Take a minute to watch this video about yet another young gay guy being put through an ex-gay conversion concentration camp. He disappeared into this nightmare a while back, and his friends (and boyfriend) are trying to find him.
In my comments on Towleroad, I briefly addressed the realities of this situation. Yes, Bryce is an adult, who made a choice (allegedly) to go into this treatment program concentration camp. Those who blame him for doing so would do well to walk into a women’s shelter and ask why women in abusive relationships often don’t leave their husbands. The realities are the same: Bryce’s family’s relationship with him is probably, at the very least, a relationship of emotional and verbal abuse.
It is EXTREMELY difficult to simply discard the only family you’ve ever known and loved, even if they’re treating you like worthless trash – perhaps ESPECIALLY if they’re treating you like trash. Every child desires a positive, affirming relationship with his parents, and unfortunately that desire can lead to an imprisonment of the mind.
His friends are doing the right thing – doing everything they can to find him, and to shame his family and the terrible human beings who run LIA, Exodus and other such concentration camps. I only hope they can get him out in time.