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Rachel Maddow, Uganda, and the Dangers of Pseudoscience
Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 11:30 am by JamieIn America, when someone claims to be an expert on a subject, with a little research, it’s fairly easy to prove or disprove that person’s credentials. Take Healing Foundation “psycho therapist” Richard Cohen. Cohen’s underlying thesis in his book Coming Out Straight: Understanding and Healing Homosexuality is that homosexuality is a condition that can be cured. Cohen refers to himself as a psycho therapist which gives him instant scientific credibility to his words. Oh, he’s a psycho therapist! He wouldn’t make such claims in his book unless he can back them up with scientific research, accredited studies. He must be an expert. Except he’s not. At all.
Rachel Maddow exposes Cohen as an unlicensed practitioner of psycho therapy and a bit of an idiot who seems to have not even read his own damn book.
Hooray. Another quack exposed.
However, the damage is already done. Cohen’s work has been sited as a scientific justification for the anti-gay legislation proposed in Uganda, the “Kill the Gays” legislation that would sentence gay people to death by hanging if passed. Now while this controversial provision has been removed from the proposed bill, gays would still face imprisonment and forced treatment if passed. Cohen and his group are opposed to the legislation and have said so to the American media. A number of conservative politicians who have been affiliated with anti-gay religious groups have also spoken out against this legislation to the American public. But we’re not responsible for passing legislation in Uganda. The Ugandan people are. And as yet, no one affiliated with Cohen or any of those politicians have told the Ugandans that this isn’t really what they meant.
It’s more than likely that the people proposing this legislation in Uganda would have done so anyway. But the fact that they use Cohen’s work as a scientific basis for the bill sickens me. The fact that he won’t take responsibility, fly over there, and publicly state that he’s against the legislation is appalling. But what scares me even still is that words by some uncredited crack pot can be used to such vicious ends. It doesn’t matter that Cohen isn’t licensed. All that group in Uganda needed was an excuse to propose this bill. Cohen gave them exactly what they were looking for. Look, science says it’s so! Let’s write up this fucked up law! Ugh.
I gotta give it up to Rachel Maddow for bringing this to light and for getting in Cohen’s face.
Source: Towle Road
