LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Gay 'n Gray: Be Prepared! |
by John Siegfried |
Be Prepared! Be Prepared, that's the Boy Scout's marching song. Be Prepared, as through life you march along. Be Prepared, to hold your liquor, pretty well. Don't write naughty words on walls, if you can't spell. Be Prepared, to hide your pack of cigarettes. Don't make book, it you cannot cover bet. If you're looking for adventure of a new and different kind And you come across a girl scout who is similarly inclined Don't be bashful, don't be backward, don't be scared! Be Prepared! That's the gist of Tom Lehrer's Boy Scout's Marching Song of the '60s. According to recent press notices it will be included in a re-release of all Lehrer's work in a boxed CD set on the Rhino Records label. With a few alterations The Boy Scout's Marching Song could serve as a theme song for CAMP Rehoboth's CAMPsafe program for 2000. DoBE PREPARED!! Lehrer was an MIT math professor who sidelined, then mainlined his brand of irreverent humor as a cabaret performer in Boston, New York and beyond, writing ditties such as Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, The Masochism Tango, The Vatican Rag and other delights. If he were to update the Scout lyrics today, it might be on the order of Be Prepared! Love bigotry, that's best. Bash the Gays, they are worse than pure incest. Scouts love honor, God and country, if they're straight. The status quo is sacred, let's just hate. Or words to that effect. The U. S. Supreme Court's reversal of the New Jersey Supreme Court decision in favor of James Dale's right as a gay man to be a scout leader is a travesty. The Court majority of five has decided that the BSA's policy of not allowing homosexuals in a leadership role is part of Scouting's "expressive message" since the scouting oath pledges a boy to be "clean" and "morally straight." Not stated by the Scouts or the Court is the equally "expressive message" that homosexual scouts are unclean and/or morally crooked. The crux seems to be that Scouting leadership sees "morally straight" as incompatible with being gay and feels that an acknowledged gay Scout leader is an inappropriate model for Boy Scouts. When the phrase "morally straight" entered the scouting lexicon, the term "straight" was not synonymous with heterosexual, rather, it referred to moral integrity. If you review scout manuals old and new, homosexuality isn't mentioned. The Scout Handbook gives the definition of "morally straight" as: "To be a person of strong character, guide your life with honesty, purity and justice. Respect and defend the rights of all people." This is a definition well filled by James Dale and now, ironically, abandoned by the BSA leadership in endorsing a policy of discrimination against gays. The damage this decision does to unidentified thousands of pre-adolescent and adolescent Scouts who are struggling to understand their own sexuality has to be staggering when their trusted leaders say, "You can't be a member of our club, if you're gay." However, implicit in the history of Scouting and in the Court decision is endorsement of the Scouting equivalent of "Don't ask. Don't tell." If you lie and play "let's pretend," you can remain a Scout. You can be a gay Scout or Scout leader, and there have been thousands and thousands of them, just don't acknowledge it. James Dale would still be a Scout leader had he been willing to adopt the Scout version of "honesty, purity, justice." Your best Scout defense is to join in campfire gay bashing and do everything possible to enhance your macho image. It's excellent training for "Don't ask, don't tell" and an official Scout endorsement of personal dishonestyan incomparable entree for military service. In contrast to the Boy Scouts of America, the Scouting movement in Toronto, Canada sponsors the world's first official gay and lesbian Scout troop, Rover Crew 129. A Scouts Canada spokesperson said, "It's our perspective that sexual orientation has no bearing on the ability of a person to participate in or deliver our programs." Apparently an individual can be gay, clean and morally straight north of the border but becomes unclean and either immorally straight or morally crooked when moving south of the border. There is hope, however, that the BSA has had some measure of success in teaching moral integrity and that others will follow the lead of Eagle Scout Kevin Peter, a Philadelphian who wrote concerning this issue in the Wall Street Journal "Being neither gay activist nor minority, but a lifelong Scout and supporter, I know that the victims of this anachronistic policy are the boys and girls who participate in Scout activities....With this letter, I renounce the rank of Eagle Scout. I cannot support the continued position of the Boy Scouts of America to promote homophobia among the young men and women who look to its leaders for guidance." His letter continues, "For nearly half my life I have been proud of my status as an Eagle Scout. I have supported local Scouting organizations through contributions of time, money and other assistance. I have dreamed of the day when my wife and I would have the privilege of pinning the Eagle medal on the uniform of our young son. But no more." "I look forward to a time when the Boy Scouts of America leaves behind the policy of bias that continues to damage the organization and the youth it serves." Evan Wolfson, senior attorney for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund wrote in a letter to The New York Times: "My client James Dale had an exemplary, highly decorated record as a Scout. He was expelled solely because he is gay. While the Boy Scouts of America embrace discrimination, its leaders cannot expect special government privileges or sponsorship from public schools and police and fire departments. Many former supporters will channel their support instead to groups like the 4-H Club, Girl Scouts, Campfire Boys and Girls, and the Boys and Girls Clubs, which do not promote discrimination against gay members." Well, I don't know about you, but to me it sure sounds like it's time to do some "channeling." John Siegfried, a retired association executive, resides in Rehoboth. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 10, No. 10, July 28, 2000. |