An Eagle Scout Lament:Boy Scouts of America: Shame and Intolerance

I come from a very successful troop, both in its approach to Scouting, its matriculation of Eagle Scouts and the parental and financial commitment to our troop. We were Troop 916 of the Buckeye Council. Stark County, Ohio

Our Scoutmaster was a beefy male in his 30's who embodied the concept of tough yet compassionate discipline, possibly owing from his blue collar upbringing. He could be jovial and serious, disciplined yet playful, intelligent yet down to earth and most of all, we had a lot of fun. We were made up of steelworkers kids, doctors kids, and the mix in between. We were indeed varied and racially diverse.

Much of the fun and camaraderie that we had when we were off the serious tract would not be allowed in today's paranoid society> You see, we all wrestled with each other, sometimes gleefully rolling around in prolonged matches of spirit and exuberance. We laughed, boy did we laugh and there was nothing wrong with our play, then.

Today, that might be another matter. While not involved in the physical act of wrestling with us, since we were kids and our scoutmaster was a hirsute adult male, he did have a habit of pinning us down, tickling us until we couldn't stand it anymore and running the rough stubble of his beard over our faces. We hated that one, but it was all done in the spirit of commaraderie. Today, I relish that an adult could be so playful, clowning, like the little boy inside the man.

Now, he would be hauled off, locked up and charged under any number of statutes which have their base in the fear of child molestation, but much deeper, in the fear of open male to male expressions of friendship and affection. Although, it would be denied as a cause, the reality lives in the present.

So then, was I surprised to learn a while back that the Boy Scouts of America had taken to interpreting morality, based upon a heterosexual code of conduct. Put simply, Gay scouts were no longer welcome, and the implication was that the lifestyle itself was somehow in conflict with the Scout Oath. Don't confuse this with the twelve points below, these points aren't the problem.

There are twelve points which form the Scout Law > they are as follows:
A Scout is,
1)Trustworthy 2)Loyal 3)Helpful 4)Friendly 5)Courteous 6)Kind 7)Obedient
8)Cheerful 9)Thrifty 10)Brave 11)Clean and 10) Reverent.

Now, here's the Scout Oath or Promise, Guess where the problem rest.

"On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty to God and my country. To obey the Scout Law. To help other people at all times. To keep myself physically strong, Mentally Awake and Morally Straight."

Got a clue? Yep, you got it. It's that "Morally Straight" part that gets the gay scouts in trouble. I don't even know if they're interpreting the word "straight" literally, as in "heterosexual". or merely the concept of being "morally straight" as inconsistent with a gay lifestyle.

During my passage through the ranks of Cub Scouts and through the ranks of Boy Scouts, finally culminating as an Eagle Scout, I never once encountered any openly gay talk or hostile talk, It just wasn't done. There probably were gay scouts, but that issue as well as the lifestyle was closeted. Perhaps, because it was assumed that all Scouts would assume their rightful place and carry out their duties, all,
within the framework of a heterosexual upbringing.

Now, in recent years they seem to have cared enough about it, to have opened a Pandora's box of hostility and resentment against Gay Scouts. What a ridiculous waste of time, as is any venture into this area. Being Gay simply has nothing to do with fulfilling the Scout oath. I find it deplorable that supposedly well meaning, concerned adults have seen fit to crucify those that are different.

For a well placed collection of views on this type of intolerance and a history of the Scout movement, please visit this site.