Written: 7/21/2012
A lot has happened lately, I was going to try to split it up between a bunch of various posts, but I think it will make more sense together. So here we go.
So, Zach Wahls was working with the BSA, and he was told that the national board would be looking at the policy and would be releasing a statement at next year’s annual meeting. Many people thought this was just a smoke screen, hoping that the public would forget about it in a year. I feel as though it was genuine, and from the national spokesman, it seemed true.
Now, it comes out that there was a “two-year study” that concluded that the ban should stay in place.
So first, let’s look at the three possible situations about the formation of the committee:
- The national spokesman knew about the committee and its study and chose to lie about it when discussing Zach Wahls and his petition.
- The committee was formed and was meeting, but the spokesman had no knowledge of it
- The committee did not exist, at least not in the way presented
Honestly, the second issue is the most plausible. And this is me being a communicator talking. Companies are notorious for keeping the communication departments “away from the table” and in the dark, and the BSA is not the greatest when it comes to communication (granted, we’re getting better internally, but it’s still a mess, I cry each time I have to try to find something on our intranet). So I think this is what happened, although I think there is some truth in the third possibility as well.
There are rumors that the committee that is referenced is nothing current and in fact is a recycled news story. Which of course, begs the question, why would they release that news?
All it did was continue to keep the spotlight on the BSA and their discriminatory policies, as well as kick off a slew of protests and continuing coverage.
AmericaBlog brings up the point that from this statement from Mazucca, Cheif Scout Executive:
The vast majority of the parents of youth we servevalue their right to address issues of same-sex orientation within their family, with spiritual advisers and at the appropriate time and in the right setting,” Mazzuca said. “We fully understand that no single policy will accommodate the many diverse views among our membership or society.
The feeling apparently is that if we don’t talk about something, it will go away. We’ve seen that that is wrong, and secondly, we’re talking about people. You can’t bury your head in the sand and wish the LGBT community away. We’re real people who deserve he basic respect of being recognized.
Also, the 11-person committee, is said to have come from diverse backgrounds, a mix of Scout Executives and volunteers, yet still came to a unanimous decision. I find it hard to believe that a “diverse” group found this in a unanimous decision.
Let’s also make sure that we ignore the normal ass-hatery that comes out of the woodwork (currently the LGBT community, as well as feminists, pro-choices, liberals and probably all kinds of others are being blamed for the Batman shooting in Colorado), so when the head of the “American Family Association,” Bryan Fisher says that the BSA contacted him, I guess I just can’t believe it.
And in protest, at least two straight Eagle Scouts have sent back their medals, with accompanying letter, and have been floating around the internet, one of which has blown up on Facebook. The LA Times wrote an editorial scolding the BSA, and the writers at HuffPo came to the attack, stating that the BSA feels gay kids don’t measure up, pointedly looking at the affect this policy has on LGBT youth. And one of my favorite sites, The Good Men project, makes sure that we know the leaders of the BSA are not good men.
Even BuzzFeed was getting in on the action, posting this amazing tweet:
Also at the same time, being filmed as part of a documentary, a camp counselor comes out to his camp director (presumable a professional Scouter) and is fired.
That is hitting close to home, I always make sure that the LGBT members of the camp staff feel as welcome as they can be. And I”m sure there are more that I’m unaware of, I strive to make sure it’s as welcoming as it possibly can be, and I think that that has paid off and helped to create an environment of tolerance. It’s one thing that I can do, but it’s a real difference that I can make.
I think holding the BSA in the spotlight is going to help change this policy, especially since the incoming president of the national board, the president of AT&T is publicly opposed to the ban (which, by the way, when was that announced, I missed it). It worked for DADT, I hope that we can keep the public’s attention long enough for it to work for the BSA.
Update: Here’s a video blog I just stumbled upon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cVVKv6qqPA
A little over the top and viscous at some points, but he’s very well spoken.
All my best,
The King of Spades
