Ex-Gay Watch
News and analysis of exgay politics and culture.
Millions To Defeat Them, Nickels To Serve Them
By Jim Burroway on March 21st, 2007
Karen Booth is the leader of an Exodus member ministry called Transforming Congregations. She was offended recently when Mike Jones, the man who outed Ted Haggard, placed his massage table for auction on eBay. The proceeds of the auction where promised to Project Angel Heart, an established, reputable charity which provides care for AIDS and cancer patients. In response, Karen Booth placed a request on her ministry website for others to join her in contacting eBay to demand that they remove the auction, calling it "reprehensible":
This item is not only offensive to any person in the eBay community who might be personally connected to Mr. Haggard, but is also highly offensive to Christians, particularly conservative evangelicals. I think it is a violation of eBay's stated Community Values and I ask you to remove the listing from the eBay website.
I have put an alert on my ministry's national website and have also informed other national Christian ministries, including the American Family Association. (The auction is also being discussed on several Internet blogs.) If the offensive listing is not removed, I will encourage my supporters to boycott eBay, which I also intend to do.
On March 17, one day before the auction was to end, eBay pulled it. Ex-Gay Watch author David Roberts spoke with Mike Jones on Sunday. Mike said he was given a vague reason having to do with rules regarding charities. He was bewildered by this, since he had received help from eBay staff in listing the item to begin with. Mostly he felt sad because Project Angel Heart was expecting the much needed donation, and as any eBayer can tell you, the last day — the last minutes even — are when the bids really fly.
I think most of us can understand that this item and it's placement on eBay might upset many. It is a reminder of some sad events for those who knew and admired Ted Haggard. It represents areas of a man's secret life that many just don't want to know about. And yes, one could even say it is tacky. Highly offensive, even.
But if we are completely honest here, the biggest issue for so many is that Mike Jones is a prostitute. Rev. Booth appeared to allude to this when she left this comment on Warren Throckmorton's site:
Didn't know if anyone on the blog realized this, but Mike Jones – whose integrity is clearly above reproach – has put his so-called "Ted Haggard Massage Table" up for auction on eBay. [emphasis mine]
I wrote about this yesterday on my blog, which elicited this response from Rev. Booth:
The actions I took with eBay (and encouraged my ministry supporters to follow) weren't because poor Mike Jones is a prostitute. It was because his auction crossed the line of common human decency and principled business ethics. What's next? Used condoms from someone who had sex with Anna Nicole?
Not that facts ever deter you, but eBay has stated that the auction was cancelled because of charity violations and had nothing to do with my – or anyone else's – personal concerns
A used piece of furniture is hardly in the same league as "used condoms." I think a better analogy would be Bonnie and Clyde's bullet-ridden car. Yes it is in terrible taste. I think I conceded that point. Some may even say it's disgusting and salacious. Okay, they have a point. That statement applies to the whole sordid affair. But to say it crossed the lines of simple human decency? I'm not so sure. Perhaps that line was already crossed when Rev. Haggard paid for sex outside of his marriage. Anyway, Mike Jones is out of the massage business and doesn't need the table anymore. Would it have been more decent if he had sold it and kept the cash for himself?
Rev. Booth is correct to point out that eBay says they cancelled the auction because charity auctions are handled differently. Mike doesn't fully believe the explanation himself based on his own personal communications with eBay personnel. I cannot know which explanation is correct. But it doesn't really matter because that's all beside the point. The point isn't whether she succeeded in getting the auction pulled or not. And the point isn't even that the auction was pulled.
The point is this: I'm only speaking for myself here, but I think it takes a lot of chutzpah for the Reverend to lecture anyone about decency when it comes to raising money for AIDS. When I attended the Love Won Out ex-gay conference in Phoenix on February 10th, ex-gay counselor and author Joe Dallas spoke movingly of the church's shameful failure during the first twenty-five years of AIDS in America:
And I got to tell you, as somebody who was a part of the gay community in the early days of the AIDS epidemic, we in the gay community did not hear from the spokesmen for the church a message of concern or compassion. We heard glee! While person after person got behind a TV camera and said, "Ah-hah! The judgment of God is falling down on those sodomites. They're finally getting what they deserve."
That is the message the gay community is never going to forget!
I saw that you could raise millions of dollars from the Christian community to defeat gay political causes. … But you could barely raise nickels for organizations that tried to minister to homosexual people. Millions to defeat them, nickels to serve them — what did that say about our heart and priorities?
I have no idea whether Joe Dallas thinks the eBay auction is decent or not. I have a sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't approve. But I think he had it right when he said that the church needs to repent of its horrible response to the AIDS crisis. And until it does, I don't see where Rev. Booth or anyone else has room to criticize Mike Jones for trying to turn a shameful chapter into a few nickels for the service of others.
