Recently my husband, after volunteering with the Boy Scouts for eight years, was unceremoniously kicked out as an assistant scoutmaster from my son’s Los Gatos troop.
When my husband asked why, he was told that they (the two other dads) were not obligated to give him a reason.
Rumor has it that their actions were the result of our open-minded views on religion and gay rights.
Even though the Boy Scouts of America is a very conservative organization, I was surprised and very hurt that here, in the town in which I grew up, the views of two ultra-conservative volunteer dads were enough to keep my kids from going on Boy Scout campouts with their own father, forever.
My sons were heartbroken and confused.
They have grown up schooled in the teachings of the , whose goal is to build a community-wide supportive network for all our young people.
They have grown up with tolerance.
They have straight friends, gay friends, Jewish friends, Baha’i friends, Catholic friends, and none-of-the-above friends.
How do I explain to my children that even in our town, adults that they looked up to sometimes exhibit the kind of mean, exclusive, bullying behavior that we trying to steer our children away from?
