Will Boy Scouts Now Become Safe Haven for Pedophiles?
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After yesterday's vote accepting openly gay youth into the Boy Scouts of America, will the century-old organization now become a safe haven for pedophiles? The answer is probably. But let me first clarify my position. I support gay marriage and see it as a civil rights issue. But the matter of gays in the Boy Scouts is an altogether different subject. The problem with the latter is that it is really about sexualizing childhood (see yesterday's post).
Let's remember that even now the Boy Scouts are deluged with hundreds of lawsuits asserting that for decades they refused to protect children from sexual predators. In order to save the organization's pristine reputation, Scout masters covered up the molestation of young boys, even keeping secret files on pedophile Scout leaders.
Having won this victory, gay rights groups are now gearing up to overturn the ban on gay Scout Masters. Homosexuality, a sexual orientation formed in the womb or at birth should not be confused with pedophilia, which is a serious crime. But human psychology is such that gay Scout Masters might be less willing to acknowledge pedophilia in their ranks because of confusion regarding the sexual decisions they made as boys. Secondly, they will feel pressure from the gay community itself to avoid such accusations because it plays into negative stereotypes.
Do we really believe that the Boy Scouts will be safer for the younger kids, now that it will be attracting teenage boys who are experimenting with their sexuality? With Scout masters fearing retribution from funding sources, they will be just as likely to overlook the sexual abuse of younger boys by older ones as they did of boys molested by Scout masters previously.
It breaks my heart to see many American parents cowed into silence. To open their mouths on this issue would be to lump them with right-wing Christian fanatics, the kind who torture their gay sons and daughters sometimes to the point of driving these young people to commit suicide. (Just recently the apparently gay son of Pastor Rick Warren, a vehement opponent of homosexuality killed himself after a heated argument with his parents)
America is not a safe place for children. I have yet to see any child advocacy groups place the safety of children ahead of politics, donor dollars or religious dogma.
RELATED POST:
Gay Campaign to Sexualize Boy Scouts is Misguided
Let's remember that even now the Boy Scouts are deluged with hundreds of lawsuits asserting that for decades they refused to protect children from sexual predators. In order to save the organization's pristine reputation, Scout masters covered up the molestation of young boys, even keeping secret files on pedophile Scout leaders.
Having won this victory, gay rights groups are now gearing up to overturn the ban on gay Scout Masters. Homosexuality, a sexual orientation formed in the womb or at birth should not be confused with pedophilia, which is a serious crime. But human psychology is such that gay Scout Masters might be less willing to acknowledge pedophilia in their ranks because of confusion regarding the sexual decisions they made as boys. Secondly, they will feel pressure from the gay community itself to avoid such accusations because it plays into negative stereotypes.
Do we really believe that the Boy Scouts will be safer for the younger kids, now that it will be attracting teenage boys who are experimenting with their sexuality? With Scout masters fearing retribution from funding sources, they will be just as likely to overlook the sexual abuse of younger boys by older ones as they did of boys molested by Scout masters previously.
It breaks my heart to see many American parents cowed into silence. To open their mouths on this issue would be to lump them with right-wing Christian fanatics, the kind who torture their gay sons and daughters sometimes to the point of driving these young people to commit suicide. (Just recently the apparently gay son of Pastor Rick Warren, a vehement opponent of homosexuality killed himself after a heated argument with his parents)
America is not a safe place for children. I have yet to see any child advocacy groups place the safety of children ahead of politics, donor dollars or religious dogma.
RELATED POST:
Gay Campaign to Sexualize Boy Scouts is Misguided
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