And as I said before, I'd prefer to follow Christ's example and go with the prostitute over the Pharisees any day of the week.
David Roberts contributed to this article.
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Samie D says:
Maybe Ebay harbors some anti-gay sentiments. I do recall that Ebay's CEO, Meg Whitman, raised quite a bit of money for Mitt Romney recently. This is going to be interesting.
Robis says:
Rev. Booth was the one who asked Mike Airhart over at Dr. Throckmorton's site what we want from ex-gay ministries, and I think this example illustrates exactly what I think most of us want from them.
Rev. Booth's actions were reactionary and not thoughtful or loving. A thoughtful person would have considered whether their feelings of offense were more important than the good the money raised would have accomplished. A loving person would have considered the real lives of others a higher priority than their own hurt feelings. By her actions, Booth did not hurt Mr. Jones. Booth hurt all of the people that would have benefitted by the auction. To her, it is more important to be right than it is to be loving.
That, I think, is why it doesn't matter to me—or to most people, I would hope—whether there is a difference between therapy and ministry among the ex-gay crowd. Actions do not become less harmful because they are part of a ministry as opposed to a therapy, and engaging in practices that may be harmful is not okay just because you are doing it in the name of religion. Booth and others like her do not have the moral high ground to do whatever they feel like doing and then claim de facto that it is good. And that is what I see is the overarching theme among ex-gay ministries: because they are doing God's work, whatever they do (be it unlicensed therapy, bearing false witness against gay people a la Paul Cameron, or actively engaging in anti-gay legislation) is acceptable to them, regardless of what real, flesh-and-blood people get hurt in the end.
So, to answer Booth's earlier question about what we want from the ex-gay crowd, I offer this: start acting as if people are more important than the principles to which you have devoted yourself and your ministry. Start seeing people as the reason for your ministry. you don't have to put them above God, but it would certainly help if you put them above yourself.
(My apologies for my rather strong condemnation. Sometimes there's just not a softer way to say something.)
Mike Airhart says:
I originally told Rev. Booth that I considered the auction disgusting, salacious and immoral. I still believe it was salacious, but not immoral. It sought to turn something negative into something positive.
I further believe Booth acted immorally to obstruct aid to a charity when her campaign could instead have raised counter-donations for the same charity, quite possibly totaling more than Jones' donation.
Her campaign was not only selfish, it also lacked creativity and constructive intent.
Michael Ditto says:
There's an easy way that Jones can find out if eBay is being anti-gay…Donate the table to Project Angel Heart directly and let them auction it off. That gets around eBay's policy (which I have run into before–it's about protecting buyers from people who say they will donate the proceeds to charity in order to spike the bids but keep the money). If eBay cancels the auction again, then it's time to complain about eBay.
I think Michael is right – donate the massage table to the charity to auction off on eBay. Then let the dominionists throw their tantrums and perhaps eBay will have the sense to dump their email campaign in the trash.
As much as many of these "Christian ministries" participate in the manufacture of deception, manipulation and outright lying, they have little foundation for pretense to ethical or moral purity. A massage table, in itself, is not obscene – the only thing they detest is the reminder of one of their own's solicitation. And that not only points to the flimsiness of their own claim to the power of "faith," but underscores why they need to force all others to adhere to their "values" in order for them to exercise their right to "worship."
Clearly, if Haggard, with all the spiritual power and money surrounding him, could participate in "sinful" activities for such a long period of time, there is something warped about the Right's claim to redemption.
As with most everything else they support, it is all about imagery and little to do with any real substance. But then, what would you expect from people who cling to the belief that a man wearing a pink shirt may be in danger of becoming gay?
Box Turtle Bulletin » Blog Archive » The Prostitute and the Pharisees says:
[…] Karen Booth responds in the comments. I reply to Karen at Ex-Gay Watch. For related information, see Anti-Gay Activists & Activism, HIV/AIDS postCount('250'); | […]
Dave Rattigan says:
I saw the auction as a kind of living satire. Yes, bad taste, but satire can be that.
The protests are a smokescreen – Haggard put his own indecency in the spotlight through his own actions, words and hypocrisy; turning the tables (pardon the pun) on Jones smacks of looking for a scapegoat.
Timothy Kincaid says:
I wonder if the outrage would be the same if it were Monica's blue dress auctioned for the benefit of the Alliance Defense Fund. Somehow I doubt it.
Emproph says:
Jerry Falwell: "If the American Atheists Society or Saddam Hussein himself ever sent an unrestricted gift to any of my ministries," Falwell says, "be assured I will operate on Billy Sunday's philosophy: The Devil's had it long enough, and quickly cash the check."
