Here are three topics – none related – that have astonished me in the past two days.
KKK
Back in December 2005, I posted a snippet of a Fox WGHP story on the recruiting efforts of the Ku Klux Klan. It seemed that the KKK – the most dangerous hate and violence filled group in the history of our country – had been distributing recruiting flyers in local Greensboro neighborhoods:
People found the fliers in a north western Greensboro neighborhood. One of the three pages wishes the community a happy holiday there’s also an application to join the Klan for $35. The first requirement is to be a white Christian practicing racial integrity. None of the materials had a local contact. Only the Klan’s website, a Harrison, Arkansas phone number and an address for the Klan’s international headquarters. People in the neighborhood say they’re more disturbed than shocked that the KKK would choose to bring their message of white supremacy to their front doors.
Yesterday, I received a comment on that post from an individual named “Jane.” In short, she said we should be more open-minded to the group:
up, I stepped up to the plate…AND JOINED them. Take some time and educate yourself. Read read read and you will see that a lot of whats said and what you hear are NOT what this organization is about. Yes, it is comprised of WHITE Christian people…but how is that any different than some of the BLACK groups out there…we have BLACK History month, do we have WHITE History month?? etc
Astonishing. Really… I’m put aback. It takes an astonishingly large amount of prejudice and ignorance to make a statement like Jane’s. Jane, the KKK is comprised of “white Christians” because the hate everyone else. What we hear about the organization is the exact truth. The KKK is an evil organization whose history is full of murder, rape, close-to-fatal injury and the use of God’s most holy Name to condemn, exclude and de-humanize millions of people.
Boy Scouts
Two days ago, I ran across a blog post written by a former Boy Scout who is now openly gay. The topic of the day was the impending eviction the Philadelphia Boy Scout council will face because they have refused to disavow the group’s discriminatory membership policy on gay youth and adults. That is where my fellow gay Scout messes up. He is, perhaps, unaware that the Boy Scout policy affects not only gay adults seeking to be Scout leaders, but also gay youth seeking to become or remain Scout members.
Here’s his take:
As a gay former scout I have to say that I wish the city had left this issue alone. I don’t like discrimination of any kind, but I also know what a great experience Boy Scouts was for me as a kid. I had a horrible relationship with my stepfather growing up and I hated being around him. In scouts I was exposed to men I could look up to and admire. Not allowing gays to act as Scout leaders does bother me, but not enough to do something that makes the Scouts less accessible to boys around the country.
Lets focus on gay marriage, gay adoption, the prosecution of hate crimes of every kind, and then, and only then, can we look at the scouting issue again – if we still have the energy.
As a scout in Florida in Boy Scout Troop 626, I knew I was gay, and I kept it to myself. The benefits of being a scout, for me, far out weighed the drawbacks (I’m don’t think there actually were any drawbacks) involved in staying in the closet. What thirteen year old will improve their life by coming out? Kids can be vicious at that age, but knowing two young men who are active in scouts, Corey and Thomas, I have to say that scouting has certainly not made them bigots. These are wonderful guys who are smart, capable, funny, and caring. If the scouts, under the current system, can turn out kids like that, then this is not a high priority issue for me.
I have to give him credit and respect. He does say, “The benefits of being a scout, for me, far out weighed the drawbacks… involved in staying the closet.” He also relates how he never felt there were any “drawbacks” to being closeted. As a fellow Scout and a gay man, I’ll respect his own life journey and experience. That does not mean, however, that I will not politely disagree.
The Boy Scout policy is something to be fought because it affects youth, as well as adults. In my fellow Scout’s writing, he does not address the policy as it relates to youth. Thousands of boys are remaining in the closet because they are scared of the reaction that they will receive if other Scouts and Scout leaders should ever know they are gay. I’ve been kicked out because of this policy (at age 14) and I’ve known of too many other youth who have experienced similar dealings with the BSA.
