Long’s preaching about many things is hardly Christian. Jersus taught about poverty being good for the soul, not riches. He taught about loving our neighbors as ourselves, not excluding some of them: in fact the parable of the Good Samaritin specifically directs us to look beyond our comfort zone. A Jew helping a Gentile was radical at the time of Our Lord – perhaps as radical as a Christian befriending a gay man is today. In fact the only time in scripture that Jesus is actually angry with someone is when He finds His Father’s House overrun by the money changers. God of course can forgive all sins, but I do ponder Eddie Long getting his Bentley thru the ‘eye of the needle’; and his hypocritical and sinful rhetoric about gays and lesbians won’t help either!

I looked all through my DSM-IVr and could not find the diagnosis “sex addict”. Perhaps because such a thing does not exist?
!2-Step programs by their own admittance have perhaps a 5% success rate in alcoholic populations whereas the spontaneous remission rate for general populations of alcoholics are approximately 50%*.
Sexual predators on the other hand are a whole different group. They do NOT appear to respond the 12-Step-ism or for that matter many differing formats of treatment.
IF this man DID indeed socially manipulate these young men he is not a swell candidate for treatment simply because he abused a power discrepancy between him and those who trusted him.

It has been pointed out, quite eloquently that this man (should he be convicted) is an unethical SOB who deserves what he will get.

I am certainly willing to keep an open mind about the man’s guilt or innocence but in the matter of allowing a predator to “go to meetings, work the Steps, & get a Sponsor” instead of prison time…..FORGET IT.

12-Step treatment may have a dismal record for alcohol treatment but it has NO PLACE AT ALL for a sexual predator!
*
NOTE: Clinical validation for 12-Step treatment history:
*
R. G. Smart calculated that the spontaneous remission rate for alcoholism was between 3.7 and 7.4 percent per year.(Per sample studied given NO treatment)
For studies of spontaneous remission in alcoholics, see: (From Bufe; 48.2% total during 5 yr sample 320 indv.)

* Spontaneous Recovery in Alcoholics: A Review and Analysis of the Available Research, by R. G. Smart
Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Vol. 1, 1975-1976, p. 284.
* Recovery Without Treatment, by Thomas Prugh
Alcohol Health and Research World, Fall 1986, pp. 24, 71 and 72.
* Alcoholism as a Self-Limiting Disease, by Leslie R. H. Drew
Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Vol. 29, 1968, pp. 956-967.
* Spontaneous Remission in Alcoholics: Empirical Observations and Theoretical Implications, by Barry S. Tuchfeld
Journal of Studies on Alcohol, Vol. 42, No. 7, 1981, pp. 626-641.

Eegads. Sex addicts, especially the abusive kind, always tip their hand. They can’t help it, it seems.

But they can find help, if they want it. The Twelve Step program of Sex Addicts Anonymous offers hope to those hopelessly enmeshed in the cycle of addiction, irrespective of orientation. A program which only requires one thing: the capacity and willingness to be honest.

Lawsuits and the loss of your church are looming. What’s it going to take, pastor?

You are sooo right about these people and the hypocrisy. Funny you’ve mentioned this – here in Califas, some are standing behind Meg Whitman, in spite of her latest controversy.

Some of these people CLAIM they are against illegal immigration, and against illegal immigrants having children here, aka as “anchor babies.”

Here’s the hypocrisy, to me, that is, Whitman’s babysitter/housekeeper worked for 9 years in her (Whitman’s) home. Out of all the 9 years, she let a ‘stranger’ in her home? She never had conversations with the sitter/housekeeper? Well, yes, I believe she did. It came out that the sitter had a baby about 2 years ago, here.
Thanks Ruslan!

