# The Boy Scouts and Hypocrisy **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 30, 2003, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786 "2003-12-30T16:10:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/41 "2003-12-31T17:19:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shodan \* > \*\*…and continues with demonstrably false accusations. \*\* Them do it. Show me where I’ve made false accusation. Otherwise you can fuck off too. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/42 "2003-12-31T17:39:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by county \* > \*\*I’m not touting anything, moron. I am explaining how things were in the geographic area of the Chickasaw Counsil of the BSA in the l960’s. \*\* No, you’re not. You said: > [@](#): > > Back in the 60’s in the “Chickasaw Council” of BSA of America it was a lot easier because there weren’t any gay people back then And then you slightly “clarified” it by saying: > [@](#): > > what I mean’t was that for many reasons very few people in the geographic region of the Chickasaw Council acknowledged being gay, in fact the term gay had no sexual connotation at that time, as best I remember. > > It was not a public issue. Which completely ignores the fact that “very few people in the geographic region of the Chickasaw Council acknowledged being gay” _IS_ the exact problem here. Gay people who were afraid to simply be who they are because then they would be subjected to descrimination and predjudice, as the BSA is doing today. > [@](#): > > But I’ll tell you something sport, crying about this sort of thing on a message board is not in any way shape or form activism. You don’t like that sort of attitude in society, get off your fat ass and go take some action. (IMO) You obviously didn’t read my post then. First, I haven’t screamed for any type of “activism” here and second, I stated that I do NOT support the BSA and my son is not a scout _because_ of the homophobic policies the BSA espouses. That’s being a lot more proactive on the issue than “crying on a message board”. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/43 "2003-12-31T19:02:51Z")
**Scylla** , you are laboring under a severe case of Yesbut disease. The chief symptom of Yesbut disease is the need to excuse the wrong beliefs/attitudes/behaviours of an organization on the basis of the right beliefs/attitudes/behaviours they also exhibit. The Boy Scouts of America is a Supreme-Court-certified anti-gay organization. “Yes but they provide such a wonderful experience for the (heterosexual and god-believing and male) children who join.” The Catholic Church has labelled homosexuality an intrinsic disorder and gay families as false and counterfeit, and is expending millions of dollars in its effort to keep same-sex marriage illegal and anti-gay discrimination legal. “Yes but they feed the poor and clothe the neddy and so on.” The Republican Party has embraced the anti-gay population of the United States as its base, has refused to pass even the most basic anti-discrimination protections on the federal level and is currently pushing for a Constitutional amendment to ban forever same-sex marriage, domestic partnership, civil unions and the legal incidents thereof. “Yes but…” (OK I admit I’m stymied on this one, I can’t think of a single positive thing to say here, not being afflicted with Yesbut disease myself) As others have noted, there comes the point where one’s continued association with several anti-gay organizations puts the lie to one’s claim that one is not oneself anti-gay. Now you take issue with the notion that, say, one must vote against W to show that one is gay-supportive. Fine. Then show your support for gays by dropping your formal affiliation with and/or financial support of the Republican Party until such time as they stop their anti-gay rhetoric and attacks. Show your support by refusing to give any money to the Catholic Church until it stops wasting it on its anti-gay campaign. Show your support by refusing to give money to the Scouts until they knock off their anti-gay crap too. And maybe consider giving some of that money to the organizations who are battling every day against the damage that the anti-gay organizations inflict. For lack of a better term, put your money where your mouth is. > [@](#): > > Sorry, you’re wrong there, since Otto specifically mentioned - > > ## quote: > > ## Fuck 'em. Fuck 'em all from the highest of the highest leader to the littlest Tiger Cub. That was specifically directed at the BSA’s attempts to have it both ways, which was the entire point of my post and which should have been obvious from the fact that I started the post with “_This is just the latest in a long line of attempts by the BS to have it both ways_.” ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/44 "2003-12-31T20:11:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Otto \*Fuck 'em. Fuck 'em all from the highest of the highest leader to the littlest Tiger Cub. I would strongly – _strongly_ – suggest you amend this statement, **Otto**. Your assertion that this was about the BSA “wanting it both ways” is so much pisswater. My stepson is a Tiger Cub. You do not say to him, essentially, “Fuck you.” Got a beef with BSA’s leadership in general? Fine. In Connecticut? Peachy. Leave my stepson out of it. Amend the statement. