DISQUS

Nancy Brown · 2 months ago

Always True: " Professing themselves to be wise they become foolish."

Frank · 2 months ago

Ouch or Amen to that?

way to get to the point. it makes little difference that he was 15 or 16. The main thing is a boy was being pursued sexually in a public bathrom by a predatory older man. Its inappropriate regardless of legal standing and it was definately a missed opportunity to truly make schools safe.

Good job Randy.

I have to thank Exodus for helping me so much over the years. For so long I was told in schools only that I was gay and had to accept it. It was only when I met you guys that you gave me a choice to live a happy life. thanks for all you do. you guys dont get enough credit for what you do.

much love.

Randy · 2 months ago

That is very encouraging Frank. Thank *you* for saying that.

Vince Armfield · 2 months ago

Thanks for your coverage of this story. I didn't know anything about it until I tripped over it on your blog.

Randy · 2 months ago

You're welcome :)

a. mcewen · 2 months ago

Actually this incident does not open any floodgates. Rather it just emphasizes how some people were looking for something to nail Jennings on. This inaccurate story was the lastest lie about Jennings.

Also, Mr. Thomas, you do your credibility something awful. If you had read Brewster's statement , you would see that he said he did not have sex. First the claims was "Jennings pushed an underaged boy to have sex with an adult." And now when it turns out that the young man was not underaged, you all are tapdancing rather than admit you are wrong. People recognize this for the anti-gay campaign it is, no matter how you try to gloss up the manure.

Randy · 2 months ago

I am glad you think I have some credibility to do something awful with. I have read Brewster's statement, which is at odds with what Jennings wrote:

The latest statements by "Brewster" are not entirely consistent with Jennings' various accounts of the 1988 incident, including at least one reference in Jennings' writings and speeches to a "15-year-old" to whom he said “I hope you knew to use a condom.”

"I said, 'What were you doing in Boston on a school night, Brewster?'” Jennings said to a rally in Iowa in 2000.

“He got very quiet, and he finally looked at me and said, 'Well I met someone in the bus station bathroom and I went home with him,'" Jennings recounted. "High school sophomore, 15 years old … I looked at Brewster and said, 'You know, I hope you knew to use a condom.’ He said to me something I will never forget, He said ‘Why should I, my life isn’t worth saving anyway.’'"

So ... are you saying that "Brewster" went to a public bathroom to meet guys, found a guy, went home with him and then they just played ... Monopoly?

I am perfectly ok with him being sixteen at the time, what I am not ok with ... and clearly pointed out in the post ... is that he was a teenager picked up in a public bathroom by a grown adult. Regardless of his actual age, Mr. Jennings thought he was fifteen (he wrote it in his book... I didn't make that up ... he did.)

And you say "you all" like I have something to do with all the maelstrom of criticism or some need to tap dance out of a situation. This is the only time I have ever spoken about it and ... my points are still valid.

An adult cruised and picked up a teen in a public restroom.
Jennings gave bad advice to a boy he thought was fifteen years old having sex with strangers he met in a public bathroom.
The real issue is providing hopeful and truthful solutions to young people and Exodus has resources that do both.

The only anti-gay thing happening here is when gay activists defensively try to downplay this dangerous behavior instead of facing the issue head on and saying public bathroom hookups between adults and teenagers are wrong.

Pianomankugie · 2 months ago

If a teen came to me with this story, I would ask "Why do you feel your life is not worth saving?" and then see where the discussion leads, with me having an intent to communicate that the teen's life IS worth saving, and help the teen to come to that conclusion also. I think the need to belong and to feel valued and accepted and to be special to someone causes all of us, all people, to do all sorts of things, some more healthy and some less healthy.

But if I'm not already an important person in that teen's life or have no history with them, then of course I haven't earned the right to express my personal opinions, etc., besides which, they probably wouldn't ask me, because who am I? Just some adult they felt safe enough to confide in. But IF they did ask me for my opinion, I would walk carefully, saying this is my personal opinion, but of course, you, like every other person, will need to decide for yourself etc. how you will live your life. I would say I think it's unhealthy for you to let an adult use you sexually. If they asked why? I'd answer because it's disrespectful to you for an adult to act that way toward you. If they protested further that they don't deserve respect, I would immediately do what I could to get them to a trained counselor a.s.a.p.

Hopefully all of us blogging here could all agree that any adult taking sexual advantage of a vulnerable teen is not healthy, for the adult or for the teen, regardless of preferences and sexuality, and that too many people on the planet are being misused by others already, even willingly or consensually, and most of those people are straight, simply because there are more of them; but that doesn't make it healthy just because it happens.