My dad (who is very conservative) told me that he got an e-mail saying that Scalia resigned from the Boy Scouts after they voted to allow gay scouts. He opined that it was a hoax because this would force him to recuse himself from any case about gay rights.
I googled it and found several sites reporting it, such as this one: Scalia Resigns Post as Scoutmaster | The New Yorker
While I don’t think that the New Yorker is on par with the National Enquirer, some of this article sounded bogus to me. For example:
What’s the Straight Dope on this?
If it’s true, how does this affect his ability to rule on gay marriage, etc…
Also, should questions like this be in Elections or Great Debates?
Boy Scouts huddling under blankets with Antonin Scalia. :eek: Now that is a scary image!
Why would he be resigning now, though? Surely the decision to allow openly gay boys to be scouts was ages ago? Has there been some new development?
This page says it is satire. Probably it is, but it is not very obviously satire. Indeed, I am not sure I get what the joke is meant to be (beyond the idea of Scalia being a scoutmaster in the first place).
The same thing happened to me. I was hoping the thread title was, “Did Antonin Scalia resign because he finally had an attack of conscience?” or “Did Antonin Scalia resign because he knew he was just about to die?” or “Did Antonin Scalia resign with Clarence Thomas so that they could get gay married?”
THIS. Seeing that, I opened this thread in eager anticipation of seeing the good news and reading the stimulating discussion that would certainly ensue.
Question: If he really hates gays so much, how could he fairly judge any gay-related case that comes before the court – whether he resigned from Boy Scouts or not ???
Where’s the idea that Scalia “hates” gays? I think that he has simply articulated his position that homosexual sodomy was prohibited at common law and has generally been proscribed since ancient times, and therefore has no protection in the Constitution.
Agree or disagree, but that hardly qualifies as a hatred of gays, and he should no more recuse himself on gay-related cases anymore than most other justices should recuse themselves on abortion-related cases since they have also made their opinions known.
Andy Borowitz has a gotcha list at least as long as the Onion’s or the Daily Currant’s. Reality has been lapping satire for a while now. Poe’s Law is the law of the land.
The trouble with this piece is that it absolutely sucks as satire. It is not funny, it provides no insight into Scalia’s actual character or defects, and it does not even effectively mock him. Yes, be would be absurd if if he did something absurd that he hasn’t actually done (and would never be likely to). Well, so would we all.
I know there was a movement of Eagle Scouts “resigning” their… Eagle Scoutdom? in protest over the no-gays thing. I suppose now there will be a counter-movement of Eagle Scouts resigning due to, I suppose, the rampant faggotry that will now infect the Boy Scouts. :rolleyes:
This particular horse has been beaten into a large pulpy red spot elsewhere on the board (I know; I was at least somewhat involved). Suffice it to say that if you read Scalia’s dissents on the various gay rights decisions, it is not unreasonable to walk away with the distinct impression that he is not too fond of teh ghey. On the other hand, you can make a perfectly coherent argument that he’s doing what you just said. Short of popping open the man’s skull, we’re never going to know for sure what his personal feelings are.
