http://youtu.be/5qDsqPaJht0

You sound like one of those people who thinks gays are great, as long as you don’t have to see them kissing or anything. Changing the badge to “announce” that you are gay isn’t about antagonizing straight people, it is saying, “I’m proud of who I am, and what I accomplished, even though the organization would kick me out and discredit me.” There may come a day when people in minority groups don’t have to “announce” themselves, but as long as those groups are consistently oppressed, their members will need to be vocal.

“I know my comment will probably offend some, but in all honesty all I see is an honored symbol being defaced for political purposes.”

*reads further*

Oh, wait, they WEREN’T talking about the Boy Scouts defacing all their honored symbols merely by the act of forbidding people based on their sexual orientation, that now whenever they see one such symbol, it’s a constant reminder of that bigotry?

My mistake.  Carry on…

(Similar story to spacedmonkey — won my Life Scout, got halfway through Eagle when our distict was taken over by ardent, Levitican Xians; the only sane reaction was to quit.)

The boys in the troop were a tight knit bunch. I remember that my brother was involved in getting an unpopular kid elected to some position or other in the troop (president, co-president? I don’t remember how the elected positions were ranked) and the former outcast became  an accepted, integrated part of the group. 

It is an experience that few other organizations can give. The resources they have, the people involved, are exceptional.One of my brother’s best friends in grammar school, a guy who went to high school with us as well and who I since stayed in touch with through Facebook, came out gay after college. A cop, a guys-guy who liked guns and fishing and hunting, to him Scouting was like mother’s milk. He is now a lawyer and actively involved in trying to get the Scouts to strike down the ban on gay scout leaders.I do understand why men are fighting so hard for this specific group to change. Keep on fighting Scouts. Keep on.

Sometimes when I criticize my country, or even the more localized area where I live, people ask me, “Why don’t you move?”

I get it. I’m a nonreligious liberal born in Alabama and raised in an evangelical church, and I’m staying partly because of family and social connections, and partly out of spite. Alabama is defined by me as much as it is by Roy Moore, and I’ll be damned if I let the terrorists win.

I’d be fine with an alternative organization if it weren’t for the following:

1) In spite of both history and current policies the Boy Scouts have a reputation as a good organization. In many areas the alternative organizations that exist don’t have the same reputation, and any kid who joins an alternative organization has a pretty good chance of being singled out, or feeling singled out.

2) The alternative organizations don’t have the same breadth as the Scouts. That is, in many areas, alternatives aren’t available.

3) I believe the Scouting organization  should be held to the principles its members espouse. Maybe this was merely my own personal interpretation, but I always felt that Scouting should be open to everyone. The Girl Scouts don’t have a problem with this, so I’m not sure why the Boy Scouts continue to cling to outdated policies.

And the answer is simple: this is my home. There are a lot of things that I love about it, but the things that I love don’t make me blind to the fact that the roof needs repairing, the paint is peeling, and the foundation is cracked.

Metaphorically speaking, of course.

And yes, it did hurt my pride.

I’d edit it, but apparently the sort order of the comments is a higher priority than actually being able to use them.

I live in a country. I was not non a country. I’m even greatful for what growing up in my country has provided me.

But its not my bloody wife. It’s a landmass. I’d be happy to find another.

-Another former scout

My troop’s first scout leader was a nice guy, and under him it was totally secular and about going camping and being a good citizen.   I bailed out after he left and the new guy was some weird-ass Christian psychologist.   

As an aside, at the time I was too young to understand the subtext when our troop leaders (the first ones) wanted us to quit calling this game  http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Kill%20the%20Carrier “smear the queer” and call it “kill the carrier” instead, but the tradition of calling it “smear the queer” was definitely there.