My Eagle Scout Regret

I was a Boy Scout. I started when I was in first grade, I think. I kept with it until about 14 when high school and other interests drew me away and I quit. I made it fairly high in the ranks before I quit, only two ranks removed from the coveted Eagle, in fact. There was always part of me that regretted quitting.  The worst part was that getting one's Eagle Scout was something of a family tradition. There are several members of my family that earned their Eagle, including my late grandfather. So I always felt like I'd disappointed them and dropped the ball on family legacy. I didn't feel too bad about it, but it was still there, just one more relatively small regret that I quietly carried in the back of my mind.

After reading about how the Boy Scouts of America are denying the Eagle award to a homosexual teen, well, let's just say that old feeling of regret towards Eagle is back. I regret not getting my Eagle Scout. I really, really regret not getting it.

I regret it solely because it means I cannot be one of roughly three hundred Eagles who returned their hard earned badges in protest for the BSA's bigotry.

Since I couldn't do that, I'm blogging about it instead. Which is marginally less awesome.

Seriously, screw the BSA for this kind of shit and props to Ryan Andresen for speaking out and for not hiding who he is.