Written: 06/25/2011

The top enlisted Marine (Command Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Michael Barrett, speaking to troops in South Korea) said this recent:

Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution is pretty simple. It says, ‘Raise an army.’ It says absolutely nothing about race, color, creed, sexual orientation. You all joined for a reason: to serve. To protect our nation, right? How dare we, then, exclude a group of people who want to do the same thing you do right now, something that is honorable and noble? Right? Get over it. We’re magnificent, we’re going to continue to be. Let’s just move on, treat everybody with firmness, fairness, dignity, compassion and respect. Let’s be Marines.

Why can’t the BSA figure this out?  Here is their official mission statement:

The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Scout Law.

The national board just happens to think that the Scout Oath and Law should discriminate against the LGBT community.  But I don’t see it in there.  For those wondering, here they are:

Scout Oath

On my honor I will do my best
to do my duty to God and my country
and to obey the Scout Law;
to help other people at all times;
to keep myself physically strong,
mentally awake, and morally straight.

Scout Law

A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

I must have missed it in there somewhere.

All my best,

The King of Spades

Written: 06/15/2011

My job at summer camp this year has put  me at a different desk, in what used to be the Reservation Director’s office (a wall has since been removed to join it with the office behind it, and I now share the large room).

But as we were setting things up and moving furniture and whatnot, a poem, which had been written over a picture of the lake, fell off the wall.  Some of the guys picked it up and asked about it, before putting it on the desk.  It turns out the author was gay.

Note: I took the photo home with me that summer, to made sure it was safe, and it always brings a smile to my face when I see it.

So the jokes and slurs started to fly.  Camp is a tough place, and for a gay member of the Scouts, it’s even harder.  It’s pretty much acceptable to throw around slurs, and the homophobia can run rampant.  I tried to ignore it, but even for me, someone who has learned to ignore so much, and has kept quiet for so long, it was getting to be too much.

I eventually walked away, even though the jokes and slurs continued behind me.  Falling asleep was tough that night, especially imagining the the looks of anger and sadness that I’m sure many of my friends will have.

But I have to remember that it’s their loss, not mine.

All my best,

The King of Spades

Written: 06/05/2011

Our Chief Scout Executive, who is the CEO of the entire Boy Scouts of America, keeps a blog.  It’s pretty good, mostly ralling the troops and such, although during the Iowa tornado tragedy two years ago, it was a great resource to find up to date information about the clean up and his raw thoughts on everything.

But anyway, I still like to think (eternal optimist I suppose), that things can change.  I know that the Scouting program really is a good influence on youth, even those who feel pushed to the sidelines by it.  I know it made a difference for me, in a very positive way, so I always hope that our discrimintory policies can change.

But sometimes I need the rah rah, rally the troops.  And the latest blog entry did just that.  For whatever reason, only BSA employees can read the blog, so I’ll post the bit here:

As we were eating breakfast, a soldier in fatigues came over to our table and introduced himself. He proceeded to thank us for our service to the Boy Scouts. He has served 5 terms in the Middle East and the Boy Scouts has helped his son deal with his father’s absence. Of course, we thanked him for his service. It really humbled us because here is this guy who has repeatedly put his life on the line in a war zone thanking us for our ‘one hour a week’ service because it had helped his son.”

All my best,

The King of Spades

Written: 06/06/2011

Dan Savage is amazing.  Among other things, he founded the It Gets Better Project, which I have donated to, and I encourage everyone to as well.

The ad itself, which plays at the beginning of his talk, is an amazing piece of work, and part of a great campaign by Google (I’ll be writing about it for The Great and Secret Show).  And as a side note, I totally have the gay android shirt the emcee is wearing.  I’m a big nerd, yes I know.

Anyway, Dan is, as always, funny, engaging and eloquent.  It’s very strange to see him choke up and get so close to breaking down so many times, I guess sometimes I take for granted where his passion must come from.  It’s long (45 minutes), but worth it, please watch.  And if you’re unfamiliar with the It Gets Better Project, he explains it fully, and even if you are, there’s a lot of new information in the beginning part of his talk:

All my best,

The King of Spades

Written: 06/06/2011

This is just a great ad, and really funny to boot:

All my best,

The King of Spades