Note: if you're susceptible to provocative images and want to avoid such, you should probably stick to the sites I've linked to in my post and NOT follow links from there to other sites referenced. Just giving you a heads up.
I wasn't going to comment on this because I was sure moho blogs would be buzzing about it, but so far, I've only seen a mention or two in moho blogging circles. What's the story? An officer of the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality and co-founder of the Family Research Council, Dr. George Rekers, is embroiled in a scandal unleashed by The Miami New Times (the credibility of which source I don't know): he was photographed on vacation with a young man who was discovered to be an online male escort.
Gay blogs have been abuzz over this for the last day or two, mostly lambasting Rekers and presuming him guilty of all manner of whoredom. Predictably, Dr. Rekers released a statement in response, on his own blog. Of course, that statement is now revised from what it originally was. He originally said claims that he hired the young man as a prostitute were false and that he just needed someone to carry his luggage. He also said several family members and friends offer to help him. He did deny that anything illegal or sexual happened between them. Of course, that doesn't mean nothing involving "healthy touch" didn't happen. Maybe a little healthy massage, which happens to take place in the nude? According to the escort, that's what happened. But hey, he could be just an escort seeking a moment of fame to take down a staunch gay rights opponent. Oddly, Rekers did not specifically deny having used the escort service web site or knowing the boy was an escort until after the boy came out saying Dr. Rekers is gay and received nude massages daily at the hot young stud's hands (I read his statement on his own blog when the story initially broke and again after seeing a BBC article on the subject, and the statement had been revised).
But I've gotta say, while I know some people who are just eccentric and would do the sort of thing this guy is saying he was doing--spending time with sinners hoping to share the gospel and the happiness of "leaving homosexuality"--even if he does honestly think his motives were pure, even if he didn't knowingly hire an escort for a little homoerotic (even if "non-sexual"--which is often little more than code for "I didn't ejaculate") male companionship, and even if it's true he hired the boy through some means other than the sexually graphic web site the boy's profile is on, and even if the boy is lying about the naked massages, I have to say I think Rekers has let his repressed desires express themselves here. But then, that's only my hunch. Short of a confession on his part (which seems highly unlikely), or hard evidence (also unlikely), this is, at best, an eccentric decision from which he can't possibly be surprised there are repercussions.
That said, what if he's really just an eccentric old man who wanted someone to travel with who could help with his luggage and wouldn't cost too much? What if nothing sexual or "inappropriate" happened between them? What if he appreciates the company of attractive young men and did hope to bring one of them into the fold of the Kingdom and help him realize there are alternatives for his life other than selling his body? What if he wanted the boy to realize someone could appreciate him as a person, not just a plaything? I know it's a stretch because most of us would certainly not have paid for a hot, young travel companion without ulterior motives, but what if he really believed his heart was in the right place? What if he were your dad? I'm not being cheeky, here. He could just be a dirty, hypocritical old man who needs to be removed from his pedestal of power from which he stomps the rights of gay people everywhere. But I'm just saying it's easy to call into question the integrity of someone you don't know, but most of the time, the story is a bit more complicated than it appears.
2 comments:
I agree that there is usually more to the story than what we read in the media, especially gay blogs which may have an ax to grind - but there is also the old adage "where there's smoke, there's fire."
I'm certainly not knowledgeable on these things myself - but I would imagine that if he merely wanted someone to "help" him with the luggage, a male escort service would probably be a very pricey solution. He could have just as easily enrolled the aid of someone less hunky and hot to testify and witness to, at a greatly discounted price.
Yeah, there are certainly things that don't add up. If nothing else, my suspicion is that he is, at the very least, sincere but deeply and thoroughly self-deceived, and maybe more likely is trying to cover up indiscretion--engaging in erotic behavior--born of a lifetime of repression. But mostly, I wanted to point out that sometimes a fairly complex story can get extremely over-simplified in the media, sacrificing the humanity of the subjects, especially when we're talking about popular opinion, not real journalism.
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