Just recently, in fact, I met a youth in Charlotte who was forced by his father to come out to the Boy Scouts. His father knew that once he came out in the troop, then he’d be kicked out and not allowed to participate any longer. In this instance, the Scout leader played right into the hands of the bigoted father. From both sides, that youth experienced bigotry and prejudice. Unfortunately, the one group of people who should have been standing next to him – to defend him against the ill-wishes of his father – took center stage and played right along with their inherited parts of “Exclusionary un-Boy Scouts veiled behind a meaningless* Scout Law and Oath.”
I’ll always support the Boy Scouts for the real values. I’ll keep working and praying for a day when all boys are able to participate in this wonderful, American experience of child and young adulthood and growing into a man.
Boy Scouts, Part Deux
Remember when I posted about the Berkeley Sea Scouts fighting that city over their publicly-subsidized use of the marina? Well, the main Scouter leading the charge to fight the City of Berkeley’s move to stand up for fairness and equality has now been charged with molestation of four boys.
From h/t Good.As.You:
Yes, that’s right — a longtime Boy Scout leader (seen here) has been hauled in on allegations that he has done the exact thing that they LOVE to say would happen if gays were allowed equal access to the organization.
Sin Alert
Beth at Greensboring.com wrote a post on a sickening viral video floating its way around the internet. I’m not going to post a link to it, although a link is present in the comment sections of Beth’s post.
The video shows women eating feces, something the religious right has continuously used to demean and malign LGBT people as a whole. I saw a writer state one time that he had never actually seen or heard of any gay people engaging in many of the acts the religious right says we like to engage in on a regular basis.
I’m wondering why the religious right has not sent out a wave of sin alerts to their followers about this evil practice of a woman eating feces. There is no doubt in my mind that this particular movie – as well as the site from which it originated – are directed solely to heterosexual people. Where now are the cries, the shouts of anger and righteousness?
* – The Scout Law and Oath really aren’t meaningless. In my view, the two statements embody principles and lessons every American boy should learn. However, the Law and Oath become meaningless in the instance of discrimination upheld and committed by Boy Scout leaders. Once this happens, almost every point in the Scout Law and Oath are broken and a fellow Scout is left with no recourse but to leave, and never come back.
Technorati Tags: KKK, Ku Klux Klan, Greensboro, North Carolina, Boy Scouts, Philadelphia, Berkeley, gay Scouts, child molestation, poop, Religious Right, hypocrisy
December 7th, 2007 at 9:18 am
Matt: This is JD, I wrote the post you quoted about the benefits of staying in the closet and remaining in scouts as a boy.
Since my blog is mainly read by friends, I don;t always include as much background data as I should. When I was a Scout, it was 1979-1983 in a small town in rural South Florida (population ~250 at that time). I lived with my mom and stepfather – a abusive alcoholic with violent mood swings.
The Scouts were the ONLY thing of its kind that I could participate in that would keep me away from home for meetings every week, weekend camping trips, summer camp every year, etc… I applied for and was granted early membership in the high school marching band for much the same reason.
Thats why I said, for me, it was worth it. The world has changed a lot since then and if I was that age in that situation in a big city like Philadelphia, where I live now, I would probably have a completely different view on the subject.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:19 am
By the way, nice blog, I’ve enjoyed exploring.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:28 am
JD, thanks for your comments here. Thanks also for the background information and the compliments on the blog.
I respect your life experience and I very much relate to your story of Scouts being an escape from many of the ills in your youth. I also had a father who was never really a father and, as it did for you, being Boy Scouts taught me so much about being a man – something I never really could have learned from my father.
I think we both agree that the Boy Scouts do a lot of good. Unfortunately, I’m not willing to give them a pass on the bad they do just because of the good that comes from them. I will support the good while working to make the group better, so that they can produce more good.
Here lately (because of my new job), I’ve been neglecting the site, but I encourage you to visit http://scoutpride.interstateq.com and view the lists of boys and young men dismissed from Scouting for one reason or another. My story is up there, accompanied by a few others.
The ScoutPride website still needs some work and more information. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to contribute in some way.
Thanks again!
P.S. – When I read your post, for some reason I just assumed you were someone a bit closer to my age. Unconscious ageism , I guess.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:44 am
Matt, I can certainly understand that, especially after reading more about your experience on http://scoutpride.interstateq.com/experiences/comer/.
