Boy Scouts

Today my son brought home a flyer about Cub Scouts. I'm going to try to keep this short, simple and too the point. (you realize that is NOT going to happen, right?)

I want to first make it clear that I have nothing personally against the Cub/Boy Scouts. I think the organization has done some really great things and even helped a lot of boys. I do, however, have an issue with them recruiting on government run school property and using government money!

They discriminate against homosexuals, females & atheists... now, there is nothing wrong with that. They are a private organization and therefore have every right to discriminate. They should have every right... Example: the "He Man Woman Hater's Club" should not have to allow women (or gays or atheists if they disagree with them and none of the other memebers are). The trick is, once you use govt. school property or accept govt. funding you have to abide by a different set of rules and you lose some of your rights. For example, if I want to form an organization for people who all like the book "Flowers for Algernon" (The best book ever) I can do this. If I want to only allow in this private group only people who like this book who were born on the 13th of the month (insert whatever minority or majority you wish here, i.e. orientals, blacks, whites, lutherans, blondes, etc) I have the right to do this as well. Now, if I need money to build our clubhouse and ask my buddy Norm (insert whatever other individual, group or government) for the funding he can agree with stipulations such as he will give me the money, but I have to allow ANYONE to become a memeber. Now the choice is up to me... is it worth changing my rules to get the funding? This is a choice you should have to make, yet the BSA isn't held to these standards.

Below is a video from a couple years ago of a mother who just found out the Scouts didn't want her son as a member because she is an atheist.



Now, as I stated earlier... they have every right to believe this way and to not accept her son as a member (or do they really? After all, they are recruiting on school property). But I think her video raises some awareness for people who do not realize this.

Penn & Teller did an episode of their award winning show, "Bullshit", on this topic a few seasons back. I actually found the episode (in three parts and with Spanish subtitles) on YouTube. I posted them below so you can not only hear people way more educated and with better research but you can also maybe pick up a second language in the process:







I really don't think there is much I could say on this topic after that. Maybe kinda like how some comics don't like following a guitar comic... not me, mind you, I have a good buddy who is a guitar comic and has opened for me on many occations. Maybe I should encorporate a guitar in my act. Er, I mean, I should encorporate my guitar in my act more often (sorry, wrote my guitar off on taxes as a prop)... I have often thought in the past of bringing diapers on stage and see if I could write them off as well.

If you would like to look into the Cub Scouts (to research, become a member or start a troop) go to: http://www.joincubscouting.org For research purposes you simply have to click on their values statement page that lists the 12 lifelong values they claim to teach. (note, nowhere on there is tolerence)

I think my family can not enjoy camping just fine on our own without a group of people to not enjoy camping with. Pluse do I really want my son to know knots that I can't untie?