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/45 "2003-12-31T20:13:01Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t know of any confirmed gays actually in Boy Scouts **Bill H** , [this](http://uk.gay.com/headlines/4487) might help explain why: > [@](#): > > US Scout council throws out gay Boy Scout > > Just weeks after the local Philadelphia council of the Boy Scouts of America passed a resolution to add sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination policy, it expelled an 18-year-old scout for being openly gay. > > Gregory Lattera, a Life Scout (one level below Eagle Scout), received a letter from the Cradle of Liberty Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Council on June 7. It said, “We have received information that has compelled us to revoke your registration. We therefore request that you sever any relationship you may have with the Boy Scouts of America.” > > The letter said that Lattera, who has spoken publicly about being gay and being in the scouts, violated a “don’t ask, don’t tell” rule that prevents scouts from talking about their sexuality. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/46 "2003-12-31T20:18:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sauron \* > \*\*I would strongly – _strongly_ – suggest you amend this statement, **Otto**. \*\* Or else what? > [@](#): > > **Amend the statement.** No. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/47 "2003-12-31T20:42:41Z")
**Otto** , are you seriously refusing to retract an insult to a seven-year-old boy who has done absolutely nothing to you? The word “appalling” comes to mind, but I don’t think it’s harsh enough. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/48 "2003-12-31T20:43:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by masonite \* > \*\*Snip > **Scylla** , I like you a lot, but I think you are a poor empathizer. Try never mentioning your wife or children again, and see what people think. You really have no idea how the other half lives. > Snip > \*\* Other **half?** Wow, the recruitment efforts are going splendidly. 😃 Just to echo some of the other statements here, the reason that there is a surplus of these threads on SDMB is the fact that there is a surplus of heterosexism/homophobia out in the US. Get rid of that and the threads will wane as well. I think it’s a safe measuring stick to replace gay with black to see if there is a problem with the laws/policies/rules out there. How does your gut react to know that no black person can be a scout leader? It makes my stomach turn to think that blacks can’t marry. A legislator says that being black is a disease and that they can be white if they want to. A belief system that you worship says that being black is immoral and that you can either hate the sin but love the sinner or that these blacks are beneath human level… These are all arguments that have been used ad nauseum in real life and on the SDMB. It’s sad that we have to keep rehashing the same info over and over again to the same people to have them see how faulty their thinking is. Personally, I think that **Otto’s** “fuck 'em” should instead extend to the parents of the kids that would put their children into a homophobic group. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/49 "2003-12-31T20:48:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by stpauler \*Personally, I think that **Otto’s** “fuck 'em” should instead extend to the parents of the kids that would put their children into a homophobic group. Yes, at the Tiger Cub Den Meeting we had just last night, we all discussed how we’re afraid of gay people, and demonstrated various techniques for hunting and trapping them in the wild. **Scylla** ’s point above was valid. The BSA leadership may or may not be homophobic. I can guarantee you that the Den my stepson belongs to is not. To say “fuck 'em” to Tiger Cubs (six- and seven-year-old boys) and to imply that they’re homophobic is beyond hyperbole, and beyond ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/50 "2003-12-31T20:59:17Z")
So **Sauron** would you stand up to the indeed, no maybe about it, BSA leadership and say that your troup will not discriminate? Will you follow the lead of the Venture Crew 488 in Sebastopol CA who were ousted from the oraganization for standing up to the leadership? Or how about the fact that Spielberg severed ties with the organization on principle? ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/51 "2003-12-31T21:00:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Otto \* > \*\ ***Scylla** , you are laboring under a severe case of Yesbut disease. The chief symptom of Yesbut disease is the need to excuse the wrong beliefs/attitudes/behaviours of an organization on the basis of the right beliefs/attitudes/behaviours they also exhibit. \*\* Don’t we all do that, though? While it would be nice to find a group that you agree with 100%, that’s not going to happen. No group is perfect and always does good things, so sometimes you have to support a group that advocates things you think are wrong, because it also advocates even more things you think are right. You know, does the good the Catholic Church, or the Boy Scouts, or the Republican Party, [or pick your group] does outweigh the bad it does? So, is providing a wonderful experience for the children who join the scouts more important to you than it letting gay kids and atheists join? Is feeding the hungry and clothing the needy more important than supporting same sex marriage? Ultimately, that’s something everybody has to decide for themselves, based on their values and the way they rank their priorities. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/52 "2003-12-31T21:06:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sauron \* > \*\* > > **Scylla** ’s point above was valid. The BSA leadership may or may not be homophobic. I can guarantee you that the Den my stepson belongs to is not. To say “fuck 'em” to Tiger Cubs (six- and seven-year-old boys) and to imply that they’re homophobic is beyond hyperbole, and beyond ridiculous. \*\* No, his point is not valid. I agree that calling a 7 year old homophobic because he’s a Tiger Cub is ridiculous, but as his parent ( who is able to make these abstract judgements, a child is not ), it is completely accurate to say that you believe that the good the Boy Scouts does outweighs the harm of their homophobia. Fine, it’s your choice to make and you’ll get no beef from me for making it as long as you are honest and admit that that’s the choice you’re making. Just because nobody in the pack you’re involved in even brings the subject up, it dosen’t mean that the policies of the BSA itself aren’t homophobic, and like it or not, you’re a part of that organization. Admit it and deal with it but most of all, _work to change it_. It’d be nice if my son could have the same posiive experience with scouts that I did. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/53 "2003-12-31T21:14:41Z")