Also, keep in mind that I wasn’t suggesting that “giving them a pass” was a suggestion forever. I just see a lot of other issues that, if successfully addressed, will make changing the BSA easier and inevitable. These include marriage rights and adoption rights.
I have straight friend’s who have nudged their children away from scouting and into other church or temple activities BECAUSE of the BSA policy about gays. As time moves forward, the BSA will lose the ability to blame parents as an obstacle to change as more parents grow up with a completely different attitude towards gays and lesbians than that held by thier parents.
December 7th, 2007 at 10:46 am
[...] Astonishing: KKK, Boy Scouts, Sin alert [...]
December 7th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
Regarding Jane’s comment, I note that there’s already the creeping suggestion of the old rhetoric that would have us believe that white people are the “truly repressed minority.” (”We can’t get away with having a white history month!” indeed.) In fact, this approach seems to be a favorite amongst most hate groups, regardless of what their basis for hatred is.
Regarding the BSA and the city of Philadelphia, I recall seeing elsewhere a quote where someone with the BSA comments on how they think it’s a shame the city is dampering the organizations efforts in a day where “violence is rampant” simply because of the organizations stance on homosexuality. I find it curious how anyone with the organization can make that statement without immediately considering that they dampen their own mission in the face of that same violence by choosing to hold such a hard-line position on something as comparatively trivial as homosexuality.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
The Scout issues in Philly and San Diego (before the scandal) were exclusively taxpayer-based.
The net-net value, or the absolvability, or scouting as a concept isn’t the point. The point is that those who wish to be bigots should be allowed to do so — but only on their own time and their own dime.
Discrimination is never a public good.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:45 pm
“the absolvability, OF scouting as a concept”
Oops…
December 21st, 2007 at 11:31 am
Matt, I agree we should do our best to uphold all the values of scouting. I wonder if most people know what they are? A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, courteous, kind, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. Can we uphold all but one and be right? Can we uphold only a few and be right? No one is perfect, and most would probably have trouble keeping up with all of the values all the time. It was mentioned that kids can be cruel. They are wrong to be cruel just as we believe that committing sins by being gay is wrong.
What is not addressed is the last value. What isn’t mentioned is the basis upon which those values were originally based. The most important value is being reverent. If someone is truly reverent and obeys God, then all the other values will, with imperfect exceptions, be followed. Kids that have been taught properly and raised to LOVE God and LOVE others will respect them and treat them according to the values we cherish.
It is not ok to lie. It is not ok to betray a friend. It is not ok to help a person in need. It is not ok to be unfriendly and negative, to be rude, to be mean-spirited, to disobey (parents, leaders, or GOD … unless it counters the Oath and Law. It is good to be cheerful. It is good to be thrifty instead of wasteful … you can then help others with your blessings. It is good to be brave and have the courage to stand up for what is right in terms of eternity instead of what is temporal. It is good to be clean and healthy. It is of eternal importance to be reverent and understand the premise upon which we one day be judged and that will determine what is really important: How we live may impact the lives and more importantly the souls of many others. Each of us should ask ourselves, “How will the way I am living impact the quality of life and the souls of those that I meet on this journey? The journey continues; each day we can take a different trail; it is never too late to reasses our beliefs, words and actions. It’s not about “me”, it is about others and helping them at all times. As an assistant Scoutmaster, I tell you God and I love you, but more importantly I would urge you to love God and others more than yourself or your desires. In the end… it WILL be worth it. I don’t believe you will publish this, but it was not written for them so it doesn’t matter. God be with you.
December 21st, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Howard… I will publish this. It was published the moment you hit submit.
I’m a little bit astonished that you would make assumptions about the entirety of my character as it relates to the Scout Oath and Law.
And let me give you some wisdom… If speaking up for the rights and dignity of people who are being hurt and oppressed is selfishness toward myself and my “desires,” then I’ll just have to be selfish. I’d rather stick up for other’s rights and dignity as human beings than be on the side that says, “You are not worthy.”