Apple's App Store Accepts 'Gay Cure' App 794
parallel_prankster writes "Apple is under fire for approving a controversial app created by a religious organization — Exodus International. The app seeks to help gay individuals become heterosexual. It received a '4' rating from Apple, which indicates the company considered the app to contain 'no objectionable material.' The new smartphone app was released last week and is now available through iTunes. Exodus International claims to be 'the world's largest ministry to individuals and families impacted by homosexuality.' A petition has been launched by Truth Wins Out, which describes itself as a non-profit organisation that fights anti-gay religious extremism on the change.org website, asking Steve Jobs to intervene to remove the app."
No objectionable material? (Score:3, Interesting)
So would a god bashing app be allowed?
The beginning of the end? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Free speech (Score:5, Interesting)
I am gay, I consider Exodus International's activities deceptively cruel to the point of fraud, and I find the app itself offensive.
And I hope that Apple allows the app to remain in the App Store.
No one has a right to not be offended. If the principle of free speech means anything it means that offensive speech is also allowed and protected, or it's a hollow and hypocritical principle. Even so-called "hate speech" is still just "speech" that expresses a feeling of "hate". It should be allowed.
Just categorize the app accurately: put it with the fart apps.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:There really is an app for everything :P (Score:4, Interesting)
the Bible also has nothing against lesbians, only gay males... actually, some of the ways of reading the book of Ruth, she can be interpreted as a lesbian.... :) Personally... I made an arrangement with the Bible decades ago: I don't bother it, and it doesn't bother me. My girlfriend has different issues with it, but that's because her father is a pastor. (personally, I think that the xian God is petty, vindictive, and cliquish, and certainly not the kind of deity I'd want to break bread with)
More on topic... the lying/bible thing... have you ever seen the movie For The Bible Tells Me So? They address the issue of these so-called "straight camps" in a pretty blunt way: it puts a kind of social negative pressure on people who are gay, discouraging them from accepting themselves, and teaching them to be ashamed of their natural feelings. That lack of self-acceptance is one of the leading causes of suicide within the LGBT community, at least in my experience. I have to ask how many gay boys and girls killed themselves without ever coming out, because they were afraid of being accepted... I have a girlfriend who's in the middle of exactly that debate with herself right now, because her parents are vehemently religious, and she's trans. I'm really worried for how it's going to turn out for her, and I sincerely hope she can get the hell out of her parents' house and into a safe place soon.
(and I tried to be straight. once. when I was 14. I got sick. literally. threw up. and didn't date anybody again until university... and yet still when I told my mom I was queer, she replied "no you're not"... I was lucky, though.... both my parents have happily accepted me once they saw the difference that not lying about myself made to my general sense of well-being and happiness).
Re:Now I'm no homophobe... (Score:5, Interesting)
1. It doesn't sound like a "completely unrelated point" to me ...
2. You come across as a "the gentleman doth protest too much" type. Repressing?
As for your prior claim:
Do you have any proof that sexuality of any sort is a "preference"? Did you wake up one day and decide that you were going to be a straight sexually-repressed Catholic? Or did you become straight because Jesus, the Bible, or someone else told you it was the "right thing to do and you should put away those shameful lusts?
Or did you instead just realize that you instinctively preferred partners of the opposite sex? Same as gays and lesbians realize it despite all the social pressure to deny it?
If you don't want people criticizing your bigoty, JUST DON'T POST! It's that simple!
But since you put it out there, let's see some proof of your claim that heterosexuality, homosexuality, lesbianism, transsexuality, etc., are "nothing more than a preference."
Re:There really is an app for everything :P (Score:2, Interesting)
digestive tract? well, sorry to break it to you, but oral sex is now probably more acceptable than vaginal intercourse among heteros...
score +1 for the liberal conspiracy!
Re:There really is an app for everything :P (Score:5, Interesting)
The bible we have now is the result of an app developed by a startup in Rome in about 300 AD.
That startup got venture funding from Emperor Constantine's capital funds firm
Constantine funding of the Bible app was a strategic investment. It was not for profit, but for consolidation of power.
You see, religion at this time was like a bunch of little computers that were not interconnected. They each had their own autonimous power and rule.
Constantine knew that if he created a single mainframe religion, he can exert power over the people because their bunch of little computers would no longer be relevant.
Of course, slashdot was not invented at that time, therefore there was no story
Now, with our internet and bunch of interconnected little computers, the mainframe is no longer relevant. It's pieces are now found on Ebay and many ham radio flea markets.
Luv and Peace
Re:No objectionable material? (Score:4, Interesting)
Right. Because what the world needs more than anything else is more reproducing people, right?
The post you are replying to appears to have been attempting to say that that homosexuality is not natural because there is no evolutionary advantage to a lifestyle that precludes procreating. I'm no biologist, but I can certainly see an advantage to the larger community in behavior that reduces the birth rate when population density is high. Also, maybe having a gay aunt or uncle increased the reproductive chances of the nieces or nephews. Just because the GP couldn't think of an evolutionary benefit, doesn't mean there isn't/wasn't one.
Besides, who cares if its 'natural' or not. You know what else isn't natural: computers, refrigeration, espresso, etc. Lets not use 'its unnatural' as a criteria for whether something is acceptable or not.
Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)