Comments on: Don’t Want Him as President of BSA?

By: Charles Moore

Charles Moore — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 03:50:45 +0000

I don’t understand why an atheist or an agnostic kid would want to be part of a group that believes and gives honor to the God of the bible except to join to cause and bring comfusion and disrupt the High principals that are outlined. And I feel that this is a further indcation that Obama is just putting on a front when he claims to be a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Hypocrit OR sincere?

By: Brian Westley

Brian Westley — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 23:51:44 +0000

Sorry, simply denying membership IS discrimination. You can also call it having “principles” if you like, but it’s still discrimination. And no, I don’t respect a youth group that excludes atheists any more than I’d respect a youth group that allows all kids except Jews.

By: iPosty

iPosty — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:58:38 +0000

Brian – since when did the Boy Scouts “discriminate against and deigrate”? Simply not permitting membership isn’t discrimination – it also is called having principles, and as a private organization shouldn’t have to accept people that don’t meet the basic requirements for membership.

This doesn’t mean they discriminate. A scout is a friend to all, and we participate with any and all groups regardless of race, gender, orientation, creed etc. It just means they can’t be a Boy Scout.

You clearly have an axe to grind with the Boy Scouts, but you clearly don’t understand or respect their right to decide their own standards for membership.

By: Brian Westley

Brian Westley — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:15:42 +0000

And by the way, they are atheist and agnostic groups, not “anti-religious groups.” An anti-X group would have to have some policy denigrating people in group X, like the way the Boy Scouts denigrate atheists. Do you think the “Society for Humanistic Judaism” is an anti-religious group?

By: Brian Westley

Brian Westley — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 04:12:57 +0000

It’s not because the BSA “endorses religion” but that they discriminate against and denigrate atheists and agnostics like his own mother. Nothing weird to ask Barack Obama to not support such an organization.

Eleanor Roosevelt was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution until that organization refused to allow Marian Anderson (who was black) to sing at their Constitution Hall. She very publicly resigned over this.

It’s called having principles.