Gay Campaign to Sexualize Boy Scouts is Misguided
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The Boy Scout National Council will be voting today on whether to open the organization to openly gay scouts. Because America is so deeply divided politically, it is difficult for thoughtful liberals (or conservatives) to stand up and voice opinions that might antagonize one of their party's voting blocs. I am a progressive, Obama supporter, who believes that gay marriage is a good thing. However, the campaign to allow openly gay teens in the Boy Scouts is not about civil rights. It is rather an attempt to rip the Boy Scouts of America to pieces because this mainstream organization of young males symbolizes, at least for some gays, an unattainable ideal.
As an African-American I have had a life time to reflect on unattainable ideals. Growing up, I soon realized that I was never going to be a blond, blue-eyed, beauty. For a nappy-headed black girl, it was an unattainable ideal. But how does one come to grips with societal rejection? One fights back through political campaigns and legislation. But politics cannot always heal our inner most wounds, nor can raging against aesthetic ideals that do not include us, endow us with self-acceptance and inner peace. In truth, the growing political power in the gay community will never completely erase the stigma of homosexuality, just as having an African-American president has not insulated blacks from racism, nor made dark skin an aesthetic plus.
In recent years the Boy Scouts have been almost mortally wounded by pedophile scandals, in which scout masters preyed on young boys in the privacy of camping tents. Just when the Scouts seem to have put in place controls that would attend to that problem, this new issue of accepting openly gay scouts, has rocked the group.
As the mother of an eleven year old, who has been a scout since the age of eight, I have spent more weekends than I care to remember, shivering in tents, clapping at corny skits, hiking through dense, untamed jungles (that unbeknownst to the kids were less than a quarter mile from the local Walmart). But why should I or any mother keep a young son in an organization that purports to build character, while accepting kids who are unable or unwilling to control their sexual impulses?
Amber Ladeira in a blog post entitled Stop Sexualizing our Children, Straight, Gay or Otherwise comments:
RELATED POST:
Will Boy Scouts now Become Safe Haven for Pedophiles
As an African-American I have had a life time to reflect on unattainable ideals. Growing up, I soon realized that I was never going to be a blond, blue-eyed, beauty. For a nappy-headed black girl, it was an unattainable ideal. But how does one come to grips with societal rejection? One fights back through political campaigns and legislation. But politics cannot always heal our inner most wounds, nor can raging against aesthetic ideals that do not include us, endow us with self-acceptance and inner peace. In truth, the growing political power in the gay community will never completely erase the stigma of homosexuality, just as having an African-American president has not insulated blacks from racism, nor made dark skin an aesthetic plus.
In recent years the Boy Scouts have been almost mortally wounded by pedophile scandals, in which scout masters preyed on young boys in the privacy of camping tents. Just when the Scouts seem to have put in place controls that would attend to that problem, this new issue of accepting openly gay scouts, has rocked the group.
As the mother of an eleven year old, who has been a scout since the age of eight, I have spent more weekends than I care to remember, shivering in tents, clapping at corny skits, hiking through dense, untamed jungles (that unbeknownst to the kids were less than a quarter mile from the local Walmart). But why should I or any mother keep a young son in an organization that purports to build character, while accepting kids who are unable or unwilling to control their sexual impulses?
Amber Ladeira in a blog post entitled Stop Sexualizing our Children, Straight, Gay or Otherwise comments:
"I can understand that sexualIn truth, all segments of American society could use a few lessons in sexual restraint. The Catholic Church has paid out over a billion dollars on account of priests molesting children. People have been arrested for hiding sex slaves in their basements. Runaway teens are routinely forced into prostitution. And clothing designers sell jeans by dressing up young models to resemble hookers. There is nothing healthy about sexualizing children, whatever their orientation might turn out to be. Nothing.
orientation might be important to those in their late teens, and
adults. Most Boy Scouts, however, are young children and have
no business being concerned about sexual matters, gay OR
straight. Aren't they supposed to be learning skills for
maneuvering around in the Great Outdoors? There is entirely
too much talk about sex and the scouts."
RELATED POST:
Will Boy Scouts now Become Safe Haven for Pedophiles
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