I've been thinking this one through for days, weeks, even, so my writing it on the day after the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act is purely coincidental. Happily coincidental, but purely so.
A few weeks or whatever ago, I was walking the dogs back up the hill while perusing the headlines of the local paper (our house is at the top of a hill; our mailbox at the bottom). A little blurb in the upper right hand corner of the front page read something like, "Scouts Allow Gays." Well, hooray, I thought. Finally a bit of common sense. Then, when I got inside, I opened the paper and read the article, which said not that the Boy Scouts of America were allowing gay troop leaders, but that they were allowing gay scouts. And I was all, huh?
It never occurred to me that the BSA would have concerned themselves for so much as a single moment about the sexual orientation of their scouts. I thought it was bad enough they were worried about the orientation of their scout leaders: it seemed to buy into the crazy belief that gay equaled pedophile, which for the life of me I've never understood. But this--picture a little kindergartner in Cub Scouts, making a car for the Pinewood Derby. Going camping in a tent. Having a blast with his friends. Now picture the same child at age 8-10-12--whatever--suddenly understanding that he doesn't feel about girls the same way his friends do. At this point the kid has two choices: 1) hide the fact that he's gay, and feel ashamed; 2) tell people, and get kicked out of scouting. Hello?
I was a Girl Scout for nine years and we never had this sort of insanity. I've checked, and the Girl Scouts have never had a rule about any scout or leader's sexuality, because there's no sex in scouting. We were too young for it, and also, too busy. We were camping and learning how to start fires and riding horses (oh, how I loved Girl Scouts!) and doing crafts and singing Christmas carols for creepy old people in nursing homes. I had a very active scout troop in middle school. It's quite possible some of my fellow scouts or some of the leaders were lesbians. I'd never know. (I can't remember the names or faces of any of our assistant leaders, sorry. Our main leader was Mrs. Schneider. I didn't love her--she wasn't very approachable--but I really liked how often she took us camping.) Scouting was about scouting.
Right now I'm troop leader of a pony club--pony club, like scouts, is an international youth organization with lots and lots of rules. None of them concern sexuality. Why not? Because there's no sex in pony club. We don't have time for that. I just got back from a rally in which my team finished first in horse management, no small feat. They worked hard all day, every day, from the barns opening at 6 am til closing at 6 or 7 pm, at which time we'd eat, shower, and fall exhausted into sleep. In fact, the only time I've ever had the tiniest bit of trouble regarding sex and pony club was on a drive to a rally when one of our college-age heterosexual members decided to discuss her boyfriend. No one wanted to hear about it, so she shut up.
So, c'mon, Boy Scouts, give it a rest. Quit looking like fear-mongering bigots. Teach some kids how to start a fire. Make them hike uphill a couple miles, pitch their own tents, cook their own meals. Nobody has to worry about sex. They'll all be too tired for that.
A few weeks or whatever ago, I was walking the dogs back up the hill while perusing the headlines of the local paper (our house is at the top of a hill; our mailbox at the bottom). A little blurb in the upper right hand corner of the front page read something like, "Scouts Allow Gays." Well, hooray, I thought. Finally a bit of common sense. Then, when I got inside, I opened the paper and read the article, which said not that the Boy Scouts of America were allowing gay troop leaders, but that they were allowing gay scouts. And I was all, huh?
It never occurred to me that the BSA would have concerned themselves for so much as a single moment about the sexual orientation of their scouts. I thought it was bad enough they were worried about the orientation of their scout leaders: it seemed to buy into the crazy belief that gay equaled pedophile, which for the life of me I've never understood. But this--picture a little kindergartner in Cub Scouts, making a car for the Pinewood Derby. Going camping in a tent. Having a blast with his friends. Now picture the same child at age 8-10-12--whatever--suddenly understanding that he doesn't feel about girls the same way his friends do. At this point the kid has two choices: 1) hide the fact that he's gay, and feel ashamed; 2) tell people, and get kicked out of scouting. Hello?
