By Harold W. Pease, Ph. D
A couple of weeks ago The Boy Scouts of America Executive Committee unanimously approved allowing gay adults to serve as leaders. The reason given, “the rapid changes in society and increasing legal challenges at the federal, state and local levels.” Gays have argued that the Boy Scouts of America “stood as a towering example of explicit, institutional homophobia.” The term homophobia implies unreasonable fear. But is it unreasonable to fear gay leaders who may have little boy inclinations? A bigger question; has societal acceptance of predatory sexual behavior on vulnerable little boys by adult male pedophiles amplified in recent years?
Just three years ago the Boy Scouts was criticized, even sued, for the amount of pedophile penetration into their organization despite the organization’s sincere efforts to keep it out. The organization’s file on defilers was to help insure that any record of indiscretion on a boy was kept with the intention of keeping the perpetrator out of the program. The scout law expects boys, and their leaders; to be morally straight that is why church organizations endorse the program. The Los Angeles Times was elated when lawsuits forced the scouting organization to open its files on the extent of degenerative behavior on the boys. What was revealed was deplorable!! Now, excluding “hungry men” from the organization is considered being non-inclusive, even intolerant.
The newspaper reported in October 2012, “The thousands of men expelled from the Boy Scouts of American on suspicion of molesting children came from all walks of life—teachers and plumbers, doctors and bus drivers, politicians and policemen. They ranged in age from teens to senior citizens and came from troops in every state.” Some 1,900 confidential files, between 1970 and 1991, revealed a “hunting” pattern, which for many included “grooming behavior.” Predators lavished “children with attention, favors and gifts” as for examples, allowing “the boys to drive cars, drink alcohol or look at pornography.” Eventually, with arousal, boundaries were tested with the more responsive boys, “during skinny dipping, group showers, sleepovers and one-on-one activities.”
One mother complained to scout headquarters describing a scout leader in her area. “He combs the boys’ hair and buys them cloths and dinner. He takes them to church, motorcycle riding, skiing, flying…. Now we know why he did these things.”
The Los Angeles Times spoke of another file containing the complaint of an assistant scoutmaster that his scoutmaster in a sleepover, complete with alcohol and pornographic films, proceeded with touching and undressing responding boys and “then proceeds to do other things if he is successful.”
The organization, dedicated to the best principles in a developing boy, has never approved of the activities noted above but is still blamed for the initial contact between pervert and boy which led to the unacceptable behavior. Since 1987 it has prohibited a man being with a boy alone and outings are to have two adults present. Church sponsoring units may have additional requirements to protect the boys. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the largest scout sponsoring entity) is especially cognizant of a boy’s safety. Parents are encouraged to be participants in any youth programs.
My point!! If an outstanding morally based youth program, with its reasonable safeguards, is unable to fully protect little boys from sexual predators, how is the new acceptance of gays as scout leaders going to do so? I know that not all gays are pedophiles, or even child inclined, but far too many are or could become. Won’t lifting the ban on their participation help create a “feast haven” and attract men with this inclination? How is the gay community likely to be more protective of the innocent boys than the organization that actively tried to exclude them? To the gay community, leave the children alone!!! Participating with consenting adults is now legal but feasting on little boys still gives one, prosecuted of doing so, many years in prison. Or, in another three years, will we find that molesting little boys has gained social acceptance as well? How will lifting the ban on gay scout leaders not attract pedophiles?