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The right and proper thing to do. One cannot just simply decide to be the opposite sex, and the Boy Scouts should not be forced to accept it. That's why there are also Girl Scouts.
Imagine if a biological boy decided he wanted to be "a girl" and join the Girl Scouts? Think of all that means ...at camp, showering with your daughters, changing clothes in a cabin or tent that was all girls but one.
Look; this isn't difficult. It should not happen. PERIOD!
One doesn't have to "imagine" it. The Girl Scouts accepts transgender girls.
Girl Scouts is proud to be the premiere leadership organization for girls in the country. Placement of transgender youth is handled on a case-by-case basis, with the welfare and best interests of the child and the members of the troop/group in question a top priority. That said, if the child is recognized by the family and school/community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, then Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe.
One doesn't have to "imagine" it. The Girl Scouts accepts transgender girls.
Girl Scouts is proud to be the premiere leadership organization for girls in the country. Placement of transgender youth is handled on a case-by-case basis, with the welfare and best interests of the child and the members of the troop/group in question a top priority. That said, if the child is recognized by the family and school/community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, then Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe.
So their national leadership claims, but I know of two troops that got disbanded because the leaders quit when an attempt was made to force them to take a transgender child. They couldn't find new leaders, who are, after all, volunteers. At least 20 little girls no longer had a troop to belong to. I'm not sure what happened after that because my friend was leader #2 that quit.
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So their national leadership claims, but I know of two troops that got disbanded because the leaders quit when an attempt was made to force them to take a transgender child. They couldn't find new leaders, who are, after all, volunteers. At least 20 little girls no longer had a troop to belong to. I'm not sure what happened after that because my friend was leader #2 that quit.
That is a very unfortunate situation for the kids.
Caitlyn Jenner has been slammed both online AND by some prominent people publicly. Don't play dumb.
You mean, Bruce. He is still a man, biologically, and physically (unless he got a "boob job" (but he still has male genitalia last I heard). He is "Bruce."
So their national leadership claims, but I know of two troops that got disbanded because the leaders quit when an attempt was made to force them to take a transgender child. They couldn't find new leaders, who are, after all, volunteers. At least 20 little girls no longer had a troop to belong to. I'm not sure what happened after that because my friend was leader #2 that quit.
Probably a good thing your friend is no longer a leader, then. It is unfortunate that those 20 little girls no longer had a troop, however.
Do we not accommodate for those born handicapped? Do we not have the Americans with Disabilities Act? Being born different doesn't mean that absolutely nothing should change for you just because you are a minority. Minorities are often protected by law from the majority, and rightfully, if it is to ensure at least an attempt at equal rights. The majority doesn't understand what it's like to be a minority (and no I'm not talking racial or ethnic here). How could they possibly implement the right changes for transgender or handicapped people if they don't understand what it's like to be one? Their lives don't seem too hard or even real from our POV, but how could we possibly understand?
Unlike some of you, I don't pretend I get it or attempt to speak for those I am not. I don't think I'm right or that I know everything about this topic that does not even affect me or my life. There's a mystery to transgenderism and it is still studied in an attempt to understand something that is admittedly very difficult to understand. However, I don't spout off my personal beliefs about it as if I'm right, no questions asked. I try to be understanding and compassionate.
And "re-orient the kid to reality"? Who are you to decide what is and isn't reality? Are you also a doctor or scientist studying this? So because YOU don't think it's possible for transgenderism to be a real thing rather than a mental illness or whatever you think it is, that means you're unquestionably right?
Many resort to surgery but it cannot happen until one is 18, and only after strict counseling and evaluation. Until then, most take hormones and quietly live their lives. Many times, you cannot even tell when a child or teen is transgender.
What's happening here, simply, is people are unsurprisingly rudely dismissing something they don't understand, rather than researching to try to understand it. Now there are probably going to be some people who will try to tell me they HAVE researched, but save your breath/fingers, because I probably won't believe you.
The first part of your post might hold some weight if the LGBT community itself didn't refuse to equate transgenderism with an illness (something I brought up earlier and no one addressed). We help out a person in a wheelchair for example because: 1. they are actually in a wheelchair; 2. helping them (by putting in a button on a door for example) does not mean that everyone else needs to play make-believe; and 3. it does not lead to others being singled out. Here, you are asking everyone else to let a girl into a boys' club because she thinks she is a boy, yet a real girl who wants to be in the club would not be permitted to join.
All the societal arguments aside, this is a basic safety and liability issue.
Imagine being the scoutmaster of a troop of young boys, all at an age when their hormones are going crazy and when their (ahem...) physical capabilities outpace both their maturity and their judgement, being responsible for the safety of a scout who shows up for a camping trip... with a vagina.
This isn't a GLBT issue or a rights issue or a social justice issue. It's a basic safety issue. I would never take on that liability.
All the societal arguments aside, this is a basic safety and liability issue.
Imagine being the scoutmaster of a troop of young boys, all at an age when their hormones are going crazy and when their (ahem...) physical capabilities outpace both their maturity and their judgement, being responsible for the safety of a scout who shows up for a camping trip... with a vagina.
This isn't a GLBT issue or a rights issue or a social justice issue. It's a basic safety issue. I would never take on that liability.
As has been repeatedly said, girls can join the BSA at age 14, and have been doing so for at least 20 years (I know because that's when I joined my Venture Crew).
As a teenager, I not only went on campouts, I also lived for weeks at a time as a staff member at summer and winter camps. It was fine. I was safe. However hormonal they may have been, the boys were able to control themselves and I was fine. I was also able to control myself and the boys I camped with were safe.
All the societal arguments aside, this is a basic safety and liability issue.
Imagine being the scoutmaster of a troop of young boys, all at an age when their hormones are going crazy and when their (ahem...) physical capabilities outpace both their maturity and their judgement, being responsible for the safety of a scout who shows up for a camping trip... with a vagina.
This isn't a GLBT issue or a rights issue or a social justice issue. It's a basic safety issue. I would never take on that liability.
When my son attended National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) this past summer, there were also a dozen or so teenage girls attending through BSA's Venture program. Each attendee was assigned to a co-ed patrol, which camped in the same area and worked as a unit for an entire week. This coming summer, there will be two girls in my son's Philmont crew. I expect it to go just as smoothly. Co-ed camping is already a reality for the BSA, and it has systems in place to ensure the safety of its scouts, males and females alike.
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