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| twisted fucking ignorant repressed christians as usual |
There
is reason to celebrate the first turn toward inclusion, but the message
to young people will still be: if you’re gay, keep quiet because there
is something wrong with you.
And gay boys and teenagers who love
scouting and are courageous enough to be open about their sexual
identity know that when they turn 18 and want to serve as a pack or
troop leader, they will be forced out of the organization.
The quandary for parents who want their sons to be part of a beloved
American tradition, but don’t want to support discrimination, has not
been resolved.
The right move would have been for the Scouts to reject discrimination
based on sexual orientation — the direction that most Americans are
moving. The Girl Scouts don’t have this problem, having long accepted
inclusion and nondiscrimination as core principles.
The Boy Scouts organization — by tolerating a loathsome belief, pressed
by religious activists, that equates homosexuality with deviance — has
committed itself to rejecting good, dedicated leaders. It should
understand that scouting’s mission does not have to dovetail with
right-wing agendas and bigotry. The scout movement was built a century
ago simply upon interests “universal among boys” — outdoor skills and
adventure — and on values of citizenship and decency. It’s a shame the
Boy Scouts have allowed bigotry to tarnish this tradition.