No doubt they'd come up with something creative to justify selling a devil's blue dress.
http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/1998/february9/8t2082.html
David Roberts says:
The only possible reason I can think of to refulse a donation from an organization or individual of opposing views would be if there were strings attached (strong ones), or a quid pro quo expected which would interfere with the primary work of the charity. Otherwise I would find it hard to explain such self-righteousness to those who would go without – particularly in the case of Project Angel Heart.
Steve Schalchlin says:
I know Mike Jones and he is a VERY decent human being who did the gay community a huge favor by exposing a hypocrite who was an enemy of the gay community while indulging in gay sex — and who is still a hypocrite because none of his public proclamations have been candid or honest.
The "Christians" who smacked down this auction are the actual prostitutes in this matter.
grantdale says:
Ha ha, you had me going there Jim (with a great article, once again)
That was, until you posed the question about where someone like Karen Booth "has room to criticize".
Sanctimonious religious people — greedy with their own self-righteous desire to interfer in other people's lives — have never needed an invitation.
ebay does have, for good reason, rules about charity auctions.
However, Booth didn't based her complaint on them. Never mentioned them in fact.
And to be perfectly honest… we do not see the offering of "that" massage table to charity, or even Mike Jones' former career for that matter, as anywhere near as offensive as a woman preaching. Jeez, that clearly ain't biblical. Who let that start???
(Whatever next — "votes" for women? pfft, why don't we just over throw the whole ordained natural order while we're at it!)
Autumn Sandeen says:
Jim wrote in his article about Joe Dallas' response about AIDS:
Tonight I was reading over at the Americans For Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH) website the article Good News for Taxpayers: UCSF "Trans" Programs Lose Funding and Close. Sonja Dalton wrote:
When you read this post, ask yourself: If "transsexuality" is a healthy lifestyle option, why is it necessary for the government (taxpayers) to extend grants for disease treatment and mental health counseling?
Note: We have a suggestion as to where these 1300 precious human beings should go: to a Bible-believing church where they can hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and be healed emotionally and spiritually.
Firstly, I want to ask Sonja "Exactly how much does conversion therapist charge, Sonja, and does AFTAH subsidize any of these costs for folk who with unwanted same-sex attraction or unwanted cross gender identities who can't afford a conversion therapist?" I think I already know the answer to that question — it would be nice to hear the answer to that question from Sonja's lips though.
Secondly, there was a Religious Right sense of glee at the suffering of those in the gay community with HIV/AIDS; now here's an example at a Religious Right sense of glee at cutting off healthcare services for transgender people.
Like Joe Dallas and the gay community who remember the Religious Right response to HIV/AIDS, I'm not going to forget this Religious Right response to the healthcare needs of transgender people either — a gleeful, "Christian" (more like un-Christian) rejoicing at the suffering of others.
Regan DuCasse says:
Wow…I'm sitting and reading these posts. I be awestruck.
This is excellent thought and suggestion. I love you, I really do.
Hey STEVE S.!
How you doing brother? Would you give Jim a big ol hug for me?
BTW…I just saw and met and visited Stephen Fales (Mormon rent boy, ahem, amen…never mind…)
saw his show "Confessions of a Mormon Boy."
Between him and this Jones fellow, I'm thinking….hookers with hearts of gold.
I'd say turning something bad into something good…is always right.
Thing about PFOX or any other conservative groups that are spending SO much time and energy against gay folks, there is so much more urgent business out there-these people really don't know and wouldn't know moral imperatives if one came along an knit them a sweater.
Jim Burroway says:
…wouldn't know moral imperatives if one came along an knit them a sweater.
Regan, that line made my day!
More castigating the prostitute while saying little to nothing about thie clients. This sort of attitude is hypocritical and just makes Rev. Booth and her gang look bad.
All references to Karen Booth's campaign against the Ebay sale have been removed from the Transforming Congregations website. Maybe she 'gets' that it was an unloving action. Or maybe it's because the table's back up for sale?
Actually, it's still there. The website is poorly desgined however, which make it difficult to navigate to it though. And because of the website's design using frames, it's also difficult to get a link to the page.
The page however has been updated.
http://transformingcong.org/4_be_informed_hottopics.htm
Ex-Gay Watch » Karen Booth Decides to Apologize to Mike Jones says:
[…] Jim Burroway: Actually, it's still there. The… […]
Ah – Ok, I see it now. Thx, Jim.
Karen Booth apologized to Mike Jones for the "Prostitute" think. See the update here:
http://www.exgaywatch.com/2007/03/karen-booth-decides-to-apologize-to-mike-jones/
A Stitch in Haste says:
Linkfest: Sunday Updates…
Time to clean out the aggregator.
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