IMHO "The Trials of Ted Haggard": Thanks for nothing, Alexandra

Let me cut to the chase — this documentary pissed me off. Ted Haggard as a victim of his own same-sex impulses and the homophobic intolerance of his own church? Haggard as sympathetic man finanically broke and miserably wandering around in exile just trying to make a living so he can support his family?

Blech.

Don't forget this is a man who lied to his family and followers, still compares homosexuality to alcoholism and opposes gay marriage and gay adoption. Now, thanks to Pelosi, he's got a national platform (including stints on Oprah and Larry King) to babble on about how he has his sinful urges under control. 

Thanks, Alexandra.

Given how little substance there is in ToTH, I'm baffled as to why Pelosi even made this film. My best guess is simply because it was easy. She knew — and liked — Haggard from her earlier documentary Friends of God, which was about Christian fundamentalists. She certainly feels bad for him, as the documentary demonstrates, and doesn't exactly press him about his past actions.

What angers me most is that Pelosi is a documentarian of some stature and could've chosen any number of subjects to chronicle. If she wanted to do something about homosexuliaty, how about telling the story of gay couples forced to separate or move abroad because one of them is not a citizen of the United States? How about any one of the LGBT folks brutally murdered the past five years?  Or how about something positive, such as one of the many gay couples now wed in Massachusetts or California demonstrating that same-sex marriage is not a threat to civilization?  

Instead, we get a man who, whether Pelosi intended it or not, continues to perpetuate all sorts of negative stereotypes about gay men, drugs and sex. And it's not as if ToTD sheds any new light on Haggard himself, the scandal that brought him down, or the homophobic church he used to head. Instead, we get a man in denial about all sorts of things offering up platitudes about persevering and keeping faith.

Heck, Pelosi the documentarian apparently didn't even know Haggard had another relationship with a young man while pastor of New Life or that the church paid the young man money to help him "deal" with the relationship. Naturally, New Life denies this was hush money, but you can draw your own conclusion.

That's a story I wish Pelosi had the temerity to tell. But it was probably a lot easier to follow Haggard driving around and playing golf than confronting the homophobia that warped him so badly. 

Thanks so much for your hard work, Alexandra. Do us in the gay community a favor and don't bother with "gay" topics again anytime soon

And readers, do yourself a favor and watch something else Thursday night.