Scouting
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Dear Reader,
I became a Boy Scout at age 10-1/2, the earliest that Scouting allows. I was a cub scout prior to becoming a boy scout. I remember
going on my first camping trip. It was fun being outdoors!
Then our scoutmaster moved. Our troop struggled for a month or two, until another man finally took over. For whatever reason, the older boys all decided in mass to leave. A few others soon joined, and I quickly found myself as the oldest - therefore - in the position of Senior Patrol Leader.
Scouting allowed me to set goals, learn at my own pace, and serve in a position of leadership. I also served as troop scribe. I believe our scoutmaster would tell you that if it were not for my position, the troop would not have survived. Several years after I joined I realized I was gay - it was a secret that was not shared. I'm not sure when I realized that it was against the National Scout policy for gay people to be members or leaders.
Being a scout helped me to become the man I am today. In 2014 scouting changed and allowed gay youth to be a part of the organization. A step in the correct direction. Scouting is about helping boys to become men, and sexual preference is not a part of that equation, nor should it be.
I graduated from college and moved to Houston, and naturally chose to become a scoutmaster. I worked with a neighborhood troop of 10-15 boys, sponsored by a local church. It never crossed my mind, that my being gay might be an issue.
Several years later I moved to Baton Rouge, and realized that my days in scouting were numbered. By then, I was fairly open about my homosexuality - not within my troop - but just my life in general. Soon becoming an assistant Scoutmaster, I worked with another local troop for about a year. It became known by the troop committee that I was gay. I was asked to resign. I had the support of my scoutmaster, but the parents pulled rank as it were.
The psychological hurt took many years from which to recover. – B Reeves
