Should Boy Scouts ban "gay" troop leaders?

Ultimately, nonetheless, avoiding any dialogue what-so-ever, the argument of many “gays” deteriorates to, “I’m just gay…that’s all to it!” At least to me, the question for which that declaration then begs is, “How can a proposition be proof of itself?”


Dear friends,

Very recently, there has been a lot of controversy in Philadelphia, regarding the city government’s decision to renege on its decades-old promise and practice to provide a rent-free building to the local chapter of the Boy Scouts of America, because the legendary organization has banned openly “gay” troop leaders (which is against newly-legislated city discrimination laws).

I wrote a letter to the editor, in response to a brilliant piece that was written by Philadelphia Daily News journalist Christine Flowers about this issue. My letter has been published; however, a few important points were edited out. Therefore, below, you will find the original letter, while on the link below it, you will find the published version.

Cheers!

G. Djata Bumpus
****************************
Dear Editor:

Christine Flower’s thoughtful piece called, “Philadelphia’s odd case against the Boy Scouts”, posted 6/18/10, reveals a disturbing practice by our city government to acknowledge a group of “gay activists” that appears to be ignoring the actual fact that homosexual relationships are no less based upon power and sexual greed than heterosexual ones. Yet, when do we hear heterosexuals establishing themselves as a distinct group based upon the ability to walk around pronouncing unproven claims about with whom they’re having sex? So what kind of guidance should we provide to our youth, so that they can replace us in the future?

One of the real dilemmas of a society that is socially-stratified such as ours, lies in the fact that a person can be a member of an oppressor group and an oppressed group, simultaneously. This was adequately proven, with the Clarence Thomas - Anita Hill debacle.

Let’s face it; except for African American women, but not limited to them, particularly women who call themselves "white", are oppressed as women, but, also, serve as oppressors, as part of the artificial "majority" group that calls itself "white".

Therefore, the attempt by some of these same “white” women to form an artificial "minority" group, by calling themselves "lesbians" or having “white” men calling themselves “gay” for the same purpose is disingenuous - at best.

Besides, what difference does a person's skin color, gender, or any other "orientation" make, if once you are with the person to whom you claim to be oriented, either you wish that you weren't there - or he or she wishes the same? Is anyone “oriented” to be with anyone else? That’s silly.

Well, is there a “sexual preference”? Actually, we already have a name for people like that. We call them rapists. In other words, some amount of mutual consent must be involved between parties. One does not have sex with whomever he or she prefers.

Ultimately, nonetheless, avoiding any dialogue what-so-ever, the argument of many “gays” deteriorates to, “I’m just gay…that’s all to it!” At least to me, the question for which that declaration then begs is, “How can a proposition be proof of itself?”

So-called “gay activists” undermine the real notion of citizens’ rights, when they attempt to re-invent themselves as a distinct population group. Moreover, Flowers hit the nail right on the head, when she insists about city officials and their cohorts engaged in this heartless move to evict children and their mentors from a city-owned property, “They need to get a better answer. Or maybe a conscience.” for discontinuing support for the Boy Scouts of America, a wonderful, life-enhancing group to which my five brothers and I belonged, many decades ago.

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/opinion/20100624_Letters__The_Boy_Scout_case_has_oppressors_and_the_oppressed.html
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Sandy Banks on a community-building ceremony

There’s an African proverb that goes, " To live together is to have a common fate."

Dear friends,

Almost all of the problems in our society are based upon the fact that, generally-speaking, we have no sense of “community” anywhere in this country. This is largely due to the simple fact that: in this market-driven, possession-oriented society of ours, people do not think in terms of “we”.

Now, that notion may sound like a platitude; however, such a seemingly trite proclamation is very necessary, because those who control the “market” make a point to have people think only of themselves, even within their individual households, not just our society at large.

There’s an African proverb that goes, " To live together is to have a common fate." In other words, as a community, in the grand scheme of things, as it were, we need each other, regardless of the extent to which we are physically-able or whatever social differences that we have - like gender and age, for example. But if people, in any specific community, share a common fate, as mentioned earlier, then it only seems fair that all parties involved should have a voice in their destinies. Unfortunately, for all of America’s brave words of "freedom and democracy", when do our children ever experience either of these lofty ideals, particularly, democracy?

What young people actually feel is that they are controlled, having little or no input, regarding decisions that directly affect their existences. That, to be sure, makes them feel powerless.

As a consequence, they become angry and frustrated. Moreover, in their feeling of powerlessness, quite intelligently, they rebel. Yet, the problem with much of the rebellion of our youth, particularly in inner cities is: young folks often protest in ways that are self-destructive. Of course, this is largely due to the types of options available to them.

Consequently, we should no longer ignore the anger and frustration that our youth must necessarily express in a negative way, if we do not provide them with opportunities to make good choices, through positive support.

The participation of our youth, in both the decision-making and application processes of building our communities, will help young people to look inside of themselves and resolve the anger, fear, sadness, and frustration which results from their feeling of powerlessness here-to-mentioned. As well, they will then discover their inner powers, through the personal strength of positive energy and group support.

Mastering skills in most activities, whether for business or pleasure, requires using energy in a positive way, relying upon focus and concentration - each being human powers just as energy itself is. We must help our youth develop these skills. Therefore, for instance, affording young folks educational opportunities through scholarship programs, is a great method for enhancing the progress of our communities.

In any case, with the piece on the link below, through an incredible journalist, Sandy Banks of the Los Angeles Times, we get a chance to have a vicarious experience that shows how each of us can help young people build progressive and productive futures for our communities. Enjoy!

G. Djata Bumpus
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/me-banks15-20100615,0,5203647,full.column
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