***Anti-immigration folks, I thought you didn’t want anymore ‘anchor babies’, and didn’t want to pay for their medical… I thought you had a problem with illegal immigrants driving on our roads. Which begs for this answer did she have insurance? Also, the anti-immigration groups complain that the immigrants are taking jobs from Americans! Yet, no one complains that as Americans, we take drug tests, TB tests, background checks for any job, but the rich and big corporations hire people without even knowing who they are if the price is right! You complain that immigrants are taken against their will if they owe money to the people that bring them here – did you guys stop to wonder that if Whitman’s sitter/housekeeper owed money to these type of people, could Whitman or her family become targets….

I’m not against illegal immigration. I just want you (anti-immigrant groups) to know that your arguments are baseless and without merit. You argue your positions, but, I find a lack of credibility in every one of them.

I appreciated your outline of “grooming” behaviour I believe I understand what you have outlined & it has merit.

However, there is a few things that cause me to pause. These young men were supposedly 16-17yr old? Young people grow up pretty fast these days. I am not saying that such manipulation could NOT take place; I just wonder if a young man of that age today is that naive such that they do not see an agenda coming a mile away. I really can’t say of course, because I’m not them.

We have a very adroit illustration of mob mentality in the McMartin Pre-School case.
I believe it’s critical that we allow justice to take it’s course without passing judgment prior to all the facts being weighed. Again, NOT because the guy is such a wonderful fellow…..but there MAY be another agenda beneath the surface. It appears…..we’re just saying this guy is a jerk because he is apparently a hypocrite.

There is a very special reason why I say this. Social manipulation is quite easy with individuals of a strong stance on issues who are public, thus vulnerable toward a backlash. This guy was outspoken in his anti-gay sentiment. When a strong statement like that is made; the guy becomes very vulnerable. It’s like Al Gore saying he invented the Internet.
No matter what I personally believe about the freedom of an individual to express his or her love for another adult, the anti-gay stance is not a popular one in most cosmopolitan areas nor for that matter all that logical when it comes to “reforming” a gay individual. Thus this guy is ripe for a set up.

Please note: I am not saying the guy [Eddie Long] is not an imbecile and selling snake-oil. I’m just saying that I know quite a few young people and today they are not as naive as they may once have been. At 16yrs old they MAY have been easy prey for this guy OR there MAY be a whole other side to the story. I would feel a whole lot stronger if the individuals involved were 10 or 12 years old. However at 16 years old there is the element of adolescent rebellion that makes saying “fuck you” a great deal easier and setting up someone to take a BIG FALL a great deal more attractive.
I could be dead wrong in this because many young people ARE very needy but it would seem they would display that at an earlier age.

Hypocrisy.

What I was saying, is, people need to keep a close eye on their children. Simply, when minors are on the streets, there is a real danger. Whether that danger comes from someone looking to take advantage of them. This could be anything from gangs, or anyone. (BTW, I have nothing against LGBT community. I have two cousins that are gay (males), and a host of gay male friends).

The plaintiffs are alleging that they were not a willing participant! I made the comment that they were of legal age to make a decision, that is, whether this is the type of relationship they want.

Again, sorry for the misunderstanding.

Minnie

Why should people have any right whatsoever to condemn any behavior? Unless that behavior can be labeled right wing, then it’s perfectly alright to condemn.

I don’t know the details of these boys’ lives, but I can tell you the general pattern of predators like this. They seek out easy targets – boys with low self-esteem, no father figure, seeking love, acceptance, and approval. The predator builds a relationship with these boys that – at first – is very fatherly. They engage in appropriate, non-sexual “male bonding” activities, eliciting a strong sense of love and trust from their targets. Then they begin to talk about sexual topics, generally starting with heterosexual behavior. They often share pornographic materials with the boys. They do this in order to make the boys feel comfortable with sexual topics and accept it as normal – no big deal. If the boys become aroused (pretty easy to do with a hormonal teen boy), the predator may try to convince them that the arousal is due to their feelings for the predator. They blur the boundaries in small incriments – this is called grooming.

