Earlier today, the Boy Scouts of America voting members voted to officially "allow" openly gay boys and teenagers (under the age of 18) to enter (or continue in some cases) in Scouting, as of January 1, 2014. However, the organization will still not allow openly gay or lesbian adults to participate in Scouting in leadership positions. This decision will cause many troops and packs to lose their sponsorships, since a large majority of such have been sponsored by a variety of religious groups, many (probably nearly all) of which do not support equal rights of LGBT persons on religious and/or personal grounds. The fact that the Boy Scouts made this decision (perhaps long overdue) despite knowing the above would "probably" occur as a result is a good thing.
It is interesting to note that the Girl Scouts have no such bans on minor girls nor women participating in their organization in their leadership positions and have no issues as a result. Yet, the male side of Scouting has all this craziness going on and have had such going on for years. This double standard makes no sense, except that it fits with how society in this country currently is, which makes less sense to me. As a person of color, I have yet to see how this should mean much of anything to me. I am sure Black, Native American and Hispanic boys have participated in Scouting, but I have yet to see any one other than a Caucasian man or teenager comment or be interviewed about this controversy, much less any story about Scouting that I have ever seen or heard of. Consider that. Doesn't sound too good to me.
What do I think? Earlier tonight, I posted on my Facebook page that I wanted to hear what others thought about all of this and that I would post my personal thoughts on this blog tonight. I am writing this between 952pm and 1042pm, EDT on May 23, 2013, before I re-log onto Facebook later tonight or tomorrow to see what others think so that this post would not be affected by the opinions of others.
My opinion is that this decision really means little in the grand scheme of things. This decision is a joke. I was never in Scouting, but it is my understanding was that Scouting was about developing young people in a positive manner, teaching them life skills and how to be a better person. Considering that most people do not really develop their sexuality until their teenage years at the earliest, I am not understanding where sexuality matters here. The statement the BSA gave indicated that sexual conduct of any kind was contrary to the goals of Scouting. Okay. What else is new?
What I cannot reconcile is that how is it that (openly) lesbian and bisexual women (as far as I know, men cannot be leaders in the Girl Scouts) can be leaders and help develop young girls in the Girl Scouts with no problems, yet these same women NOR openly gay or bisexual men, including those who participated in the Boy Scouts as youth themselves (some as closeted gay or bisexual youth, you have to figure) are NOT good enough to be leaders and help develop young boys in the Boy Scouts? Why the double standard? Are women truly more morally responsible than men, regardless of their sexuality? Somebody explain this BS to me.
I understand that no one wants to expose their children to those who may do them harm and/or influence them to things that conflict with the parents' personal beliefs when they are not around. As a parent, I agree with that. However, a teenager who is 16 or 17 years old has much of what he OR she needs to make major life decisions for their adult life. Choosing one's sexuality is one if those decisions, and these are decisions that require support and understanding. For some, especially when it comes to decisions like one's sexuality, or where one wishes to go to college, or who to be friends with, that support cannot be gotten at home. Hence, a clergy member, a teacher, a troop leader or den mother may be the only support some of these youth have.
Deliberately banning certain adults from these leadership positions solely because of his OR her known chosen sexuality is wrong and dumb, ESPECIALLY if these persons participated in Scouting as a young person themselves. They, of all people, know what it takes to be a Scout and have put in the blood sweat time and tears to achieve in the program. They, of all people, have the skills and knowledge to teach such to youngsters because other adults TAUGHT these skills to THEM. To waste that knowledge and expertise, because some folk (allegedly) disagree with certain life choices that these persons made as adults, which are to be honest, none of Scouting's business in the first place is downright STUPID!
Today's decision makes the Boy Scouts no better than they were yesterday or at any time in their history. It still leaves them as a racist and homophobic group, compared to the Girl Scouts and certainly NOT on a even level with them. This process was a waste of time and effort that will mean virtually nothing, in my opinion. All it does is further hurt the organization and every Scout that has been in the program as a youth and/or as a adult. Period.
It is interesting to note that the Girl Scouts have no such bans on minor girls nor women participating in their organization in their leadership positions and have no issues as a result. Yet, the male side of Scouting has all this craziness going on and have had such going on for years. This double standard makes no sense, except that it fits with how society in this country currently is, which makes less sense to me. As a person of color, I have yet to see how this should mean much of anything to me. I am sure Black, Native American and Hispanic boys have participated in Scouting, but I have yet to see any one other than a Caucasian man or teenager comment or be interviewed about this controversy, much less any story about Scouting that I have ever seen or heard of. Consider that. Doesn't sound too good to me.
What do I think? Earlier tonight, I posted on my Facebook page that I wanted to hear what others thought about all of this and that I would post my personal thoughts on this blog tonight. I am writing this between 952pm and 1042pm, EDT on May 23, 2013, before I re-log onto Facebook later tonight or tomorrow to see what others think so that this post would not be affected by the opinions of others.
My opinion is that this decision really means little in the grand scheme of things. This decision is a joke. I was never in Scouting, but it is my understanding was that Scouting was about developing young people in a positive manner, teaching them life skills and how to be a better person. Considering that most people do not really develop their sexuality until their teenage years at the earliest, I am not understanding where sexuality matters here. The statement the BSA gave indicated that sexual conduct of any kind was contrary to the goals of Scouting. Okay. What else is new?
What I cannot reconcile is that how is it that (openly) lesbian and bisexual women (as far as I know, men cannot be leaders in the Girl Scouts) can be leaders and help develop young girls in the Girl Scouts with no problems, yet these same women NOR openly gay or bisexual men, including those who participated in the Boy Scouts as youth themselves (some as closeted gay or bisexual youth, you have to figure) are NOT good enough to be leaders and help develop young boys in the Boy Scouts? Why the double standard? Are women truly more morally responsible than men, regardless of their sexuality? Somebody explain this BS to me.
I understand that no one wants to expose their children to those who may do them harm and/or influence them to things that conflict with the parents' personal beliefs when they are not around. As a parent, I agree with that. However, a teenager who is 16 or 17 years old has much of what he OR she needs to make major life decisions for their adult life. Choosing one's sexuality is one if those decisions, and these are decisions that require support and understanding. For some, especially when it comes to decisions like one's sexuality, or where one wishes to go to college, or who to be friends with, that support cannot be gotten at home. Hence, a clergy member, a teacher, a troop leader or den mother may be the only support some of these youth have.
Deliberately banning certain adults from these leadership positions solely because of his OR her known chosen sexuality is wrong and dumb, ESPECIALLY if these persons participated in Scouting as a young person themselves. They, of all people, know what it takes to be a Scout and have put in the blood sweat time and tears to achieve in the program. They, of all people, have the skills and knowledge to teach such to youngsters because other adults TAUGHT these skills to THEM. To waste that knowledge and expertise, because some folk (allegedly) disagree with certain life choices that these persons made as adults, which are to be honest, none of Scouting's business in the first place is downright STUPID!
Today's decision makes the Boy Scouts no better than they were yesterday or at any time in their history. It still leaves them as a racist and homophobic group, compared to the Girl Scouts and certainly NOT on a even level with them. This process was a waste of time and effort that will mean virtually nothing, in my opinion. All it does is further hurt the organization and every Scout that has been in the program as a youth and/or as a adult. Period.
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