The BSA leadership must be thinking that outdoor survival skills are a cinch compared to the mess they are dealing with now.
What to do. What to do. Either the BSA continues its program of discrimination against gay scouts and leaders and they lose the sponsorship of small businesses like, oh, Intel and United Parcel Service, or they change the policy and lose the support of a majority of their Church sponsored groups.
Let's be clear. The BSA has struggled for years with Pedophiles. They have paid millions of dollars to settle child molestation claims. A pedophile is a person with a very immature sexual development who prefers children as sexual partners. Pedophilia is a despicable crime and it's against the law. A gay man or woman are NOT pedophiles. But I'll let you do your own research. I'm kind of tired of trying to convince people.
The BSA ought to offer a new merit badge in tightrope walking. They're trying to make everybody happy with their latest appeasement which will include gay scouts, but not gay leaders. Excuse me? How does this make any sense at all? Do you know any scouts working on an "I'm gay and I want to tell the world" merit badge? Not likely. In fact, it's not likely that most of those young scouts even know they're gay yet and if they have any inkling whatsoever, they're scared and confused. They won't be into 'confessing' it around the campfire anytime soon.
Which brings us to the problem. Little 'Timmy' is a good scout. He's diligent and prepared. He earns the required merit badges and he becomes an Eagle Scout. He grows up, becomes involved in scouting as a leader, and then the realization hits him. Tim is gay. Under the new BSA proposal, Tim will be excused from scouting. He's no longer welcome. How exactly is that going to work? Who wants to tell Tim, the Eagle Scout, that he's a deviant and he can't be trusted any longer in the BSA program? Do you? Do you? Or maybe you? Not me. Not ever me. Because I understand the difference between a pedophile and a gay person and I would have trusted a gay person with both of my Eagle Scout sons. How is a person's sexual orientation any of my business? I just want that scout leader to lead my sons out of the forest safely.
The BSA's wishy-washy position has definitely demonstrated some awesome skills in knot tying. I'm thinking the corporate sponsorships the BSA relies upon won't be backing the 'compromise' anytime soon and Church groups aren't going to be too happy, either. That's called 'Gordian' knot. Which ever way the BSA floats its canoe, it's rough rapids ahead.
A scout is kind. Remember that. A scout is kind.
What to do. What to do. Either the BSA continues its program of discrimination against gay scouts and leaders and they lose the sponsorship of small businesses like, oh, Intel and United Parcel Service, or they change the policy and lose the support of a majority of their Church sponsored groups.
Let's be clear. The BSA has struggled for years with Pedophiles. They have paid millions of dollars to settle child molestation claims. A pedophile is a person with a very immature sexual development who prefers children as sexual partners. Pedophilia is a despicable crime and it's against the law. A gay man or woman are NOT pedophiles. But I'll let you do your own research. I'm kind of tired of trying to convince people.
The BSA ought to offer a new merit badge in tightrope walking. They're trying to make everybody happy with their latest appeasement which will include gay scouts, but not gay leaders. Excuse me? How does this make any sense at all? Do you know any scouts working on an "I'm gay and I want to tell the world" merit badge? Not likely. In fact, it's not likely that most of those young scouts even know they're gay yet and if they have any inkling whatsoever, they're scared and confused. They won't be into 'confessing' it around the campfire anytime soon.
Which brings us to the problem. Little 'Timmy' is a good scout. He's diligent and prepared. He earns the required merit badges and he becomes an Eagle Scout. He grows up, becomes involved in scouting as a leader, and then the realization hits him. Tim is gay. Under the new BSA proposal, Tim will be excused from scouting. He's no longer welcome. How exactly is that going to work? Who wants to tell Tim, the Eagle Scout, that he's a deviant and he can't be trusted any longer in the BSA program? Do you? Do you? Or maybe you? Not me. Not ever me. Because I understand the difference between a pedophile and a gay person and I would have trusted a gay person with both of my Eagle Scout sons. How is a person's sexual orientation any of my business? I just want that scout leader to lead my sons out of the forest safely.
The BSA's wishy-washy position has definitely demonstrated some awesome skills in knot tying. I'm thinking the corporate sponsorships the BSA relies upon won't be backing the 'compromise' anytime soon and Church groups aren't going to be too happy, either. That's called 'Gordian' knot. Which ever way the BSA floats its canoe, it's rough rapids ahead.
A scout is kind. Remember that. A scout is kind.
Wow. What a dilemma. I don't envy them their decision. Do you know if this problem exists in other countries? Didn't the scouts start in England? (Too lazy to google here.) At any rate, having worked with pedophiles both gay and heterosexual, I am appalled to hear of the problems the BSA has in that area. Getting all freaked over the idea of your son having a gay leader is so absurb compared to the idea of pedophilia.
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