Today I read the Boy Scouts of America might lift their national ban on homosexuals. Individual troops will still be free to discriminate against gay children, but there will no longer be a national policy. As a boy I was forced to join this weird organization, where I learned to sew, wear sashes, and lie about helping old ladies in order to earn a badge. I have no idea why anyone would want to be a member of this peculiar group, but this news makes me smile.
For thousands of years, to openly admit you were gay risked not only your standing in the community, but often your life. You were either strung up, shunned, ridiculed, or simply cast off. But things are shifting. The Internet allows millions to mobilize at the first sign of bigotry. Companies and CEOs are realizing they cannot survive if they publicly discriminate. There will be backlash. They’ll lose sponsors, customers, and the almighty coin.
Obviously, we still have a long way to go, but this is progress. This is change. In modern America, you can be openly gay, but you can no longer be an open bigot.
photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/brad-darren/2573747863/”>Darren and Brad</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/”>cc</a>
