BSA has been getting a lot of bad press lately. I’m not sure how much the general public pays attention to Scouts in the news but having a daily Google News alert on it I see quite a bit. Whether its the Ineligible Volunteer files (just one of the youth protection tools that I think are being twisted out of context) or the recent reassertion of the Scouts (US only) policy on no homosexuals, every day I see more and more. Buried between those stories are the heroic stories of Scouts themselves, saving lives and strengthening their community.
The homosexuality issue has gone as far as the Supreme Court that came out (no pun intended) in favor of the BSA as being able to set whatever membership standards it chooses as a private organization. The company line of the BSA is that matters of sexuality are a family matter and discussion of such has no place in the BSA program.
While I’ve had some sympathy for people like Jen Tyrell who was forced out because of her status, she and other adults knew going in that if you want to wear the khaki then you’re agreeing to play by the BSA rules. And that isn’t to say that I agree with the exclusionary rule itself at all.
Recently I heard of a story of a Scout, 17, who had recently completed all the requirements for Eagle Scout. He also recently came out and announced “publicly” (within his limited community) as being homosexual. His Scoutmaster has refused to sign the paperwork acknowledging he Scout attainment of Eagle.
I thought about what I would do if it were one of my Scouts that had the courage to come out in our community and I’d have to say I’d be signing that paperwork without a doubt. What’s the message that’s being sent here when a Scout that’s completed every requirement for the top Scout rank, including an Eagle project that focused on tolerance in the community and then to say you’re not worthy of this honor because you’ve made a decision to love the opposite sex. How is that young man not supposed to feel like he is less of a person solely because of his sexual orientation when by all other standards he was a model Scout. How is that living by the Law that has been core you our program for 100 years.
A Scout is:
Trustworthy, – how is this Scout to feel like he could trust an adult that let him go through all the motions of being a Scout only to pull his support for the Scout when he needed it most.
Loyal, – what’s more important, to be loyal to a young man that you’ve spent years training to be a leader or to a policy that is long overdue for amendment
Helpful, – Well in this case the Scoutmaster has only been helpful in bringing even more attention to the hypocrisy of his position.
Friendly, – I hope that the Scouts themselves in his Troop are not influenced by this “leadership” and consider this Scout to be any less of a friend than he was.
Courteous, & Kind, – Exclusionary discrimination is practically the opposite of these very tenets.
Obedient, – well the leader is being obedient to the letter of the law regardless of conscience.
Cheerful, – I hope the Scout can be cheerful at least knowing that many people in his community and out support him in being worthy if the prestigious rank he has earned.
Thrifty, (ok so maybe one principle of the law that doesn’t come into play)
Brave, – If coming out as homosexual as a teenager to an unsupportive community isn’t brave I don’t know what is.
Clean and Reverent. – Can anyone really say this young man is anything less to God because of his orientation?
I wonder how many members of our community see these stories and because of these it’s the face of Boy Scouts to them. Having been a Scout leader in our relatively small town going on 9 years now, anyone in the community from the grocery clerks to the mayor know me as the “Scout guy”. How many would think that I agree with this kind of discrimination solely on my association with the Scouts. How many families wouldn’t support their sons being Scouts because of this image.
It’s gotten to the point where I’m wondering myself how much longer I can be a representative of a group that refuses to acknowledge the bigotry of it’s past and move forward to a new era of consideration. If it weren’t for my commitment to the Scouts in my troop now and my responsibilities as a mentor to them I’d probably have hung up my uniform already.
If you’d like more information on this particular case or would like to sign the petition supporting this Scout please visit change.org
Patches seen above available via inclusivescouting.net
Scoutmaster Jerry
October 6, 2012 at 5:13 pm
Reblogged this on The Scoutmaster Minute and commented:
I think Doug has some great points here… worth the read no matter what your opinion is on this issue. Something to think about as we go through our Scoutmaster lives dealing with these young men that look to us as teachers, coaches, and mentors.
Joe Molenski
October 6, 2012 at 6:53 pm
I’d also like to say that this isn’t about bigotry. We have our beliefs, you have yours. We do not hate gays. We don’t agree with their lifestyle. We are not the Phelps freaks. We are a private organization choosing to stand by what we believe. If you don’t like it, or if there are kids or adults that want to go that way, choose a different organization. Why do we have to change? I fully support your right to choose to go somewhere else that already supports your way of life. Start a new organization, whatever. And for those who choose to say, SM Jerry’s right on point.
