Ask a Gay, Southern, American, Teenage Curler who is also a Boy Scout

Well I imagine they got an ice rink in town somewhere I suppose.

Ironic, I just got an email today about homophobia in the boy scouts today after I read this thread.
 
Off topic but I got kicked out of scouts (actually cubs , scouts for younger kids) and had to walk home in the dark . I'm convinced to this day that 2 guys were following me with a view to abducting me . I bolted home and our front door was a huge glass one which I literally ran straight through in my panic to get home .
 
A little bit. They're not even supposed to allow me in the troop, but most don't know that I'm gay, but even if they did I'm pretty sure most wouldn't care because I'm popular. I know we have quite a few atheists and they've never been discriminated against yet that I know of, but I know that to get Eagle you have to get letters of recommendation and one of those has to be from a religious leader, so I'm not sure what they can do except lie. Even if I'm an atheist I go to church, so I'm ok because I'll just lie. I respect the boy scouts' right to do whatever they want, but obviously I don't care for it. I sort of understand their requirement on religion, but their requirement against homosexuality is strange.

That reminds me, here in Europe many countries have at least two two versions of scouts: church-affiliated ones and non-church-affiliated ones. How is it there?

I never approved of scouts, due to what I saw as the conservative/religious nature of the organization, but more recently learned that there were many attempts to fix that and several different organizations.
 
Off topic but I got kicked out of scouts (actually cubs , scouts for younger kids) and had to walk home in the dark . I'm convinced to this day that 2 guys were following me with a view to abducting me . I bolted home and our front door was a huge glass one which I literally ran straight through in my panic to get home .

Can't help but laught at this right now, :lol:. Were they in the stereotypical half broken down van?

Also, never knew that curling was a real sport... just thought that it was there.
 
Well I imagine they got an ice rink in town somewhere I suppose.

Haha yes, we have a couple ice rinks. Our lakes do freeze over, but the ice is so thin that if you step on the ice there's a good chance you'll fall through.

That reminds me, here in Europe many countries have at least two two versions of scouts: church-affiliated ones and non-church-affiliated ones. How is it there?

I never approved of scouts, due to what I saw as the conservative/religious nature of the organization, but more recently learned that there were many attempts to fix that and several different organizations.

Well, there's only one boy scouts and one girl scouts. I think the girl version is a lot less conservative than the boy's version. I hear the girl scouts lets in little boys who dress like girls. 0f course, if one did want to form a non-religious boy scouts, I'm sure they'd be able to do it, however it wouldn't be under the official Boy Scouts of America. This might seem fine to a very few people, but to most being in a non-official Boy Scouts would seem very stupid. Being the highest rank, Eagle, is very prestigious, and that is the reason why most of us are in it, because we want a leg up in a getting jobs and getting into higher education. A non-official Boy Scouts would not carry this prestige, and therefore would not attract very many followers. Also, we have a great deal many jamborees and summer camps, so non-official Boy Scouts wouldn't benefit as much from these, either.

From what I recall there were quite a few lawsuits against the boy scouts for being discriminatory, but I think they've all failed. It is unfortunate, but boy scouts still remains diverse. Like I said, we have atheists and gays, they just can't scream about it.

Now that I think about it, an easy fix for atheists who want to get Eagle is to just convert to Buddhism real fast to get their letters.
 
but I know that to get Eagle you have to get letters of recommendation and one of those has to be from a religious leader, so I'm not sure what they can do except lie.

This is incorrect, no religious recommendations are required. Church leaders are acceptable recommendations to your civic mindedness for sure, but they are hardly the only acceptable ones.

See requirements:

http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/eagle.aspx

You would have to be a special individual to have any problems with those requirements.
 
I guess I just assumed they were required. Maybe they aren't, but it reads like you need a religious reference.

List the names of individuals who know you personally and would be willing to provide a recommendation on your behalf, including parents/guardians, religious, educational, and employer references.
 
You would have to be a special individual to have any problems with those requirements.
Like being gay, or an atheist or agnostic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_Scouts_of_America_membership_controversies

The Boy Scouts of America's position is that atheists and agnostics cannot participate as Scouts (youth members) or Scouters (adult leaders) in its traditional Scouting programs. The Bylaws of the BSA contain a non-sectarian Declaration of Religious Principle. This was adopted in the first decade of the organization to assuage the Catholic Church that the work of the YMCA in getting Scouting established in this country did not mean that it was a Protestant proselytizing organization:

"The Boy Scouts of America maintains that no member can grow into the best kind of citizen without recognizing an obligation to God. In the first part of the Scout Oath or Promise the member declares, ‘On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law.’ The recognition of God as the ruling and leading power in the universe and the grateful acknowledgment of His favors and blessings are necessary to the best type of citizenship and are wholesome precepts in the education of the growing members."[2]

During the membership application process and as a requirement to obtain membership, youths and adults are required to subscribe to the precepts of the Declaration of Religious Principle and to agree to abide by the Scout Oath and Law, which include the words, "do my duty to God" and "reverent". Youths are also required to repeat the Scout Oath and Law periodically after being accepted as Scouts. The BSA believes that atheists and agnostics are not appropriate role models of the Scout Oath and Law for boys, and thus will not accept such adults as leaders.[2]

Since 1991, openly homosexual individuals have been officially prohibited from leadership positions in the Boy Scouts of America.[12] A 1991 Position Statement states: “We believe that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the requirement in the Scout Oath that a Scout be morally straight and in the Scout Law that a Scout be clean in word and deed, and that homosexuals do not provide a desirable role model for Scouts.”[4] The BSA thus "believes that a known or avowed homosexual is not an appropriate role model of the Scout Oath and Law."[13]

The language used to describe the BSA's policies on homosexual individuals has evolved over time. In a 1993 position statement, BSA said:

"We do not allow for the registration of avowed homosexuals as members or as leaders of the BSA."[14]

In 2004, the BSA adopted a new policy statement, including the following as a "Youth Leadership" policy:

"Boy Scouts of America believes that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the obligations in the Scout Oath and Scout Law to be morally straight and clean in thought, word, and deed. The conduct of youth members must be in compliance with the Scout Oath and Law, and membership in Boy Scouts of America is contingent upon the willingness to accept Scouting’s values and beliefs. Most boys join Scouting when they are 10 or 11 years old. As they continue in the program, all Scouts are expected to take leadership positions. In the unlikely event that an older boy were to hold himself out as homosexual, he would not be able to continue in a youth leadership position."[13]
 
It's the 10th end, you have last rock and you're down 1.

The other team is shot, but you have second and third.

You can draw, give up the hammer and force an extra end, or you can play a relatively tough raise double take out for the win.

What do you do? For the love of God, what do you do?
 
I don't think that's not what he meant. I'm pretty sure he meant that you don't have to do all the Eagle requirements if you're ******ed or physically handicapped. But I agree with you.
Not sure how that translates from "religious requirements"...

I'm just waiting for shuffleboard to finally become an Olympic sport.

Spoiler :
 
Because every homosexual clearly acts like that
 
Because every homosexual clearly acts like that

My point exactly. It really isn't that hard to still be in Scouting, just don't do anything stereotypically gay.
 
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