Fired for being lesbian, fired for being gay.Is this the Boy Scouts morality and ethics?

Jennifer Tyrrell

Jennifer Tyrrell, the den leader who was "fired" by her local Cub Scout troop for being gay, said that her 7-year-old son Cruz will not remain in the national organization because of its discrimination against gay leaders and scouts.

In March, the Boy Scouts of America removed Tyrrell from her position, telling her that her sexual orientation "did not meet the high standards" of conduct set by the Boy Scouts of America
"We can no longer support an organization that has these policies and we hope to get them changed," said Tyrrell. "That is our main goal."
"But Cruz is a little sad," Tyrrell added. "We loved scouting."
The boy told ABCNews.com that he had enjoyed camping and earning badges with his local Tiger Cub troop 109 since September.
The troop asked his mother to step down as leader after they told her "it was known you are gay," said Tyrrell, 32.

The Bridgeport, Ohio, mother of four has waged a campaign to bring awareness to the Boy Scout policy on Change.org. Ultimately, she said she wants the organization to accept gay leaders and scouts.
Already, the petition has garnered 140,000 signatures, plus the endorsement of celebrities such as "Hunger Games" star Josh Hutcherson and Jesse Tyler Ferguson from television's "Modern Family" and Max Adler from "Glee."
"I had no idea this would take off like it has," said Tyrell, who lives with her partner of five years. Ohio does not recognize gay marriage.

"It's humbling and very exciting that so many people are finally agreeing with us."
Saturday, Tyrrell and her family appeared at the GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles, where they were honored for taking a stand. Today, she is in New York City, making the media rounds with Cruz.
"We want to get the word out" said Tyrrell, a former hardware store sales person who was laid off. Her partner, Alicia, is a registered nurse.
Tyrrell said the Boy Scouts of America had not "officially" notified her. "I have heard nothing from them," she said.

The Boy Scouts of America emailed ABCNews.com a prepared statement that said its focus is on "delivering a program of character development and leadership training."
"Scouting, and the majority of parents it serves, does not believe it is the right forum for children to become aware of the issue of sexual orientation, or engage in discussions about being gay," it said. "Rather, such complex matters should be discussed with parents, caregivers, or spiritual advisers, at the appropriate time and in the right setting."

The Boy Scouts acknowledged their policy was controversial, but added, "To disagree does not mean to disrespect and we respect everyone's right to have and express a different opinion. Scouting will continue to teach our members to treat everyone with courtesy and respect."
The organization also said that in Tyrrell's case the policy had not been followed by local leaders, but when another pack leader complained, it was enforced.

In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with the Boy Scouts of America and ruled 5-4 that the organization is exempt from state laws that bar anti-gay discrimination.
The court overturned a ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court to require a troop to readmit a longtime gay scoutmaster who had been dismissed.
The Girl Scouts of America has had a diversity policy and non-discrimination clause since 1980.
Tyrrell decided to lead Cruz's first-grade Cub Scout troop last fall. "It was a very community-oriented group of kids," she said. "They made me treasurer to get the books in order ... I found some discrepancies -- things that didn't add up."

She said she met with local representatives over the financial matters, but afterwards, the scout master called her and said, "We have to ask you to resign."
"Everyone locally knew I was gay," said Tyrell. "I was devastated. I cried for two days. Those kids were my family. All my parents were devastated."
Patty Morgan, 35, whose 7-year-old son Jordan was in Troop 109 told ABCNews.com, "I was not even aware they had a gay policy. It was very emotional for me."

Morgan also helped Tyrrell with troop activities: field trips and community service work at a soup kitchen and with the Salvation Army.
"I was very upset -- she was my friend and for me, this is personal," said Morgan, who with other troop parents had participated in local protests. "I hope that it ends up changing the policy for the Boy Scouts. That's what we're all hoping for."

Tyrrell said she told her troop parents that she wasn't "abandoning" their children. "It was not my choice," she said. "I didn't want them to think I left them. I had made them a promise to follow these kids to Eagle Scout. Now I can't."

Anthony Wong, Gay and Proud

Anthony Wong

Hong Kong pop star Anthony Wong kept his revelation for the end of the concert. Then, before thousands of fans, lit by a single pool of spotlight, Mr. Wong put an end to years of public speculation. “People don’t need to guess whether or not I’m a tongzhi [Chinese slang for homosexual] anymore,” he said on the last night of his concert series at the Hong Kong Coliseum earlier this week. “I’m saying, I’m gay. I’m a homosexual. G-A-Y.”

Whoops and cheers from the crowd greeted the announcement by the singer and producer, who followed his announcement with a roguish jab at the city’s paparazzi. “I’m sorry, members of the media. For the next 20 years, I’ll keep singing songs, but you don’t need to ask me this question any longer” he declared.

Mr. Wong’s announcement might not have shocked Hong Kong’s entertainment industry, which has long speculated about the singer’s sexual orientation, but the boldness of his announcement was still unusual. Mr. Wong, who first gained popularity in the 80s as a music icon as part of the duo Tat Ming Pair, is only the second high-profile Hong Kong performer to publicly come out, says Waiwai Yeo of the Women Coalition of Hong Kong, a nonprofit gay-rights organization. The first, says Ms. Yeo, was Cantopop giant Leslie Cheung, the beloved singer who featured in hit films such as Farewell My Concubine but struggled with depression for years. In 2003, Mr. Cheung jumped to his death from the 24^th floor of Hong Kong’s Mandarin Hotel.