Suzanne
October 6, 2012 at 7:49 pm
While I understand the policies and I fully agree that an adult scouter knows what he or she is getting into with a leadership role- I do not think the same holds true for a scout. I signed up and I knew that their was a policy against gay leaders in BSA, and while it doesn’t affect me and I wish it were different I still chose the positive aspects of this program and can go along with and abide by those rules. It never occured to me until recently (nor do I remember reading it anywhere) that a boy who figures out he is gay would be excluded in the same way. Homosexuality is not usually a choice. Most men and women who realize they are gay, have felt that way all of their lives even before ‘sex’ ever came into the picture and before they even knew they were ‘different’. So how can we promise to nurture all boys as cub scouts, teach them to be leaders in boy scouts and then as a young persons sexuality is defined to themselves, how can we say “oops, none of it counts for you”. Denying that scouts Eagle on the basis of a newly discovered sexuality is just wrong. As a cub scout he didn’t understand who he was nor should it even be a topic of discussion. You can be a good christian and have strong beliefs about what is right or wrong but when your child comes out to you, he is still your child and you can’t invalidate his whole life because you don’t believe in who he is now. A 17 year old can discover that he is gay and not have a ‘lifestyle’. If we can be okay with scouts of non-christian faiths and belief systems why can’t we be tolerant of other differences as well? At least while our children are children and in the eyes of the law he is still a child until that 18th birthday rolls around.
dwmetz
October 6, 2012 at 7:53 pm
Thank you for the comment Suzannne. Very succinctly put. That’s exactly my problem with this situation.
Chris Chamberlain
October 7, 2012 at 9:15 am
Sadly- given the attention recently nationally on this issue, it is likely the parents and the scout knew what they were doing to politicize this particular issue. I’ve seen plenty of “shame on the scoutmaster” postings on Facebook but the rules are the rules until they are changed. If you don’t like them, then as Joe points out, perhaps scouting is not for you. I am not a “hater” by any means, but I think it’s wrong to know the rules, then disregard them and expect that they’ll be treated different than any other rule breaker. Scouting is a lot like McDonald’s. A council and a troop are like local franchise owners- we sell the promote and sell the product but can’t change the menu just because it feels right no matter what the clients want- there is a policy to follow. In the end, if you don’t like it, don’t eat there. Same with scouting.
Allan Campbell
October 7, 2012 at 11:36 am
The simple solution is to allow the Charter Organizations who “own” the units and are responsible for selecting and vetting units to truly “own’ their unit. A religious organization could select leaders based on their moral compass. A community organization could then choose leaders based on their organizations policies. This would solve the debate, and also reopen Scouting to many of the “public” charter organizations that have dropped Scouting due to this one issue. I think removing this one controversial issue would get Scouting back into the public school system with PTO’s and PTA’s coming back on board. I fully believe Scouting has the right to choose what path they take, why not take a path that could open Scouting to more families overall.
scouteradam
October 7, 2012 at 7:17 pm
Doug: Thanks for this posting. It is a great post and basically captures my thoughts as well. The comments too are very heartfelt and sincere. It is too bad that the National BSA has apparently held a secret meeting of 11 people we might never know to speak for the millings of Scouts and Volunteers who not all hold their same views. Hopefully, this era of Scouting will be a short chapter and we can get back to the business of Scouting.
scouteradam
October 7, 2012 at 7:19 pm
Reblogged this on Scouteradam's Blog and commented:
A fellow Scouter and friend has put into words of what I am thinking. I would suggest a careful read into the subject and understand that many Scouters do not feel the same way that the BSA National Office does. Sometimes, you have to stay on the bus to take a stand and to make sure change happens. I am staying on the bus.
SM_Dave
October 8, 2012 at 10:22 am
The problem with the policy is that it interprets the 12th point of the Scout Law to be based on a specific religious point of view (and even that point of view is not agreed upon by all within that religion) and that interpretation is being laid out for ALL in scounting, while all other things religious in scouting are generic or left to be handles by the local council, district, unit. That is truly where the hypocracy lies.
Basically, while national proclaims that we as scouters can’t change or add to any requirements for rank advancement, that is exactly what they have done here.