By the time the predator has worked up to sexual contact, their victims are emotionally dependent on them and unsure of what is acceptable and what is not. They may feel that they are wrong for being uncomfortable, or that they owe the predator for everything the predator has given. If there is fear, it is usually the fear that the predator will withdraw his love. Predators are also good at making sexual contact seem a necessary means of expressing love. When the predator is a charismatic and powerful man – the leader of a megachurch, for example – a vulnerable teenager can be manipulated into believing that their instincts are wrong. They may want to believe that their instincts are wrong, as well, since the reality they suspect is very, very painful.

The victims of sexual predators like this are not stupid. They are chosen because they are emotionally vulnerable, and the predators are masterful manipulators. They will use any leverage they can find to get their way.

The psychological harm from this kind of abuse is profound. The victims have to deal with questions about their own sexuality, feeling like they were at fault for leading the older man on, feeling stupid for allowing the sex, losing an important relationship, etc. on top of the direct sexual abuse.

Yes, there is an unfairness in the treatment of sexual predators based on age/sex/sexual orientation. It’s disgraceful. However, I have major problems with closeted gay public figures in official positions vilifying gays in an open public forum or legislating against their rights.

“…the kids involved in this hysteria have indeed suffered, but not at the hands of their teachers. And the abuse perpetrated against them by the child-protection movement gone mad are every bit as awful as the tyranny of incest.” Debbie Nathan

I felt everyone knew I was lying. But my parents said, ‘You’re doing fine. Don’t worry.’ And everyone was saying how proud they were of me.” Kyle Zripolo, student at McMartin.

“McMartin” was one of the first Multi-Victim Multi Offender (MVMO) child abuse cases. It lasted six years — the longest US criminal trial in history. At a cost to the state of $15 million, it was also the most expensive. No convictions were obtained. The main evidence of abuse was based on what the children testified were memories of repeated, sadistic, ritual molestation. Years later, child psychologists realized that such memories can be easily implanted in children’s minds by the interview techniques which were used at the time. Since psychologists and police investigators have changed their methods of interrogating young children, no more MVMO cases have surfaced in the U.S. and Canada. The children’s testimony was supported by medical tests, which were believed at the time to be accurate. Years later, they were found to be useless.

Homosexuals have no choice in their sexual preference, just as you as a heterosexual had no choice in yours. Was there ever a time you had to make a choice? To believe only a certain segment of society would choose their sexuality is ludicrous. Where this idea came from I will never know. In fact, there are many cases of homosexuality and bisexuality in the animal kingdom, proving that nature does not give one a choice. And, the “conversions” to heterosexuality have a high failure rate. Imagine what it would be like for you if most of the world were homosexual and you were told that every sexual instinct was wrong and should be converted to homosexuality? It’s time to obliterate this myth and stop blaming gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and the transgendered for who they are.

All the while young girls are paraded on day-time talk shows everyday, as young as 12, with titles such as “I”m having sex every dayt.” “I dropped out of school because I’m pregnant at 13…”

and somehow, they get our ire and blame because of their ‘irresponsibility’ and their sordid, trampy ways, but when a young male is seduded by an older man immediately the public wants to hang the adult for perverting this poor young child, even up to age 17!

17! We still as a society can’t seem to figure out that a 12 year old girl that is pregnant had no agency in that occurrence, but will force her to carry the pregnancy to term against all reasoning.

But somehow we need to rally around young men long beyond the “age of consent” as being unwittingly pressured and conned — as a commentor states above, into homosexual behavior.

The patrirachal admixture of homophobia, misogyny and willful ignorance makes me sick.

Yes, ALL young people up to and even beyond the age of consent can be cajoled, tricked, manipulated, used, abused and it is wrong on a multitude of levels.

I’m disgusted that the public seems to be far more preoccupied with the idea that homosexuals are scary predators threatening the precious patriarchy than they are with the real acts of sexual abuse and predation that go on and are ignored all the time.