Joyce L. Arnold, Liberally Independent, Queer Talk, equality activist, writer.
I spend a lot of time writing about the connections and context of what’s going on, whether it be the Occupy movement, the 2012 campaign of stupidity show, LGBT equality, the predictable resurgence of the “religious right” brand of radicalism, or most anything else. The following story, about the scary Girl Scouts, serves as one indication of that context and connections.
Honoring the Girl Scouts 100th anniversary would seem like an easy call for Electeds, and the Indiana House produced a Resolution doing just that. Then Republican State Representative Bob Morris heard from some of his constituents about the dangers of Girl Scouting.
From Autumn Sandeen at Pam’s Houseblend, quoting a letter Morris sent to the Republican Caucus:
This past week I was asked to sign a House Resolution recognizing the 100th Anniversary of Girl Scouts of America. After talking to some well-informed constituents, I did a small amount of web-based research, and what I found is disturbing. The Girl Scouts of America and their worldwide partner, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), have entered into a close strategic affiliation with Planned Parenthood. You will not find evidence of this on the GSA/WAGGGS website—in fact, the websites of these two organizations explicitly deny funding Planned Parenthood.
Morris doesn’t believe the Girl Scouts, though he does a poor job of substantiating his conclusions.
… abundant evidence proves that the agenda of Planned Parenthood includes sexualizing young girls through the Girl Scouts, which is quickly becoming a tactical arm of Planned Parenthood. … Denver Auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley … last year warned parents that ‘membership in the Girl Scouts could carry the danger of making their daughters more receptive to the pro-abortion agenda.’
Okay, he can check off wedge issue “abortion.” Moving on …
Many parents are abandoning the Girl Scouts because they promote homosexual lifestyles. In fact, the Girl Scouts education seminar girls are directed to study the example of role models. Of the fifty role models listed, only three have a briefly-mentioned religious background—all the rest are feminists, lesbians, or Communists.
And now he can check off other wedge issues: “feminist,” “Communist,” “homosexual” and more specifically, “lesbian.” He employs the Right’s long favored “lifestyle” language. Sexual orientation that isn’t heterosexual is a “lifestyle” choice, you see. So far, Morris has only mentioned Bishop Conley as a source. His second is particularly telling.
World Net Daily, in a May 2009 article, states that Girl Scout Troops are no longer allowed to pray or sing traditional Christmas Carols. Boys who decide to claim a ‘transgender’ or cross-dressing life-style are permitted to become a member of a Girl Scout troop, performing crafts with the girls and participate in overnight and camping activities — just like any real girl.
I don’t know if the “just like any real girl” is from WND, though it would certainly fit the “reporting” there. But to “abortion,” “homosexual,” “feminist,” and “communist,” we can now check off the “anti-Christian” and the extra scary “transgender.” Can you guess what he’s still got to add?
The fact that the Honorary President of Girl Scouts of America is Michelle Obama, and the Obama’s are radically pro-abortion and vigorously support the agenda of Planned Parenthood, should give each of us reason to pause before our individual or collective endorsement of the organization.
Of course, whoever is in the WH serves as Honorary President of the Boy Scouts, and whoever is First Lady serves as Honorary President of the Girl Scouts. But adding the Obama’s to his scary list was predictable. I am surprised he didn’t mention marriage, but maybe he’s afraid that would make young, impressionable Girl Scouts think about what one man and one woman do in order to have another generation of Scouts. Actually, Morris says he’s pulling his two daughters out of Girl Scouts, who will
… become active in American Heritage Girls Little Flowers organization. In this traditional group they will learn about values and principles that will not confuse their conservative Hoosier upbringing.
Surely he knows little flowers eventually blossom. And that he can’t know that his little flowers will grow straight up. Or as peggysue22 wrote at Sky Dancing:
Certainly you can see the security threat. Why? Because they’re . . . girls. They may grow up to be She Wolves with hearts and minds of their own. They might even grow up to be SEXUAL beings. Ooooo, scary!
The Girl Scout organization responded to Morris:
Ashley Sharp, spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michiana, said … on the group’s website states that it leaves sex and reproduction questions to parents. The group accepts transgender youth on a case-by-case basis.
See a pdf file for more here.
