LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
STRAIGHTTalk |
by Charlie McGrath |
Supreme Court upholds ban of gay scoutmasters! Senator Jesse Helms threatens corporate donors who refuse to fund this discrimination! These were the headlines. There was also Fox News (think Rupert Murdock) talking about "criminal elements." Where is this paranoia coming from? Has anyone noticed that we don't have such headlines about Girl Scouts?
To start with Girl Scouts are organized differently. Local units are more independent. Boy Scout troops are bound to a national organization. One or two homophobic leaders at this level can cause such a mess. As a scouting parent who do you believe? Believe this; we need to pull up the reigns on this hysteria. Fathers are refusing to take the risk of volunteering. This was one father who remembers the intimidation of pubescent females. Impossible, you say? Not if that father is a new coach and his daughter is leading a screaming posse of femininity across a soccer field to hogtie their new coach. The lump in my throat from that day is still in my memory. Dealing with female tears has always been one of my problems. How much easier to be a Scoutmaster I thought. Today I would question such a thought. Were my fears about dealing with the tears of girls unfounded? Women have always been allowed more touching with each other, in our culture, than men. Is it this fear of touching between men that is behind the gay Boy Scout paranoia? In today's climate, hugging a tearful Girl Scout feels less intimidating. Hugging a Boy Scout could mean jail time. How does National propose to weed out those, "criminal elements," in the Boy Scouts? As anyone knows who has ever been a Boy Scout or a Scout leader the criteria are pretty hazy. My terror as a Boy Scout, going to summer camp, was not about sex, it was a fear of wetting the bed. To be a Scoutmaster for summer camp was simple. It only required one test. Was I available? Today it is another story. I doubt that I would I be left alone for two weeks of summer camp, the only adult, scoutmaster for twenty boys, given the present hysteria. Having a son in scouting then and being part of the community seemed to be sufficient. Now you may ask, what will happen to the Rehoboth community and our Boy Scouts? There is a large community of parents with children, of scouting age, who love the schools and their creative activities. Can unfounded fears, and the judgments of a minority, drive a wedge between the gay and straight communities? Before you allow that to happen why not examine some facts? One Harvard study found that pedophiles are one hundred times more likely to appear as male relatives in a child's life than as a Boy Scout leader. The Boy Scouts now have an excellent training program for leaders that allows for early detection and remedies for such questionable behavior. There are presently many Boy Scout leaders quietly serving who are known to be gay by those who need such information. Because a man is gay does not mean he will not have the desire to father boys or girls. Most will choose anonymity for obvious reasons. Others may choose to come out. So you are a member of the Boy Scout troop committees. You have an adult volunteer for scoutmaster or assistant scoutmaster, who has revealed that he is gay. Before the board voted you could make the point that his openness has made him very vulnerable, which should cause less concern. We also tend to forget that there are many loving gay parents. For the senior scout leader who comes out, being open is also be a plus. Can we imagine the microscope such a young man would be under? However, given today's hysteria, the "closet" may be more realistic. Boy Scout troops could also follow the lead of the Girl Scouts. Declare independence. Charlie McGrath, MA Psychotherapist, can be reached by E-mail: kylerin@earthlink.net |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 11, No. 7, June 15, 2001. |