I heard something today that bothered me a great deal, and inspired me to start this blog. I read a story about a man who was essentially kicked out of a leadership position in the Boy Scouts because other members complained about his sexual orientation. The man, who is a devoted father of a scout, was forced to step down as a leader and not wear the uniform because some of the other parents found out he is gay.
The intolerance of a few never really surprises me, but it angered me a great deal when I found out that the official policy of the Boy Scouts is that homosexuals and atheists are not aloud to partake in the organization in any way, according to both a scout executive and the director of public relations for the scouts.
This simply blew me away. The fact that a reputable organization that's supposed to help our boys become men and prepare them for adulthood discriminates against homosexuals is utterly ridiculous. I would like somebody to explain to me what makes a gay person, or a gay father for that matter, any less capable of teaching our young boys values and lessons to help guide them through life.
When I brought this up to a friend of mine at the university, she said to me "Would you want a gay man to take your son and a group of boys into the forest for a weekend and teach the boys how to be men?"
Just as much as I would want any other straight man to take my son into the woods. Because the man is gay, does that mean he will automatically be attracted to my (hypothetical) son and his group of friends? Does that mean he will feel the need to instill his "gay agenda" upon them? Absolutely not. There is no "gay agenda", in fact there are very few phrases that bother me as much as that one. Just as a straight leader of the Boy Scouts is not there to teach them to have sex with women, a gay Scout Leader is not there to convince the boys to have sex with men.
This brings me to the fact that Atheists are not aloud in the Scouts either. In an organization endorsed by the US Government and whose leader is the President, the same policies should be in be in place that are in place in this country. All religions, including Atheism, should be accepted. Just as the United States is not by law a Christian nation, the Boy Scouts should not be either. What makes people think that Atheists have any less of an ability to teach morals and values than a Christian, whose Pope actively defends Priests who have molested young boys? I won't get in to the argument of religion here, since I respect all religions that are tolerant of others with differing views.
The bottom line here is that any organization of our government, especially one as prestigious and reputable as the Boy Scouts of America, should be tolerant of all people, regardless of religion, race, AND sexual orientation. I would expect better from the Boy Scouts especially in a country that now (finally!) accepts the openly gay in its military.
Here's the link to the original article.
**EDIT 10/20/2010** - The Boy Scouts are not "run" by the US Government, but "endorsed"
Just to let you know... The Boy Scout Organization is actually founded by and from Mormons. This kinda attributes to the anti-atheist and anti-homosexual policy. Mormonism does not accept these types of issues as being, "right" and true with what the Boy Scout Organization stands for. It also is not affiliated with the United States Government, therefore, it is breaking any law about the establishment of the religion. Though I may not exactly agree about atheism, I can justify an understanding about how parents would feel if their son's scout leader was gay. Its more of a courtesy to the very supportive parents. However, atheism does seem to be a bit of a stretch.
ReplyDeleteA valid point, and I may have been a bit off in the way I phrased it, but with the President being the honorary leader of the whole organization, the Scouts should have the same acceptance that our nation has. People should not be discriminated against based on their religion, including Atheism. Thank you for commenting
ReplyDeleteRight! I'm pretty sure that tolerance is one of those terms people just look at, but don't really understand what the significances of it is. It's thrown around. Yes people have heard of it, they know what it means, but do they practice it? Probably not. More and more of these stories are coming out, why now? What has changed? Tolerance is not so much a law of equality in the constitution, but rather a practice. It doesn't happen overnight. People are different and that is always going to be the case, it's about learning why people are different and understanding that is the practice.
ReplyDeleteBeing intolerable is easy when compared to its opposite. It's way easier to say you don't like something because your ignorant about it than it is to try and understand why you don't like something or why you think like that. Instead of seeing that the only reason why you don't like it is because it's not like you.
I almost always question people when they say, "I hate this" or "those people are weird" because I want them to catch themselves. I want them to think about why they hate it and is it practical to hate that or think it's weird.
This is an interesting subject in the context of our society right now because it really brings the light to how more and more people it seems are intolerant. It's a lesson I think that is learned at a very young age and if you don't catch it early it's hard to change, but not impossible. It's something you have to practice because if you don't it's way easier to revert back.
To be intolerant is linked to hate in my book and and what good has ever come out of hate.
(I just had a conversation with my roommate actually, and he said that he agrees with the stance about gay people not being allowed to be leaders in the boy scouts and that if he were to right the code he would say that. He justified it by saying the same thing, you wouldn't want someone who is attracted to men be teaching young kids.) It was so hard to have a conversation with him because he would always insult my intelligences and think that I'm jaded instead of trying to have a good two-way conversation. I just wanted to toss ideas around, I think it turned out to be a one-sided conversation to where I was the only one asking questions. I want someone who actually wants to have a conversation about it, very hard to do.
Say what????? Nothing good has ever come out of hate? Well, I suspect you would know that the old man and his C would have something to the contrary to say about that!
ReplyDeleteHow about we hate starvation so we feed the hungry. How about we hate violence so we incarcerate the violent . . . . . . . . . well, I won't insult your intelligence so I know you get the picture. Some great inventions, ideas and medical cures have come from hate.
And, of course, we can say the same for intolerance. I, frankly, am intolerant of the child abuser, actually any abuser. Etc. And, you know I had to bring it up, I am very intolerant of the leader of my country who admits he wants to fundamentally evolve our nation from capitalism to socialism. He, of course, much more equal than I. Say hello to your roommate