Although I can’t really argue with **Otto** ’s “Fuck 'em all” position, I see **Sauron** ’s POV, too. It’s not fair to expect a 7-year-old boy to withdraw from an organization that he enjoys in support of an abstract principle that he is too young to understand. Certainly his pack of li’l Tigers is not going to have to contend with one of their number’s sexual orientation, so why place that burden on shoulders too small to bear the weight? I thoink we gay folks take too much for granted. Yes, it would be great if Americans unanimously supported us and understood exactly why we feel discriminated against. The sad fact is that they don’t. You can’t demand perfect doctrinal conformity from the average person–effective political activism jest don’t work thataway. Vilifying **Sauron** and the stepMinion is not going to win them to our side–and isn’t that the whole point of these threads? I trust **Sauron** to demonstrate to his kids when the time is right and they are able to understand that discriminating against gay people is hateful and wrong. In the meantime, it would be a kind gesture for **Otto** to apologize for directing insults, however obliquely, to innocent children. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/54 "2003-12-31T21:14:50Z")
From World Net Daily (yea, not the typical left wing source): [Homosexuals protest ‘bigot’ Boy Scouts](http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=13202) > [@](#): > > The Boy Scouts of America respects the opinions of any individual and their right to demonstrate against the policies of the BSA, but we also ask that they respect our right as a private, voluntary organization to have our opinions and to have our policies," said Hodges. I think that this is a more powerful snippet from [Newsmax.com](http://Newsmax.com) :[Homosexuals Target Scouts in Nationwide Protest](http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/8/23/185800.shtml) > [@](#): > > Steven Cozza, the subject of PBS documentary called “Scouts Honor,” is a 16-year-old Eagle Scout who has been protesting the BSA’s anti-homosexual stance since he was 12 years old. A statement on the S4A Web site says, “Steven is not gay but does not feel the need to tell those who make fun of him that he is not gay, because in his heart he believes that if he were gay, he’d be proud of being gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual.” > > Cozza’s father, Scott, was banned by the BSA for advocating the inclusion of homosexuals in the organization. The elder Cozza now works as an independent HIV health education consultant and advocate of changes in prison health care. So, the BSA banned him not for being gay but for protesting against their homophobia. I really don’t see where you can even be on the fence as to whether or not the BSA is a homophobic organization. Interesting that you think that since your troop isn’t homophobic that its belonging to a homophobic organization is actually exclusive. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/55 "2003-12-31T21:24:05Z")
Actually, I tend to view our Tiger Cub Den (and the Pack to which we belong) as apolitical. I wasn’t terribly thrilled that the Stepminion wanted to join the Scouts, but his heart was set on it. If I thought this would actually cause him to become homophobic somehow – no, we wouldn’t allow him to participate. But I fail to see how leaf-rubbings and hayrides are turning him into a raving homophobe. Or why that should allow some yahoo on an Internet message board to say to him “Fuck you” _in absentia_. On preview: Thank you, **gobear.** We teach the kids that God made everybody, and he made everybody different. Not better, not worse – different. **stpauler** : This may come as a shock, but we don’t sit around at our Den meeting and discuss the national policies of the Boy Scouts of America. We tried to, but the kids seemed more intent on having fun, so we just went with that. We’re a pack of rebels that way. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/56 "2003-12-31T21:25:11Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s not fair to expect a 7-year-old boy to withdraw from an organization that he enjoys in support of an abstract principle that he is too young to understand. Sure. And how about the boys who are gay who are caused to withdraw, etc.? There are places I don’t go in my city because my non-white students have reported consistently that they are harassed there. I would enjoy patronizing these establishments, and it’s inconvenient to go elsewhere. My behavior that has its roots in my parents’ explanations about one of the ways to use money to demonstrate displeasure with exclusionary policies. It was a good lesson, hasn’t hurt me any, and gives me good standards to live by. One of them is that my relatively minor inconvenience is nothing when stacked up against the injustices heaped upon people who are different from the index person, no matter on what dimension. