Although the law does justify that the Boy Scouts of America can exclude members who are openly homosexual, I do not think that being gay has any burden on an individual’s ability to become a Scoutmaster or Scout. Someone’s sexual preference does not alter one’s values, morals, and character. These people should not be defined by one characteristic when there are so many factors that attribute to each person as a whole. This original homosexual policy for the Boy Scouts of America was created over 100 years ago and should not let this outdated policy guide them to continue with these hateful biases in today’s society. Especially when this organization prides themselves on leadership qualities and moral values. The question that arises here is: Is banning someone on their sexual orientation actually moral?
I attached a video to this blog that interviewed a boy named Eric Jones which covered the journey that he has been through with the Boy Scouts of America after revealing his true identity as an openly homosexual male. Eric stated that he was a respected part of this organization as an Eagle scout and once revealing his true colors, this respect was immediately taken away. Jones has over the past ten
years accumulated many awards and honors and by simply stating his sexual orientation was stripped of all his hard work. What I find hard to justify is that Eric Jones obviously met and exceeded the expectations and values of this organization by being rewarded with all his accomplishments. How is it that his sexual orientation can re-define what he stands for as a human being and how hard he has worked to succeed in this organization?
The Boys of America is continuing to
follow the ideas of heterosexism as discussed in my previous blog and are
conforming these boys to follow these same beliefs. To me it is as if this organization is saying
that it is ok to discriminate and not accept someone because they are different
from you. Boys of America should allow
diversity and embrace different cultures, beliefs, and sexual orientation. Instead of hindering their organization by a
restricted boundaries, they need to embrace all different kinds of groups/people
which will then ultimately make them a stronger and more powerful unit. So is
this homosexual policy justified? Legally it is, but ethically not at all.
References:
Graddick,
H. (2012, February 4). Boy scouts, time to end discrimination. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/20/opinion/graddick-boy-scouts
Overby,
A. (2012, February 4). Boy scouts gay policy is legal, but wrong. Retrieved
from http://www.policymic.com/articles/11573/boy-scouts-gay-policy-is-legal-but-wrong
After our discussion in class and now after reading your blog, I was curious as to what it really meant to be a boy scout. I lasted maybe a year in girl scouts, and never really understood what it was all about. I went to scouting.org to look up what the true benefits are to becoming a scout and surprisingly, the first few “Scout Laws” included; being trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, and brave. In the descriptions to many of these scout laws it is all about self-respect, treating others with respect, being honest and having confidence in yourself. It seems to me that boy scouts treat you to be a good person, and accept others as they are in diverse situations, yet oddly enough, they discriminate against homosexuals. How can the leaders influence boy scouts to accept themselves and others who are different yet at the same time, exempt you from becoming a Scout or Scoutmaster if you are gay? It doesn’t make sense to me. If I had children, I would not want my son to be affiliated with the boy scouts because I feel that it is teaching/influencing the children to discriminate against homosexuality. When in reality, boy scouts is about “doing the right thing”. How can we be teaching them to do the right thing if they are involved in a group that is teaching them to discriminate against certain people?
ReplyDeleteYes Tiffanie, It is such a shame how these kids believed one thing but were being taught another. I do question on whether or not, I would ever allow my youngest son to be involved in such an organization that teaches discrimination. Life should be about evolving and adapting to the present time. It took so long for homosexuals to expose their identity and tell the world “this is who I am and I should be able to be with whoever I wish to be with. Why judge a person for who they choose to be with; instead judge them for what they know and how well they perform.
DeleteThis is such a pertinent and hot topic right now. The boy scout who was denied his Eagle status was even written about in People magazine this week, which really does make this a main stream issue. I will bring the article to class tonight. I have a hard time with the policies as well. I actually think that we have one gay male leader in our troop, I heard this through another adult. He has never acted inappropriately or done anything to show he is gay or straight. I did ask him about our troop and it's tolerance level for gay scouts or leaders, and he said he is fighting for equality at our local level, which made me feel better. I will be fine with telling my son that this leader is gay if it comes up or out into the open; he has been a dedicated and amazing leader on every level for our boys.
ReplyDeleteI have to say I agree that keeping anyone from being a Boy Scout seems wrong. I understand them saying they "have a right" to decide who is part of their group but, that's not something I want to teach my children; how to be prejudice and judge people. What will be told to a boy when he asks why that person can't be in the Boy Scouts? This is not making anything"get better"!
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