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Jewish World Review Oct. 20, 2000/ 21 Tishrei, 5761
Marianne M. Jennings
http://www.jewishworldreview.com --
WATCHING the United Way/Boy Scout/gay community/corporate donations saga
is like watching a Jerry Springer show on the thematics of The Odyssey.
Everyone throws punches and gasps despite never having read the epic or
pronounced Circe.
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) became nonprofit non gratis when the
Supreme Court ruled that its policy prohibiting gay troop leaders is
protected under the constitutional right of freedom of association. The gay
community and its spineless shortsighted corporate friends responded, "We'll
fix them." Here in Tempe, Arizona, the self-declared gay mayor finds himself
a recall target because he and a silly city manager became dictators,
ordering city employees about on their BSA donations.
This controversy highlights the brutish tactics the gay community employs
in its battles. They make ten mistakes in dealing with their fellow
citizens. Perhaps this list can set the record straight, as it were.
#1. The vast majority of Americans don't deserve to be portrayed as Matthew
Shepard killers. Are there violent heartless rednecks out there? Sure, but
a couple of barhopping guys in Wyoming are not representative of the rest of
us.
#2. Sexual orientation and sexual activity are private issues. Was l'
affaire du Monica in vain? Privacy demands on everything from smoking to
genetic screening are not suddenly irrelevant when it comes to sexual
orientation.
#3. It is silly nagging to say that being gay means so much more than one's
sex life. Such an assertion smacks of obsession. Sexuality is but one part
of who we are. To argue it is the focus of life belies human superiority to
beasts.
#4. The vast majority of Americans don't care whether someone is gay. If #s
2 and 3 were heeded, we wouldn't know. Even when we do know, we don't care.
At work we care about slackers. At home we care about neighbors maintaining
their yards.
#5. Homosexuals are often victims of their own conduct, not prejudice. I
worked with a woman who let us know every day in every way that she was a
lesbian. She drove us crazy not because of sexual orientation but because
she was a miserable human being. There was no task she didn't whine about,
no unpleasantry she didn't utter and no day she smiled. When she attributed
her lack of advancement to her orientation one co-worker objected, "Actually,
it's because you don't carry your load."
#6. Americans favor equal treatment of gays and lesbians, but oppose special
treatment. We resent anyone being fired for reasons other than poor job
performance. An indomitable spirit of justice is ever present and vigilant
in matters of earning a living and homosexual workers have this indignation
as an ally. Opposition to homosexuality as a protected class like race does
not squelch equality. Race is a physical trait. Homosexuality is not. And
see rules #2, 3 and 4.
#7. Inconsistent arguments test our patience. A former student of mine who
felt compelled to disclose his sexual orientation once asked, "Do you
honestly think anyone would choose the miserable life I have?" Then why
condemn the Family Research Council for its work in converting gays? If
tolerance is important, why attack the BSA?
#8. Opposition to gay marriage is not homophobic. Marriage is more than
insurance and pension benefits. It has been, in this era and all that came
before, a union between man and woman for purposes of procreation and
protection of progeny. Parental rights confusion in homosexual unions alone
should give pause. The role of government is not one of dictating
relationships. However, it is the role of government to provide legal
protection for those relationships that further society's best interests.
#9. Maligning heterosexual marriage does little to advance discussion. No
marriage is perfect. No parent is perfect. That humans don't always rise to
the ideals of marriage and parenthood is insufficient reason to surrender its
structure to same-gender unions.
#10. There is a difference between tolerance and acceptance. Tolerance is
live and let live. Acceptance mandates that the straights surrender
religious beliefs. While some religions appear ready to jump ship when it
comes to scriptures, there are many that condemn homosexuality, not
homosexuals. Those same religions condemn cohabitation, regardless of
gender. Faithful members will hire homosexuals, work with them in the
community and help them as neighbors. But, they protect their children from
the "gay lifestyle." Just as they would not permit a male PE teacher in the
girl's locker room, they decline gay troop leaders for Scout camping trip.
It's not bigotry or homophobia; it's common sense, applied equally across
sexual orientation lines.
The BSA/gay community/corporate battles should be brought to a close with
the motto of the gay community: live and let live. That motto, in line with
#7 above, also applies to the Boy Scouts and their canon of remaining
"morally
10/13/00: "You Have a Lump."
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