Peter LaBarbera's pitiful attack on the Southern Poverty Law Center

While George "daddy longstroke" Rekers continues to be hit by the hubris bus, our friend, Peter LaBarbera has renewed his attacks on the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Ever since the SPLC declared his Americans for Truth web site to be a hate site, LaBarbera has been scrambling to destroy SPLC's credibility.

And he thinks he found something.

In 2005, the organization mistaked him for discredited researcher Paul Cameron in its Intelligence Report, saying that it was he who was denounced by the American Psychological Association. So now, LaBarbera has jumped on this as sort of proof that the organization isn't credible. However in his glee, a few things escaped LaBarbera.

While it is true that he is not Paul Cameron and was never denounced by the American Psychological Association, he never says why he would cite someone who was denounced by the American Psychological Association, which is the main reason why the Americans for Truth web site was cited as a hate site.

What Peter does is offer a ridiculous defense of Cameron:

It should be noted that the confusion of two conservative, pro-family advocates is only the most blatant error found in the SPLC documents. We will let Paul Cameron and his Family Research Institute provide a full correction of the SPLC’s misinformation about him (see this FRI post on the APA expulsion claim).

That link is nothing more than Cameron relating a story of how he convinced doctoral dissertation candidates into believing that he was not expelled from the American Psychological Association or the American Sociological Association for distorting research.

And believe it or not, he is right.

Cameron was expelled from the American Psychological Association for not cooperating with the Committee of Scientific and Professional Ethics and Conduct when the committee was investigating claims by fellow researchers that Cameron was distorting their work. See the letter from the American Psychological Association here

And as for the American Sociological Association:

 In 1985, the American Sociological Association (ASA) adopted a resolution which asserted that "Dr. Paul Cameron has consistently misinterpreted and misrepresented sociological research on sexuality, homosexuality, and lesbianism" and noted that "Dr. Paul Cameron has repeatedly campaigned for the abrogation of the civil rights of lesbians and gay men, substantiating his call on the basis of his distorted interpretation of this research." The resolution formally charged an ASA committee with the task of "critically evaluating and publicly responding to the work of Dr. Paul Cameron."

At its August, 1986 meeting, the ASA officially accepted the committee's report and passed the following resolution:

The American Sociological Association officially and publicly states that Paul Cameron is not a sociologist, and condemns his consistent misrepresentation of sociological research. Information on this action and a copy of the report by the Committee on the Status of Homosexuals in Sociology, "The Paul Cameron Case," is to be published in Footnotes, and be sent to the officers of all regional and state sociological associations and to the Canadian Sociological Association with a request that they alert their members to Cameron's frequent lecture and media appearances."

Nice try, Peter and Paul.

Then LaBarbera tries to nitpick with SPLC over his behavior at several junctures:

• The Lambda Report on Homosexual Activism, the precursor and flagship print publication of Americans For Truth, was not “inflammatory” but reported using firsthand information gathered from homosexual activist groups and “gay” events. Besides, the SPLC, with its reckless and preposterous linkage of demented, racist fringe groups like the KKK to mainstream pro-family conservative groups such as AFTAH and pro-Constitution Tea Partiers — all under the rubric of alleged “hate” — is in no place to lecture anyone about being “inflammatory”;
• LaBarbera was never a member of the American Psychological Association and is not a scientist, hence he was never expelled; here the SPLC mistakes him with Cameron [Editor's Note: for years the Left has distorted the facts surrounding Cameron's association with the APA; see this PhD dissertation apology to Cameron] (Alvin - I covered this already.)
• LaBarbera’s work has not been “denounced by the American Psychological Association”; again, here the SPLC writer, relying on the 2005 erroneous SPLC report, mistakes LaBarbera for Cameron.
• At the 2006 Vision America conference in question, “The War on Christians,” LaBarbera did not call homosexuality “disgusting” but referred to specific homosexual acts and their unhealthy consequences as such. He continues to believe that shame, not pride, should be associated with all homosexual conduct because it is immoral.
• At the same Vision America conference, LaBarbera did not call for the closing of all homosexual “establishments,” but for shutting down homosexual sex clubs and bathhouses as public health hazards. These sex businesses — which helped AIDS explode nationally in the eighties — facilitate anonymous homosexual sexual encounters and hyper-promiscuity, which spreads disease and harms both men who have sex with men and and the women who are in relationships with these men. (The latter often are unaware of their partners’ secret promiscuity.)

AFTAH repeats its challenge to Mark Potok, Southern Poverty Law Center’s director, to a public “Debate on Hate” regarding the SPLC’s politically-motivated “hate” designations.

Peter seems to have jumped on an error by SPLC and is trying to pump it up into something huge, but when one looks at exactly what he is saying, it is nothing there but a pitiful man still smarting over being called out over his lies.

But instead of jumping on Potok, how about challenging me, Peter. I listed 10 reasons why your web site is a hate site. What do you have to say about these:

1. Smearing gays via a CDC report on an increase on HIV while intentionally downplaying the part of the report which clearly places the blame on this increase on homophobia (while at the same time implying that the report "dispels the homophobia causes AIDS propaganda")

2.   Defending a bill which would lead to the imprisonment and possible genocide of Ugandans simply for being gay or lesbian.

. 3. Going to subcultural leather events and using the "racy" behavior of gays attending to stigmatize the entire lgbt community while ignoring the behavior of heterosexuals at the same events.

4 . Making ugly comments about a "transgender quota" in the Obama Administration simply because the president appoints a (very, very qualified) transgendered woman to an office in his administration.

5. Instigating a  highly inappropriate comment about gays, lesbians, and sexual intercourse; a comment so ugly that it led to a feud between three religious right groups.

6. Continuously citing the work of the discredited researcher Paul Cameron, even when made aware of his dubious history of getting kicked out of medical groups, censures and rebukes.

7. Aiding and abetting Conservapedia spread lies about gay health using the fictional term "gay bowel syndrome."

8. Freely admitting to errors when it comes to claims against the gay and lesbian community but not taking responsibility for them.

9. Falsely accusing the Democratic National Convention and the Gay and Lesbian Task Force of putting on a sadomasochistic event.

10. Attempting to imply that a staph infection was the new HIV and then lying about his implications when caught.


I await your answer, but I know it will never come.

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