Friday, February 18, 2011

Dear Boy Scouts, I will not let you turn my son into a BIGOT!

As you read in a previous post I am concerned about what my son is learning in boy scouts.  My son is nine years old and loves boy scouts.  Unfortunately our pack isn't very involved or well organized.  They haven't really done anything all year.  Last night at the last minute we remembered that there was suppose to be a pack meeting.  So I loaded my kids in the van and we went to the church where it was being held at.

At the start of the meeting I was getting a bit excited.  They had a speaker come in.  A man who was an Eagle scout and very involved with Boy Scouts.  He had us a play a story game and it involved not just the boys but the parents as well.  It was a lot of fun.  Then he taught us a song. My son loves camp songs.  He really enjoyed it.  Then it got a bit boring as the speaker went on to talk about boy scouts.  At this point my youngest started to get fussy and was yelling in my ear.  But it did not keep me from hearing, "ANTI-GAY"... hold the phone... did I just hear what I thought I heard.  Here my son is listening intently to learn something new about scouting and this is what he gets.  Aww hell no!  I was stunned.  The speaker went on to say something about the organization being private and blah blah blah....

My mind was racing.  Do I grab my kids and rush out causing a scene?  Do I ask him to repeat himself to make sure what I heard was right?  What do I do?  I listened more.  He went on about camping opportunities and the Pinewood Derby Race (my son won last year!).  When the meeting was over we hightailed out of there.  We tried to at least.  Gary found a very expensive looking earring on the floor and went back to turn it into the leader.  He is a good boy.  Once we were in the car I had to text my husband.  Surely I had heard incorrectly.  I know I had seen on the news about Boy Scouts and lawsuits regarding homosexuality but I guess I never really thought about it.



When we got home I was so upset.  The kids and I sat down at the table and ate our McDonald's dinner.  Like I was going to cook in my state of mind.  I was trying so hard not to cry.  Of course my son didn't even notice the anti-gay remark.  I doubt he even knows what it means to be gay.

After dinner and the kids were in the pjs, I hopped on facebook and posted about it.  It was great to see so many people respond to it.  Of course I have great taste in friends.

Here is my dilemma.  Do I let my son stay in BS because of the other skills he is learning?  Why should I support an organization that is openly discriminatory?  If I choose to take my son out of scouting how do I explain my reason to him?

Right now even as I type, tears are streaming down my face.  Why do we hate?  Why are they teaching our sons that not every human is worth respect and love?  No matter your skin color, religion, nationality or sexual preference... you are to be loved.

I'm not one to be silent so I think I may be taking on the Boy Scouts.  If more parents spoke up the organization would have to do something.  But I think, that like me, they don't expect to find this on the local levels.  Well they have messed with my cub and Mama Bear is not happy!

4 comments:

  1. Wow. That's really, really sad and I applaud you for taking a stand about something you obviously have passion about....human rights!
    I got a bumper sticker recently that reads " This breeder supports the gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans gender community " all in rainbow colors. My husband loves it but warned me not to put it on my car. Too many haters. Too many uber Christians. ( btw we are Chrisitans )
    I did it anyways and I have the crazy keyed door to prove it.
    I've never understood hatred and I certainly will not have my children learn hate from someone I barely know. But, I also want to expose my children to a variety of thoughts, ideas and people so that he can learn tolerance and love.
    I guess you have to ask if it's worth it? Is he getting enough good from them that it outweighs the bad? And is this an instilled morality with the club or just that one dude?
    Sorry I'm leaving such a long comment. I feel so strongly about this subject!

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  2. Thank you so much for your comment. I was a bit afraid to even make today's post on my blog. I also want to teach my son tolerance and everyone is allowed to have their own beliefs. We are also Christian. One of my friends is on our pack committee. She wasn't there for the meeting but has heard about so hopefully I wasn't the only parent appalled by the anti-gay comment. We will see what happens. I'm just not sure if I want to support an organization that is open discriminate to others. The girl scouts has a rule against discrimination. We just have to bring the Boy Scouts out of the dark ages. Its up to us as parents to make the stand. Thanks so much for your comment and support. And thanks for reading my blog. I truly appreciate it!

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  3. Hey Nancy Marie, you are a great mom for not allowing this to go unspoken about. If it bothered you, it probably bothered others and it's good that you are taking the initiative to do something about it. With a mom like you, your kids are truly blessed. Protect and serve,that's our job for our youngins. Handle your business, I'm behind you. Also, never be afraid to post what you believe in; you'll always have supporters and haters, concentrate on the supporters. You sure have mine.

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  4. No matter what you decide, it is definitley a teachable moment. There is the option of allowing him to stay, and talking to him constantly about how he will be exposed to people, even people he likes and respects, who will try to teach him it is ok to hate, but that it will never be ok for HIM to hate. Or there is the road where you pull him from scouts and teach him about sacrifice, and how much others have sacraficed to gain their rights over the years and how we all have to do our part to protect people's rights. It seems unfair that kids so little have to learn these lessons, but it is the truth of our world. Kids are stronger than we think. Especially your kids, because they have such strong and caring parents to guide them!

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