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04/30/2013
One refreshing thing about the inclusive scouting opponents: they admit they want to discriminate
Those of us who cover this so-called "culture war" have come to expect an opposition movement that will spin, twist, and misrepresent whatever situation is currently up for debate so that they detach themselves from antagonism. When they push to discriminate in civil marriage policy, they claim they are simply "protecting marriage." When they oppose nondiscrimination laws, they say they are "protecting religious freedom." When they oppose programs designed to curb bullying against LGBTQ students, they pretend they are "keeping sexuality out of the schools." Etcetera, etcetera.
This being so, I'll have to say I find the Boy Scout debate to be somewhat refreshing. Sure, it's astoundingly offensive to hear heterosexual adults fight against qualified LGBT parents who want to do right by their sons or the vulnerable young gay boys who will face more than enough shaming in their young lives, but at least the opposition movement is admitting that they want to ban, bar, and otherwise discriminate against us.
Take this Facebook post from "On My Honor," the coalition that is leading the national effort to keep the Boy Scouts discriminatory:
The casual supporter may not realize how rare it is to hear one of these organizations use a word like "ban," but I can assure that it is. They always pretend they are "protecting" or "defending," for obvious reasons. Up until last week, the National Organization For Marriage even instructed its supporters to stay away from the word "ban" because they know it makes them sound bad. This is a movement that knows its biggest liability is the obvious discrimination that is ingrained in its overall cause. They stay away from the honest language because they don't want to delay the time it will take for the less actively involved to connect the dots.
But with those opposed to fairness in scouting? Well they're just coming right out and saying it: they want to ban us, young and old. The cause might be egregious, but the candor is quite refreshing.
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