I was a Girl Scout for nine years and we never had this sort of insanity. I've checked, and the Girl Scouts have never had a rule about any scout or leader's sexuality, because there's no sex in scouting. We were too young for it, and also, too busy. We were camping and learning how to start fires and riding horses (oh, how I loved Girl Scouts!) and doing crafts and singing Christmas carols for creepy old people in nursing homes. I had a very active scout troop in middle school. It's quite possible some of my fellow scouts or some of the leaders were lesbians. I'd never know. (I can't remember the names or faces of any of our assistant leaders, sorry. Our main leader was Mrs. Schneider. I didn't love her--she wasn't very approachable--but I really liked how often she took us camping.) Scouting was about scouting.
Right now I'm troop leader of a pony club--pony club, like scouts, is an international youth organization with lots and lots of rules. None of them concern sexuality. Why not? Because there's no sex in pony club. We don't have time for that. I just got back from a rally in which my team finished first in horse management, no small feat. They worked hard all day, every day, from the barns opening at 6 am til closing at 6 or 7 pm, at which time we'd eat, shower, and fall exhausted into sleep. In fact, the only time I've ever had the tiniest bit of trouble regarding sex and pony club was on a drive to a rally when one of our college-age heterosexual members decided to discuss her boyfriend. No one wanted to hear about it, so she shut up.
So, c'mon, Boy Scouts, give it a rest. Quit looking like fear-mongering bigots. Teach some kids how to start a fire. Make them hike uphill a couple miles, pitch their own tents, cook their own meals. Nobody has to worry about sex. They'll all be too tired for that.
Title of your post should be “There Was No Sex In Scouting.” That is until the ghey activists decided to homosexualize the Boy Scouts. Eligibility for Boy Scouts begins at age eleven. I don’t believe many boys that age are indulging in much fornicating of either the hetero- or homosexual variety, maybe fantasizing some, but not practicing.
ReplyDeleteThe scout oath states:
On my honor, I will do my best
To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;
To help other people at all times;
To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.
In America, God is generally understood to be the God of the Bible. That God does not look upon adultery, fornication, and homosexual acts with favor, thus the Boy Scouts, being true to their oath, do not look upon such behavior with favor. In addition, they pledge to keep themselves morally straight.
Now the leadership of the Boy Scouts of America decided, against the will of the majority of its membership, that a member doesn’t really have a duty to God or to keep morally straight. You say that those who don’t abandon Boy Scout principles look like “fear-mongering bigots.” That is radical leftist brainwash bullshit. Just because someone has moral standards does not make them a bigot. If that were true, it would make the God of the Bible a bigot.
The new policy is not going to strengthen the Boy Scouts, but will weaken the organization. The gheys could care less about that. The policy is anti-God and anti-Christian, and part of the radical leftist ghey agenda to diminish and criminalize Christian doctrine by condemning those portions of it that conflict with ghey rhetoric as “hate speech,” subject to fines and jail time.
About 70% of scout troops are church supported. Much of that support will vanish and is vanishing now. There will be a new scouting organization emerge, one that will adhere to the former principles and be immune to antagonistic forces.
If your argument were to hold any weight, then the scouts should also deny any scout leader the right to participate if a) he has been divorced b) he has ever had premarital sex c) he is remarried (how can he remarry if he was never supposed to divorce in the first place?) d) he has ever coveted another woman e) the list goes on and on. Doesn't it also state in the Bible that Jesus wants us to love one another, WITHOUT JUDGMENT???
ReplyDeleteI was a girl scout for ten years of my youth. I LOVED my experiences with scouts: the potlucks, camps, meetings, arts/crafts, etc. Never once did sexuality come up as part of scouting. What I didn't realize at the time is that I was also a lesbian. I didn't really figure that part out until I was in college. Scouting had absolutely nothing to do with it. It is simply part of who I am, just as I am also a woman, Native American, etc etc. I do not prey on or attempt to influence young girls. That is not homosexuality, that is pedophilia. I attempt to maintain high morals and integrity in every aspect of my life. I work hard to maintain my faith and to consider the consequences of my actions in all that I do. I am committed to becoming the most loving, caring, selfless person I can be although I know I will make many mistakes on my journey. My goal is to love, respect, and accept everyone unconditionally, just as Jesus did. I truly believe, regardless of what the Bible states or doesn't state, that God MADE ME WHO I AM and I try to honor Him in all I do. Using God as a reason to exclude or assert bias against ANY group of people is simply wrong. It is HIS responsibility to judge, NOT OURS.