Comments
by Scoper...
A Scout Is…Homophobic
Trustworthy, loyal, courteous,
kind, obedient, helpful, friendly, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and
reverent. The original 12 points of the Boy Scout Law, for years revered,
are now a source of scorn to some. And what of the Scout Oath: "To keep
myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight."
"Straight" doesn't mean what
it used to, just as "gay" doesn't mean what it used to. Now it's a political
crowbar that threatens to destroy an organization that has had a hand in
producing Captains of Industry, Mayors, Governors and Presidents.
I was never a Boy Scout.
But my father was, and my older brother was (Eagle.) I still got to go
camping; there were just other non-scouting activities that interested
me more. But, growing up in such a household, the ethos was still a big
part of my life. (I wrote the first sentence of this article from memory.)
Good words, and the makings of good people.
Why, suddenly, are the Scouts
politically-incorrect pariahs? Apparently, it began with a state issue
that made it to the U.S. Supreme Court. In a 5-4 ruling (as close as it
gets) the High Court ruled that a single state cannot ban the Scouts from
excluding open and avowed homosexuals as leaders of its organization.
You would think that a Supreme
Court ruling on the Constitution would be the end of it. Not in this case.
Turns out that the BSA has been allowed for most of a hundred years to
camp on "public land." Now, the powers that be, blowing with the wind,
are saying that the organization that teaches boys the proper way to light
and put out a campfire, to "leave nothing but footprints and take nothing
but photographs," to visit and leave the wilderness just as it was, is
not fit to coexist in modern society.
The Scouts teach boys a hundred
things, but they all gather into the vortex of personal responsibility.
This can no longer be tolerated; it makes too many other people feel…well…not
good enough. "How dare you call my attention to something I'm already ashamed
of! I will stop you! I will hurt you! I will destroy your organization
because it makes me uncomfortable.
It's sad, really, that a
relatively small, militant group can wield such influence on government
policy. I can't prove this, but I'll bet, if the truth were known, that
most people don't care who's gay and who's not, and consider it none of
their business. The Boy Scouts are one group that DOES consider it their
business, because they are -- let's create a new word here -- PEDO-PHILO-PHOBIC.
Some will say that "phobic"
is the operative portion of that phrase. That's OK. And it is true that
pedophiles come in all shapes, sizes and sexual orientations.
But the Scouts understand
that pedophiles who prey on young boys are quite interested in their organization,
and always have been. By philosophy, the Scouts don't want them there,
neither do the parents of the boys. So what's the problem?
The problem is, the Scouts
are now publicly derided for maintaining a stance against what THEY consider
immoral. (I don't care what YOU consider immoral; this is about what THEY
consider such. I have e-mail on this website. Trash me there, but please
make a logical case that doesn't waste my time.)
This has become quite typical
in recent years. Rather than debate an issue honestly, we shall demonize
it, evilize it and then attack it as if anyone who has a contrary opinion
is at best stupid, and at worst, part of a conspiracy to tear apart the
world as we know it.
To wit: if you don't support
the "Gay Lifestyle," for any reason, you must be "afraid" of it and therefore
a "homophobe." Or, if you take any action, it must be a "hate crime." Perfect!
Let's re-define hate and re-define fear, so that if you hate me or fear
me, I must be evil! You're OK, I'm fucked-up!
Now, what if I'm wrong about
all of this? For the sake of discussion, assume that I am. We can then
ignore the pedophiles (just another lifestyle that we're forbidden to be
afraid of) who are drawn to the Boy Scouts like necrophiles to funeral
homes. (No, that doesn't happen either. Just a myth.) Shame, shame on the
Scouts for wanting to head off a known danger off at the pass. Oh, the
hatred they must embody!
Or maybe the Scouts just
want to be left alone. What will come to pass, eventually, is that the
Boy Scouts of America, for all the good they have done over the past 90
years, will be forbidden to use "public" property to teach responsible
camping. They will then be forbidden to teach responsible handling of firearms
(which they have done for decades) and finally be forbidden to recite their
own, century-old oath in public, because it just offends too many people:
On my honor
I will do my best
To do my duty
To God and my country
And to obey the
Scout Law.
To keep myself
Physically strong
Mentally awake
And morally straight.
Goodnight, America, goodnight.
Scoper
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