This whole thing is a combination of scary, sad and stupid. It serves as one indication of the social and political context and connections of this 2012 / Occupy moment in our nation. It includes Electeds more interested in playing divisive labeling games than addressing the needs of the families of Scouts and Little Flowers, and the excessive privileges of and protections for the 1%. It includes the Rick Santorum and related ramping up of very familiar “religious right” language that, unfortunately, much of the media still accepts with little to no challenge, decades after the “Moral Majority” and “Christian Coalition” eras.
The Girl Scouts are another easy target, something to use, a convenient name on which to hang all the usual scary “them” labels. The girls, the actual people, don’t matter. That is a huge part of the context and connections of this Occupy era election cycle. Of course, that isn’t new, either. Forcing Electeds and Wannabe’s to pay attention to real needs of real people is always a challenge.
( Girl Scout Troop via Mediaite.
Girl Scout 100th Anniversary via Girl Scouts.org. )
Are these idiots so desperate that they now attack the Girl Scouts of America? Good grief, who will they go after next? They just have to control, control, control. The scope of their agenda is monstrous because it does nothing for the betterment of society, create jobs, find housing for the poor, etc. It would be laughable, something out of “Mad” magazine if it wasn’t so pathetic. Thanks for a great article, Joyce.
You know, Jane, “pathetic” is a very good description.
As someone who has studied sexuality in detail and more than most other writers, I must say that there is nothing more ignorant than suggesting the Girl Scouts “sexualizes” young girls.
Is this a joke?
Have these people seen a teen mag lately? Seen the fashion ads lately?
Idiots. All.
I’d actually like to hear their definition of “sexualized.” Come to think of it, maybe I don’t.
When I read or hear this kind of stuff, I find myself remembering some of the feminist theology and human sexuality classes of long ago , and in particular, the frequent expressions of dismay, frustration, concern and simple anger at the kind of stuff being heard from some on the Right. Those same discussions could take place today.
Morris is just another example of what pigs the republican’s have become. The language you use to describe him and his party seems couched in correctness. They are dangerous, lying, two faced, immoral ( yes! immoral ) hypocritical pigs. More people should say this and say it loudly. They remind me of the Robert Mitchum character in “ Night of The Hunter .” They are charlatans who embrace themselves in the cloak of the lord while the serpent quietly slithers up their back. Of course they use the girl scouts; they will use anything because the end justifies the means. The one good and meaningful thing George W. Bush said after 9/11 was this: ” We have seen their kind before. “
Well, I’m certainly not intending the words I use to be of the “correctness” kind. The truth is, these folks don’t surprise me. Disgust me, but not surprise. Maybe it’s just that I’ve been hearing this kind of stupidity for so long that I need to space out the expressions of disgust. I won’t repeat some of the messages left on my voice mail, or actually to begin with, on my “answering machine.” Some of these folks really don’t like lesbians. You can see in Morris’ comments that there’s another population, transgender, who receive even more hate, and are even more profoundly misunderstood.
I like the “end justifies the means” summary.
“They remind me of the Robert Mitchum character in “ Night of The Hunter .” They are charlatans who embrace themselves in the cloak of the lord while the serpent quietly slithers up their back.”
Been saying exactly that for YEARS and people called me TO EXTREME. It would be impossible to be “to extreme” in discribing the depths of the perversity of these maniacs…utterly impossible.
Let’s see first it was Acorn, then PBS, Planned Parenthood and now this made up crap about the Girl Scouts. Extreme right Republicans are on a mission to control every aspect of our lives. They claim that has been Obama agenda…but the more they pull these kind of stupid stunts it proves who really want government in our lives.
There was also an attack on The Muppets. And don’t even get them started on the sexual orientation of SpongeBob and Happy Feet.
I saw that. Spongebob has been a favorite in our household for over a decade. He’s a beloved character as are the muppets. First time I’m hearing the kooks censure of Happy Feet. lol I also remember the ruckus made by Falwell over that adorable children’s program from Great Britian, the Teletubbies. He went after one of them because the character carried around a purse. I was on a business trip to Wisconsin with a colleague and the branch manager invited us over for dinner with his wife. This was when the Falwell vs. Teletubbies was in the news. During dinner, the conversation turned to current events and his wife brought up the Falwell vs. Teletubbies “event” and she was on side of the Teletubbies as we all were. She called Fallwell a name which I won’t repeat here. And, it wasn’t Tinky Winky. lol. This was over 10 years ago. Our countrymen and women are not as conservative and reactionary as some would have us believe. I really believe the kooks are in the minority they just happen to be the loudest cogs in the Republican Party at the moment trying to lead it and the rest of us down the toilet.