“It’s been nine years we’ve seen a singer announce publicly that he’s openly gay or openly bisexual,” says Ms. Yeo. “So Mr. Wong’s announcement is a good sign.”
The pop star’s latest move is especially encouraging, says Ms. Yeo, given how shuttered the city’s attitudes have traditionally been toward gays and lesbians. In 2005, for example, a government survey of over 2,000 telephone respondents found that 39% believed homosexuality “contradicts the morals of the community.” When the WCHK was founded nearly a decade ago, at the time, she says, “We didn’t even have the courage to support a Pride Parade.”

Hong Kong’s first Pride Parade was held in 2008, with about 1,000 participants, says Ms. Yeo. Last year’s attracted 2,500, but still a far cry from the millions who flock to the annual pride parades in Brazil and elsewhere. Hong Kongers are gradually growing more comfortable with publicly sharing their sexual orientation, Ms. Yeo says.  Still, she adds, artists have been discouraged by their recording companies from participating in the Pride Parade, for fear of how doing so may impact their public image.

Even as the city’s attitudes slowly improve, she says, gays and lesbians in Hong Kong remain incredibly vulnerable. For one thing, as she notes, the Chinese territory hasn’t yet passed a law to prevent discrimination against gays and lesbians.
“So especially for people who are not Mr. Wong, you can see how hard it is for the community to come out” she says.

Across the border, news of Mr. Wong’s announcement out grabbed the attention of legions of Chinese Internet users. As of this afternoon, Mr. Wong’s stadium-style coming out was the sixth most searched-for item on Weibo. Many were admiring of Mr. Wong’s bravery, though some were apprehensive.

“I hope he won’t come to the same tragic end as Leslie Cheung,” wrote one user.
Still others were more concerned about how this might affect Mr. Wong’s female fan base. As one Shandong-based user wrote, “How many girls’ hearts will this news break?”

CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE

 

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.

If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.

If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.

If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.

If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.

If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.

If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.

If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.

If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.

If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.

If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.

If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.

If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.

If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.

If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.

If children live with fairness, they learn justice.

If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.

If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.

If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

Doret's Law Nolte

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Be buddies, Not bullies. RIP Kenneth

Kenneth Weishuhn

Iowa, this 14-years-old boy allegedy killed himself after his classmates made him the subject of a Facebook hate group and sent him death threats when he told them he was gay.

Family and friends of Kenneth Weishuhn said he was a happy teen until he came out to friends at School, last month.
His mother, Jeannie Chambers, said her son, who recently exclaimed: "Mom, you don't know how it feels to be hated," committed sucide on April 15.

Kenneth's sister, Kaila, said it was not only her classmates that began bullying her brother, but also his friends. ‘People that were originally his friends, they kind of turned on him,’ she told KTIV. ‘A lot of people, they either joined in or they were too scared to say anything.’

The bullying allegedly began online when Kenneth's classmates created an anti-gay Facebook group, adding the teen’s friends as members.

Bullied to death. Again. The family of this boy is deeply saddened by the death, an unbridgeable pain. The culprits, if they have awareness of their responsibilities, can not assuage the guilt over the Kenneth suicide.

This society that despises the other continues to claim victims.

Things can and must change, it is up to each of us find the right way to do it and implement it in their own little. Talking, saying NO to injustice, to violence. Just rispect.Kenneth’s favorite quote was “be buddies, not bullies.”

Leave your comment, your thoughts. Thank you.

April 20, Day Of Silence

 

 

A number of rightwing groups plan to combat a youth-run lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) event held in schools across the country with a series of conservative protests this week.

Organized by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), the national "Day of Silence" aims to draw attention to anti-gay bullying, harassment and name-calling in schools. In an effort to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior in middle schools, high schools and college campuses, students will take a "vow of silence" on April 20 to illustrate "the silencing effect of bullying and harassment on LGBT students and those perceived to be LGBT," according to GLSEN's website.
As a counterpart, Focus on the Family has organized the so-called "Day of Dialogue" (formerly "Day of Truth"), set for April 19, which encourages students "to express their Biblical viewpoint in a loving and Christ-centered way -- especially when sensitive issues, like bullying and sexual identity, are addressed in their schools," HuffPost Gay Voices reported in February. 

A number of high-profile, rightwing pundits also felt similarly, with some even calling the event "a cover for the promotion of homosexuality."
"It’s something where they are basically taking a legitimate concern, which is that of bullying, and they are using that serious problem that does happen as an opportunity by which they will then promote and essentially indoctrinate children and expose children to the acceptability of the homosexual lifestyle," Truth in Action Ministries' Jerry Newcombe is quoted by Right Wing Watch as saying earlier this week. "Now bullying is wrong, but so also is indoctrination into a deadly lifestyle."

Mission America President Linda Harvey also expressed similar sentiments in a WND column, writing, "The goal is to exploit the tender sympathies of kids to promote homosexuality and gender confusion. The agenda is everything; Judeo-Christian morality is the enemy; and sadly, kids are the tools." Barb Anderson of the Minnesota Family Council went even further, likening the "Day of Silence" to acceptance of Nazis and slavery.

How is this possible ? What do you think about it ? Where is progress ?

Stop all the clocks

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

W. H. Auden