I travel a lot for business and as any world-weary businessman will know, comfort is taken in the familiarity of a particular airline and hotel chain. My hotel group of choice has always been Marriott, I have stayed with them extensively around the world and even the odd time when there has been a glitch (no hot water, fire alarm at 3am) I've stayed true to them as overall they meet my needs and more. No matter how gruelling my journey has been, arriving at a Marriott hotel has always afforded me a sense of valuable relief. Then I read something disheartening today...
Right now, in The Phoenix Marriott Airport Hotel in Arizona, there is an ex-gay therapy conference going on. This makes me incredibly sad. As someone who knows what it is like to live a lie based on their sexuality, someone who has hoped and prayed that their homosexuality would go away, it makes me feel sick to think there are organisations making money out of convincing people they can be changed from gay to straight.
Psychologists say that ex-gay therapy is 'ineffective, unethical and often harmful, exacerbating anxiety and self-hatred among those treated for what is not a mental disorder.' Four US states have already outlawed the therapy and others are set to follow.
A petition with over 53,000 signatures opposing their decision to host this conference has been sent to Marriott but they've still decided to proceed with the National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality's (NARTH) hate-filled and damaging event.
A visit to the NARTH website (not recommended) shows that they are woefully misinformed. They claim not to be a religious organisation yet a heavy Christian influence is apparent with an hour-long video presentation of Biblical Hermeneutics in relation to homosexuality. They are on a par with backward Bible-bashers, The Westboro Baptist Church. I wonder if Marriott would host a conference by them? Or the Ku Klux Klan? They are all groups who bash minorities in the name of The Lord.
I'm very aware of how supportive Marriott are of their gay employees and was glad to read that they had sponsored The Gay Games which makes their decision to host this dreadful event even more surprising. It's as if we found out Liza Minnelli goes queer-bashing at the weekends.
I will never stay in a Marriott hotel again. By renting out their premises to NARTH, Marriott have profited from the shame and hatred of gay people and I will never support a company that makes money in such a despicable way. Will you?
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