Ah yes, the Teletubbies thing. I once got four or five little Teletubbies and put them with a toaster oven, as a give away at a Pride event. We thought it was funny to set the Tubbies inside the oven, with the door open of course, but a few people thought putting them inside was too much like what the anti-Tubbie folks might do, so we put them on top instead.
The important point, of course, that you make is that what’s happening now isn’t remotely new. But I do have hopes more people understand how ridiculous it is.
I love that, Joyce.
That woman in Wisconsin is not the exception, there are many more rational people in this country and who don’t see things that aren’t there in cartoon characters, children’s shows and the damn muppets. And, Happy Feet! Lord love a duck.
btw, great topic and post!
These kooks are making everything into a morality play. The other day, I heard one of them say that capitalism needs to be argued in terms of morality. In other words, to be a capitalist is to be moral, ipso facto. I’m waiting to hear the argument that being constipated is immoral.
I feel sorry for the children of these bat shit crazies like Morris who were probably perfectly happy being a girl scout, having fun, earning badges doing community work and selling girl scout cookies. And, he goes he goes and ruins it for them by forcing them to quit the scouts leaving their friends behind because of his asinine notions of all of those boggeywimmens (lesbians, feminists, communists, heathens, the pro-choice, planned parenthood) filling his empty head. How will growing up in a family like the Morris family effect these children? Sad. And, toxic for the rest of us if they grow up like their father.
What the hell are people like Morris going to do next? Boycott girl scout cookies until they are no more? Because given all of this, that’s what would follow. But, then again, nothing these religious fanatics and sex-obsessed cretins do would surprise me.
This girl scout silliness as well as everything that Pope Rick has proclaimed and all of the repressive woman-hating legislation in effect or being proposed could have come straight out of the Onion, the satiric “news organization” that parodies the news.
That all of this religious fanaticism on display is a very real threat to American freedom and rational thought and is a pernicious direct attack against the women and girls of this country to say nothing of the country itself and the men who love us, I think, has been the biggest wake up call nationwide in a very long time.
It’s enormously fantastic to see the Girls Scouts of America forcefully resisting this madness. Please support them whenever you can. Buy Girl Scout cookies when that list comes around at work or go to their site and do the same.
Note to self: stock up and become a hoarder of girl scout cookies http://tinyurl.com/766vw82 before the crazies attack and they are no more. Leave my Thin Mints alone!
JUST when you think the repugnantklan/teabaggers have sunk as low as they can with santorum(be sure to google it) they have to surprise you and VOILA!!!!!!! THE GIRL SCOUTS ARE RECRUITING DIKES!!!!!!
Tell me again Ms. marsh how I am wrong about the core voters for the repugs?
Well there’s no question about it, I came back from Europe and fell into a episode of the Twilight Zone. There is no other explanation for the idiocy that is going on in this country. The best Hollywood writers couldn’t make this shit up on their best day. Just when I think I’ve heard the dumbest thing anyone could say, along comes another republican clown to out do the last clown.
So I’ve come to the conclusion that this is just all a bad dream, and soon I will wake up and still be in Paris, and decide just to stay here. One can always hope.
A wise person (someone I don’t remember, I’m afraid) once said that the confusion is the first step on the way to understanding. It’s normal for children to be confused – that’s because they don’t know anything. When they learn why things that confuse them didn’t make sense, they usually learn something important.
Just a long way of saying that one of the defining characteristics of religious fanaticism is not wanting to know things that contradict their beliefs.It’s one of the reason so many are so pig-ignorant of anything not related to their jobs or their religions.
Not to long ago I was asked to talk to a troop of 4th grade girl scouts on leadership. I left wistful about the years my daughter was that age and wanting to transport us back in time, they were so adorable . I spent the next couple of weeks ruminating about what a great age 10 is for girls, so full of life and confidence and promise.The more good experiences girls that age get to reinforce their sense of personal power and community involvement the better able they will be to weather the storms of adolescence. I guess that is the basic problem that nutcase fundies have with them, an influence outside their hideous bubble.