Dawson McAllister Live, a syndicated radio show distributed to over 160 American stations, many of them owned by Clear Channel and aimed at young listeners, promotes a so-called help line, called Hopeline, which you can call at 1-800-394-HOPE, and which tells youth calling with questions about their sexuality they “could be cured” and how homosexuality is like suffered from “alcoholism or pornography or [a] drug addiction.” Not surprisingly, McAllister Live is rooted in purported Christian teachings — and we say “purported,” because we don’t believe true Christians traffic in such hatred. So, yeah, that’s a pretty great use of airtime. [Know Thy Neighbor]
The Radio ‘Hopeline’ Teaching America’s Gay Kids to Treat Their Homosexuality
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REBELComx
Joe.My.God posted this story early this morning and i have already taken steps to contact the two local stations i listen to in order to have the programming removed. Below is the email i sent out to both B104 in the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton, PA area and to Q102 in Philly…who is apparently a sponsor of the upcoming Equality Forum.
The rep from B104 called me within 10 minutes of sending the email and shared my concern. Said it was over his head but he forwarded the info to his superiors and to the company syndicating McAllister’s show. He will keep in touch with me when he hears more info.
the email:
To Whom It May Concern,
Well, I suppose it actually concerns me, as an avid listener of your station. My comment and request is in regards to your late night, Sunday programming. Particularly your syndicated advice line, Dawson McAllister Live.
Mr. McAllister sets himself up as providing advice to teens who call in with personal questions and issues. But there is one issue on which McAllister fails and actually provides harmful information. With this particular issue, he displays his own bias and calls into question ALL of the advice he dishes out. The issue I’m speaking of is that of GLBT youth. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender youth have called and do still call this nationally syndicated helpline for some kind of advice in regards to dealing with their conflicted and confusing emerging sexuality. McAllister’s advice in this arena, however, is far from helpful.
He insists to these questioning youths, whose psyches are already fragile and delicate with taboo shame and stigmatization upon their heads knowing what it is in this society to even contemplate the issue, that they are “broken” and need to be “cured.” He tells them that homosexuality is not natural, that it is on par with theft and murder, that it is akin to alcoholism and drug addiction, and that these teens are questioning their sexuality because they were probably not brought up in a conservative religious home. He berates them with biblical verses and tells them that if they “embrace God” they will be cured. He urges them to seek religious based counseling in order to cure themselves and in essence “pray the gay away.”
THIS. ISN’T. RIGHT. Not only is it not right in ethical terms, it is also egregiously incorrect. This is the exact kind of vile religious based, virulently homophobic diatribe that GLBT children are subjected to every day and leads them to contemplate and commit suicide by the hundreds every year. A 2001 study showed that GLBT teens are 2.3 to 2.5 times more likely to commit suicide than their heterosexual peers. McAllister takes on the identity of a pious bully when telling questioning teenagers that there is something wrong with them and they need to be fixed. And because his opinion is based on religion, it must call into question his motives and the validity of advice he gives on other issues. Not only that, but every mainstream scientific and medical association across the globe disagrees with him. Homosexuality IS natural, is not in-and-of-itself harmful, and is nothing to be ashamed of. It is NOT a psychological disorder, nor is it a moral wrong as McAllister and his business partners (all religious organizations) would attempt to convince these questioning youths. And his horribly wrong position on the issue of GLBT youth is not that surprising if one takes a look through his actual website. Listed as partners on his website are such infamously anti-gay organizations as Focus on the Family (who actually agrees with several organizations that think Christian children should have the right to bully GLBT classmates) and Exodus International, a religious based organization that falsely claims to be able to “cure” homosexuality through conversion therapy.
Conversion therapy, as Mr. McAllister has advised his GLBT callers to undergo, is very controversial and frankly dangerous. Organizations like Exodus International use psychological manipulation and religious rhetoric to attempt to convert homosexuals into “ex-gays.” This process however is under scrutiny by medical and legal authorities. Case after case and charge after charge is brought against such organizations on the grounds of abuse and fraud. In fact, the general consensus within the American medical society, as well as those of other countries, is that this type of therapy not only DOES NOT WORK, it is actually harmful to the psychological, and sometimes physical, well being of the patient. That professional opinion is held by the following: American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Counseling Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National Association of School Psychologists, and the American Academy of Physician Assistants. All of these organizations, along with many others, agree on one thing – not only can sexual orientation NOT be changed, but homosexuality is not at all harmful. Dawson McAllister and his business partners disagree with this on the basis of religious teachings. And it is THAT issue that is at the heart of questioning his ability to give advice at all. When a person’s religious views color and influence the (bad) advice he gives to one group of callers, one must question how that same spiritual agenda is influencing the rest of the advice he gives as well.
As a secular, Top40 radio station, you generally avoid discussions involving politics and religion. And rightly so, particularly in your market. Your market is a melting pot of different cultures, peoples, races, creeds, races, and has a very active and influential GLBT population. As a pop station, you strive to provide music to your listeners and keep them informed of local and national news stories, and you do an excellent job of both. You even play music by notable artists that either support the GLBT community or actually are GLBT themselves. But because of your varied customer base, I would urge you to continue to remain neutral on controversial issues. One person’s religious views should not be allowed to have prevalence on a secular station, even if his advice is filled with good intentions (which is debatable), and even if it is late on a Sunday night. And especially if the advice he is providing is not only false, but also damaging to the caller and the dozens upon dozens of GLBT youth within your listening market who may hear such advice. In this modern society, with the changing times and the growing acceptance of the GLBT community, the last thing these kids need to hear is this kind of religious rhetoric, forcing them back into the closet in shame, thinking there is something wrong with them. Both they, and the rest of your listeners, deserve better. For the sake of your listener’s mental health and well being, and your own image, I strongly urge you to drop this homophobia promoting program from your lineup.
I hope you take all of the above information into serious consideration. I will also be modifying the contents of this email into a petition to be signed by Lehigh Valley listeners, both of the GLBT community and their supporters, in an attempt to influence a positive outcome. I will be anxiously awaiting your response.
REBELComx
@REBELComx:
For the email to Q102 in Philly, i added comments in regards to the station sponsoring the upcoming Equality Forum, as evidenced by all the banner ads they have for it on the website. This is the email response i received from their rep:
“As you noted, Q102 is an Equality Forum sponsor and our parent company also runs a LGBT division, Pride Radio. As evidenced by our local commitment and the other reasons you noted, there is definitely a split in the secular nature of Q102, its diverse demographic and the content McAllister presents.
I’ve forwarded your email to the show’s producers as well as brought your concerns to the attention of Q102’s management.”
So another positive response. I hope they follow up on it.
graham
Is this the same HopeLine that’s sponsored by PostSecret?
hunter
It makes me sad to know that there are kids, teens, and adults who strugle with their sexuality and want to be “normal” due to the way society is. I become even sader to think of these people as they come to realise it’s unchangable and they were lied to because people couldn’t just accept them, and then you ask your selfs why gay teen suicide rates are so high. 🙁
Rut Roe
I personally enjoyed listening to Dawson, I believe he helped countless youth and because 99.7 clear channel no longer airs his show, I’m a little disappointed with them especially considering the content of the music they play. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and as far as his comments regarding Gays Lesbians etc, so be it, and truthfully I agree as well. All they do is run around crying minority, looking for anything to stir up some publicity in and effort to justify their dysfunctional sexuality.