Many readers of this blog are familiar with Ryan Sorba’s campus campaign to educate the public about what he calls the “born gay hoax.” Some of seen the video of his campus lectures and read excerpts of his speeches on facebook or on blogs. But for those of you who have not heard about his book project and concurrent lecture series, I’ve written a kind of feature story for this space.
In a series of posts this week, timed with Ryan’s upcoming lecture at Smith College in Massachusetts, I will highlight the work Ryan is doing to promote his upcoming book and its theme, the “born gay hoax.”
The article is entitled, “Crusading for Truth, a lone voice takes on an uncomfortable subject.” The subtitle reads, “The battle of ideas on college campuses heats up with The Born Gay Hoax.”
Here is the first in a series of posts from this article.
The crowd stands outside in the desert air, chatting quietly and waiting for the sign to enter the campus building. They are not that used to political events on their campus, especially those of a decidedly conservative nature. But this evening, one of their fellow students at California State University in San Bernardino, has aroused their interest in a topic that sets off emotional reactions of anticipation, discomfort, and for some, anger. Ryan Sorba, a psychology student and campus leader, is here to make the case against homosexuality and the political movement that buttresses it.
He is writing a book, the name of which is also the topic of his speech, “The Born Gay Hoax.” Sorba has spent countless hours researching, reading, scribbling notes and writing passages on his laptop computer. He is determined to put an end to the idea that human beings are “born gay” and to convince people that the entire gay movement is a farce, a massive public relations campaign which seeks to gain acceptance into the culture through chicanery and lies. When you talk to him there is no doubt in his mind, and no doubt that he has read more studies on the topic than almost anyone. He traces the history of the movement from its beginning to the present day. He points out that the political agitators who created the movement admit that there is no such thing as being ‘born gay”, and quotes them at length from their journals and academic papers. “These people don’t hide what their goals are,” he says. “They are quite open about their methodology and strategy, and I am speaking out to end this hoax that they have perpetrated.”
In the age of the Internet, communication has been revolutionized and has allowed almost anyone to gain an audience of thousands for their ideas. With email, Facebook, YouTube, Google and Blogger, an individual can post his thoughts, articles, videos and other content to the net, which can be viewed by both those he knows, and strangers he has never met. The video of Sorba’s lecture at Cal-State on the “born gay hoax” has been viewed over 3000 times and a quick Google search brings up dozens of blog posts, press releases or comments that mention Sorba or his lecture. It is his intention to “create a situation where the phrase ‘the born gay hoax’ enters the political lexicon and is popularized by opinion leaders.” He says that if he can get the phrase out there, and reach the right people with his message, he can frame the debate his way by creating vivid pictures in people’s minds that influence how they view the gay movement. “My initial speeches and the book are the first shots across the bow. Then, I am going to make sure that hundreds of campus leaders across the country get copies of the book and begin to educate other students about the ‘born gay hoax.’ I am being very strategic with my target audience.”
As Sorba continues his lecture at Cal-State, he delves into everything from ancient philosophy, to natural law to modern academic scholarship. In nearly an hour, he covers everything from the nature of truth and objective morality, to the physical and spiritual destruction caused by the gay lifestyle. As he completes his speech, which has gone on without any major interruptions, he looks up and offers to answer questions. One student in particular is interested in debunking the presentation by offering up competing studies. He makes a grand show by stepping up onto the stage with Sorba. The speaker takes it in stride and proceeds to answer the critic by citing the fact that the student is referring to a study that has been discredited.
By the end of the evening, after the questions and comments, a crowd is still swarming around Sorba, trying to poke holes in his argument, and offering personal experiences and perspectives. He maintains his calm demeanor, and tries to answer each of the students before finally leaving as the university building closes. All in all, a decent round one for the crusader whose goal is to thwart a massive political movement.
