tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post3761758038357724189..comments2024-03-19T21:14:01.007-07:00Comments on The Compass Rose: Boy Scouts of America Goes Gay Curtis Favillehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-55856592632385653992013-05-28T01:40:29.570-07:002013-05-28T01:40:29.570-07:00Chris, I appreciate your thoughtful and respectfu...Chris, I appreciate your thoughtful and respectful comments. I grew up in the mid 60s in Ohio and from a very young age knew I was "different". I had no interest in sports and prefered music, movies and gymnastics to anything rough and tough. My brother was a Scout and when my time came to join the Cub Scouts, it was suggested via my brother that I might not "fit in" . So I didn't join. It was one more place where I didn't fit in and no one seemed to think that it was wrong for the Scouts to suggest it. At this point, I wasn't sure what my sexulaity was - in fact I really didn't know what sexuality was in the first place. Scouting wasn't about being a sexual being, it was about belonging to a club. A club I was denied from the outset . Gay kids or kids who are not "normal" need a place where they know they will be treated with the same respect as the others. Scouting promotes decency, respect, and honest endeavors. I would think that a true Scout would be proud to have all kinds of friends no matter what their sexual orientation. That is what a Democratic Society is all about. Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11177432692806101132noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-2949892496659133892013-05-24T17:40:00.934-07:002013-05-24T17:40:00.934-07:00Chris:
Thanks for the thoughtful comment.
I don&...Chris:<br /><br />Thanks for the thoughtful comment.<br /><br />I don't really mean to denigrate the Boy Scouts.<br /><br />Our family knew another family that was very big into Scouting, and they were also devout Presbyterians. The eldest son made Eagle Scout and got the God and Country Award, and got his name in the paper. He was a good student, and went on, I'm sure, to have an exemplary career in life.<br /><br />But there was something creepy about this family--social climbers, wanting bigger houses, more cars, more more more. Very tiresomely competitive and middle class. There was an attempt to dragoon me into this foolishness, which I'm happy never happened.<br /><br />I became a serious fly-fisherman as an adult--didn't need any "official" camping nonsense. As a family we camped and hiked and exercised. <br /><br />Anyway, the point of my post was actually to defend the Boy Scouts against this appropriation of their mandate. I wouldn't be surprise--or disappointed--if an entirely new organization was formed, to preserve the original goals, and to set aside all this Gay nonsense. Curtis Favillehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06213075853354387634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660090614793277371.post-33523611625983288752013-05-24T17:24:18.164-07:002013-05-24T17:24:18.164-07:00Will every Boy Scout be asked his sexual orientati...Will every Boy Scout be asked his sexual orientation -- or will it just be O.K. if he wants to tell everybody that he's gay ?<br /><br />I don't know - but I do have fond memories of the scouts -- as one of the things that a kid in the sixties could do after school and on weekends -- back before parents were required to haul them around to soccer games or piano lessons.<br /><br />My parents encouraged me not to take the rigamarole too seriously, and indeed, I never advanced beyond Second-Class scout, and never earned any merit badges.<br /><br />But I did develop a taste for camping which I pursued until my wife became too feeble.<br /><br />I also developed a habit for weekly classes in some kind self-improvement -- which may not have improved me very much -- but have been delightful.<br /><br />And one more thing in their favor -- at least as I remember it -- Scouting was not very competitive --like sports. (nothing wrong with competition -- but I prefer something more mental than hitting/kicking/throwing a ball)<br /><br />It was more about exploring a world of arcane knowledge -- like tying various kinds of knots.<br /><br />I wish I'd kept my uniform.chris millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09575033275184403015noreply@blogger.com