The Review
"Be prepared" is the motto of the Boy Scouts of
America. Surely its national leaders remembered those words as they
prepped for backlash from a recent decision to admit openly gay scouts
while maintaining a ban on gay adults.
As a result of the policy change, some conservative churches severed ties with the organization. Then last week, Caterpillar Inc. confirmed it was no longer donating to the Scouts. While the company didn't explicitly reference BSA's continued prohibition against gay adults, it did cite the organization's discriminatory practices.
The Scouts, it seems, just can't win. If the organization had maintained its policy against all homosexuals, it would have pleased many fundamentalists and conservatives while invoking the ire of social activists, including adult Eagle Scouts who have returned badges in protest of past discrimination. Had it dropped the ban against homosexuals in leadership roles, it risked alienating a substantial part of its base while potentially winning over more progressive firms, like Caterpillar.
Instead, it chose a middle road, one that rankles as much as pleases.
In recent years, America has experienced a seismic shift in attitudes toward homosexuality. Nowhere is that more apparent than an annual poll by the National Opinion Research Center. In 1973, more than seven out of 10 Americans felt homosexual relationships were "always wrong," a number that dropped to a little more than four in 10 in 2010. Last month, half of Americans responding to a Gallup poll said gay marriages should be recognized as valid, up from 27 percent in 1996.
That 50-percent mark is a challenge for organizations like the Scouts, who balance conservative values with relevance in today's world. Last month's policy change bought them time, but as Caterpillar's funding pull illustrated, not very much.
Many Americans are at the same point with sexual orientation today as they were with interracial relationships a few decades ago. The last refuge of the bigot on the interracial issue was to play the "child card." Interracial relationships might be OK, this line of reasoning went, but what about the children of such relationships? They will have such a hard time fitting in.
Critics play a modified version of the "child card" with homosexual scouts: It will be too hard to integrate them with straight scouts; they will be singled out; they will be teased.
Doubtful. Most kids these days are very accepting of homosexuality. In the youngest age group measured by Gallup, the 18-34 range, 70 percent support gay marriage. Sexual-orientation may be a big deal to adults, but it isn't to their kids.
The Boy Scouts' decision reminds me of a scene from "The Great Debaters." In the film, Denzel Washington's character tells his all-black team that they have been invited to debate Oklahoma City University. One team member questions why the debate will be off-campus, to which Washington responds, "Because sometimes … you have to take things one step at a time."
The Boy Scouts of America are doing just that. The decision to allow gay scouts opens doors that were formerly closed, eliminating a noxious version of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. It gives the group an opportunity to educate the public and paves the way for the day when these young scouts will become adults and want to continue their association. At that point, the organization will have no choice but to modify policy again and remove the last of its discriminatory practices.
Delaying that policy change keeps many qualified, compassionate adults from sharing their time and talents with scouts, and that's a shameful waste of human capital. But, sometimes, you have to take things one step at a time.
Let's hope all the organization's Caterpillars won't turn into butterflies and flutter away to other charities in the meantime.
As a result of the policy change, some conservative churches severed ties with the organization. Then last week, Caterpillar Inc. confirmed it was no longer donating to the Scouts. While the company didn't explicitly reference BSA's continued prohibition against gay adults, it did cite the organization's discriminatory practices.
The Scouts, it seems, just can't win. If the organization had maintained its policy against all homosexuals, it would have pleased many fundamentalists and conservatives while invoking the ire of social activists, including adult Eagle Scouts who have returned badges in protest of past discrimination. Had it dropped the ban against homosexuals in leadership roles, it risked alienating a substantial part of its base while potentially winning over more progressive firms, like Caterpillar.
Instead, it chose a middle road, one that rankles as much as pleases.
In recent years, America has experienced a seismic shift in attitudes toward homosexuality. Nowhere is that more apparent than an annual poll by the National Opinion Research Center. In 1973, more than seven out of 10 Americans felt homosexual relationships were "always wrong," a number that dropped to a little more than four in 10 in 2010. Last month, half of Americans responding to a Gallup poll said gay marriages should be recognized as valid, up from 27 percent in 1996.
That 50-percent mark is a challenge for organizations like the Scouts, who balance conservative values with relevance in today's world. Last month's policy change bought them time, but as Caterpillar's funding pull illustrated, not very much.
Many Americans are at the same point with sexual orientation today as they were with interracial relationships a few decades ago. The last refuge of the bigot on the interracial issue was to play the "child card." Interracial relationships might be OK, this line of reasoning went, but what about the children of such relationships? They will have such a hard time fitting in.
Critics play a modified version of the "child card" with homosexual scouts: It will be too hard to integrate them with straight scouts; they will be singled out; they will be teased.
Doubtful. Most kids these days are very accepting of homosexuality. In the youngest age group measured by Gallup, the 18-34 range, 70 percent support gay marriage. Sexual-orientation may be a big deal to adults, but it isn't to their kids.
The Boy Scouts' decision reminds me of a scene from "The Great Debaters." In the film, Denzel Washington's character tells his all-black team that they have been invited to debate Oklahoma City University. One team member questions why the debate will be off-campus, to which Washington responds, "Because sometimes … you have to take things one step at a time."
The Boy Scouts of America are doing just that. The decision to allow gay scouts opens doors that were formerly closed, eliminating a noxious version of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. It gives the group an opportunity to educate the public and paves the way for the day when these young scouts will become adults and want to continue their association. At that point, the organization will have no choice but to modify policy again and remove the last of its discriminatory practices.
Delaying that policy change keeps many qualified, compassionate adults from sharing their time and talents with scouts, and that's a shameful waste of human capital. But, sometimes, you have to take things one step at a time.
Let's hope all the organization's Caterpillars won't turn into butterflies and flutter away to other charities in the meantime.
chris.schillig@yahoo.com
@cschillig on Twitter
It is odd how homosexuality is so welcome by peers today. I grew up the early nineties we weren't accepting of others so willingly
ReplyDelete