BOY SCOUTS DISCRIMINATE AGAINST GAYS, BUT NOT PEDOPHILES?
INSPIRATIONAL, 5 Apr 2010
Shelly Strauss Rollison - Alternet
I was a trained den leader for my youngest son’s Cub Scout troop. Then one day, I received a letter in the mail from the local council office telling me that I had to cut all ties with the BSA within the next 24 hours because someone had pointed out that on my personal homepage, I reveal that I am bisexual. And being gay and being “morally straight” are mutually exclusive in the minds of the BSA leadership. Fortunately for me, I had a Scout meeting that night.
I typed up letters to each of the parents of all the boys in my den. I explained why I was being forced out and I also reassured them that never in our den meetings had the issue of my orientation come up. I told the parents it was not my duty or my right to discuss these kinds of issues with their children. I personally handed each parent the envelope with my letter in it to insure that the children did not have access to the information within it without their parent’s knowledge.
The fact that I had not discussed my orientation at all was manifest in the shock of the pack committee members when I resigned at the meeting held later that night after the den meetings were over. I was very touched by the support I received from virtually all members of the pack committee. (There was one member who feigned support but who, it was later revealed, was the one who actually “turned me in”.)
According to the BSA, gay leaders are not permitted in their organization because of the safety concerns for the boys. The implication is that gay leaders will sexually abuse the boys because (heavy sarcasm) everyone knows that gay men (and apparently bisexual men and women) can’t keep their hands off of prepubescent boys. ( end sarcasm). Why they don’t let lesbians act as den leaders I don’t know because if anyone was not going to sexually abuse young boys it would be lesbians!
There is the mistaken belief that if a man abuses a boy, he is automatically gay. NOTHING can be further from the truth. Gender has nothing to do with one’s orientation when one is a pedophile. For most adults, gender is the major factor in determining who they are attracted to. But for pedophiles, the most important factor is age. Gender is really irrelevant to a pedophile. So simply because a man abuses a male child does NOT make the man a gay pedophile. The point of this is to demonstrate that the BSA’s reasoning behind their ban on gays is completely unfounded.
Now mind you, I am totally supportive of their right to discriminate against anyone they choose. As long as they’re not receiving government funding in any way, shape or form, that is. So when the SCOTUS declared that the BSA was a private organization (Dale v BSA), it meant that government sponsorship and government funding of the BSA must stop. Otherwise, the government would end up sponsoring and supporting other discriminatory groups like the KKK! That meant that police departments and military bases could no longer be the sponsors of BSA packs and troops. It meant that the BSA could not get special rates on their use of national/state parks, forests or marinas.
But that’s all just background for this post.
The BSA is being sued in Oregon by a man who was sexually abused by a Scout Master. A scout master who was allowed to remain in the Scouting program despite being convicted three times in 1983-1984 of sexually abusing boys (mostly Scouts). He was arrested again after being pulled over while driving a van full of Scouts to a camping trip.
The trial in Oregon exposes the existence of the “perversion files” (so called by the BSA) which the BSA kept on suspected and known child abusers within their organization. Unfortunately, the BSA never saw fit to let law enforcement or the parents/guardians of the boys know about these suspected/known child abusers. In fact, if a known pedophile completed the BSA “probation period”, they were allowed to work with the kids!
Yet the BSA can’t allow a non-heterosexual to be a leader because they can’t be “morally straight”.
Karma is taking a big bite out of the BSA’s behind right now. I love karma.
______________________
I, Shelly Strauss Rollison, am an ordained minister, omnidenominational, who believes we all walk the best path for us and will all get to the same point eventually. I’ve been married to my beautiful wife for 10 years now and together, we raised my two sons from a previous marriage. We’re now owned by six cats who allow us to share their home. I’m a writer, amateur astrologer, gay activist, speaker and spiritual counselor. If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.
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