BY DAN
KENNEDY
Notes and observations on
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See the World Through My Daughter's Eyes (Rodale, October 2003),
click
here.
Friday, May 30, 2003
Philly scouts deal blow to
discrimination. The best thing the Boy Scouts of America could do
is drop its ludricrous and offensive policy of discriminating against
gays and atheists. But that's not going to happen, given the huge
number of Mormon and Catholic churches that sponsor scout
troops.
The second best thing is for the
BSA to devolve -- to decentralize, to lessen the power of the
right-wing executives in Irving, Texas (where did those people come
from, anyway?), and to allow local people to make local
decisions.
That's why it's heartening to see
that scout executives in Philadelphia have decided to take on the
hatemongers -- during a national conference in Philly, no less.
Here's
the latest from the
Philadelphia Inquirer, and here's a
supportive editorial from
the Philadelphia Daily News.
As this
earlier Inquirer story notes,
Boston's Minuteman Council adopted what amounted to a
don't-ask/don't-tell policy in 2001. But Philly's Cradle of Liberty
Council, the third-largest in the nation, appears to go Minuteman one
better, flat-out rejecting discrimination against gay men and
boys.
No such luck for the atheists,
unfortunately. But a step in the right direction is better than no
step at all.
posted at 7:44 AM |
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MEDIA LOG ARCHIVES
Dan Kennedy is senior writer and media critic for the Boston Phoenix.
