Comparison to the KKK was uncalled for
I was disappointed to see that the Rev. Damon Vix lacked the vision to recognize that his rant perpetuates the very discrimination that he was speaking out against ("Mayor's support of Boy Scouts misplaced," Mailbag, Saturday).
He was, however, correct about the fact that the Boy Scouts are an "expressive association." So, if I read his commentary right, this puts the Boy Scouts in the same sphere as the Ku Klux Klan?
From its inception, the Boy Scouts has had a core belief in God — as evidenced in the Scout Oath and Law reference, "Duty to God" and "reverence" respectively. In addition to the Scouts, there are many other organizations whose core beliefs would preclude certain people from inclusion, but hardly make those groups discriminatory, at least in the dangerous sense that the reverend would like us to keep "at arm's length." For example, if I wanted to work in a hospital emergency room or at an investment bank but didn't want to be on call or work long hours, or if I wanted to be on the football team but had a problem wearing the uniform, then I probably should elect to not be a part of those organizations. So it is with the Boy Scouts: if people do not want to be part of a group that recognizes God, that's all right. There are other organizations for them to join and contribute to effectively.
Similarly, the notion that the Boy Scouts is an "organization that discriminates against homosexuals …" is skewed. Since much authority is leveraged down from the national office to individual troops (i.e ., the primary Scout units at the local level), there are instances where troops have decided to bar gays from participation. However, there are many troops that still have an active gay component of both leaders and Scouts. To characterize the entire organization as discriminatory is irresponsible.
As an Eagle Scout, I've been involved with many different troops and people associated with scouting over the years. Based on my experience, the Boy Scouts of America has an ethnically, religiously and philosophically diverse foundation of people united by service. The reverend must have missed this, as he's failed to distinguish the forest from the trees: by focusing only on what he perceives as discrimination, he ignores the abundance of good that the Scouts have done. He discriminates against countless men and women who serve selflessly in the myriad good causes that the Boy Scouts of America support, such as assisting the poor and needy from the local to global level, fostering cultural and social unity, and many, many more.
His comparison of the Boy Scouts of America to the KKK is not only ludicrous, but also grossly misinformed.
MATT PENTECOST
Burbank
