Camp Damascus

by Chuck Tingle

Judgment as sport, whether fictional or not, has taken an undeniable toll on me, a weight that’s likely even more caustic than any encounter with some hallucinated demon. Or a real demon.

I’m living, breathing proof these “conversions” are all smoke and mirrors, the outward appearance of change over something that’s internally immutable. Nobody who’s graduated the Camp Damascus program is ex-gay, they’re just even more tormented than before. They’ve been frightened and threatened into submission, a tactic that’s been used against queer people for centuries.