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/57 "2003-12-31T21:33:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shoshana \* > Sure. And how about the boys who are gay who are caused to withdraw, etc.? Second-graders have no conception of what being gay means, so I really don’t believe that there any Tiger cubs in the StepMinion’s pack who were forced to withdraw because they are gay. > [@](#): > > One of them is that my relatively minor inconvenience is nothing when stacked up against the injustices heaped upon people who are different from the index person, no matter on what dimension. True enough, but you are an adult capable of seeing the consequences of your actions and the efficacy of economic protest. The stepMinion is not. I don’t think it’s fair to deprive him of being a Tiger cub in support of a concept he cannnot comprehend. If he were older, then my position would be different. But I don’t fight my battles on the backs of children. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/58 "2003-12-31T21:38:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shoshana \* > \*\*Sure. And how about the boys who are gay who are caused to withdraw, etc.? Tell you what – the first time a seven-year-old boy is kicked out of our Pack for being gay, I’ll talk with the Stepminion and explain that we don’t want to belong to that group any more. Until then, I think it’s safe to let him be a child for a while, and not force him to use political and sexual barometers when he wants to play with his friends. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/59 "2003-12-31T21:39:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Weirddave \* > \*\*Scylla, you’re missing the point here, I suspect delibertly. The Catholic Church, The Boy Scouts, The Republican Party, these are all private organizations who have adopted stances on various issues. WRT homosexuality, these _organizations_ have all advocated policies or adopted positions that can fairly be labled “homophobic”, thus it is accurate to put this lable on any of these organizations. That does not, however, say anything about the individuals who comprise the membership of these organizations other than that the institutionalized homophobia does not outweigh the other benefits they see for themselves by belonging to the organization. I know plenty of people involved in scouts who disagree with the BSA’s stance on gays, yet continue to be involved with scouts because they feel that the positives for the boys outweigh the negatives of the BSA’s homophobia. Personally, I disagree, which is why even though I was a scout and feel that it was a great experience that taught me many useful things, my son, although he wants to be, is not a scout. For me descrimination and homophobia are a negative that outweighs the positives the scouts offer. Other people may feel the opposite. Reguardless, it is completely fair to lable the organization as homophobic and deal with it on that basis. > > If most of the principles that these three organizations espouse are what you believe and these principles outweigh ( in your mind ) the descrimination that they also endose, I understand completly why you belong to them. My question to you would be that if you are truly in favor of gay rights, why aren’t you vocally condeming the descriminatory positions that these organizations put fourth? I don’t think that anyone would have jumped on you if you had said something along the lines of “Hey, I’m involved with scouts because it’s a great thing for the boys, but you’re right, that particular policy needs to be changed” \* and then working to change it\*. If 75 million Republicans wrote to Bush threatening to vote for the Democrat if he didn’t cut his support for the DOMA, you’d never hear those words from the White House again. If the local chapters of the BSA stood up and said “This isn’t right” and then sent people to the national council who believed the same way ( or disassociated themselves from the BSA entirely ), this stupid homophobic stand would melt away like a snowball August. Don’t just sit back and take offense when someone correctly identifies an organization you belong to as homophobic when it obviously is, you should agree, perhaps put fourth the resons you support it in spite of that, and then work from within to change the descriminatory policy, and recount how you are doing so. Then this whole issue can quickly be relagated to the midden heap of history where it belongs. \*\* I’m quoting this entire post because it’s so damn sensible, and says just about everything that needs to be said, and no one seems to have noticed it at all. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786/60 "2003-12-31T21:44:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sauron \* > \*\* > **stpauler** : This may come as a shock, but we don’t sit around at our Den meeting and discuss the national policies of the Boy Scouts of America. We tried to, but the kids seemed more intent on having fun, so we just went with that. We’re a pack of rebels that way. \*\* Can’t say I’m shocked at all. I wouldn’t expect you to sit down with the charter with a 7 year old either and explain the intricacies and the political and socio-ramifications of belonging to a homophobic organization. However, I am shocked that you wouldn’t 1)recognize the fact that the BSA openly discriminates against homosexuals and apparently their supporters as well and 2) that with this fact you choose to sit idly by and claim that since you aren’t directly affected that it’s A-OK if the head offices do this. Since ignorance ain’t bliss here, don’t be shocked by my opinion of someone who ignores this. There are other organizations out there as well or you could take the time and start your own locally instead of belonging to the BSA. Growing up, the neighborhood fathers organized a group called “Indian Paths” which pretty much taught all that the BSA did without the religion or uniforms. It’s all your choice of course. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-boy-scouts-and-hypocrisy/221786.md?page=4)