his fault.

Looking at this in a lawyerly fashion, this non-apology is pretty close to an admittance, and a refusal to be accountable for his actions.

5 comments:

steampunkpainter said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxMKoB-A5-8

MoHoHawaii said...

I'd say your paraphrased version is pretty much spot on.

If you take any random LDS policy statement and ask yourself, "How could this be any more self-serving?" you'll often realize that it could be.

Anonymous said...

What were you hoping he'd say instead?

Anonymous said...

What should he have said? "We accept responsibility, we are Orry, and we hope to do better in the future.".

As an actual authority, Dallin Oaks could act slightly more maturely than your average 3 year old.

-djinn

djinn said...

Sorry, misspelled 'sorry.''