Here is a very simple form of activism for those of you who buy holiday trees this time of year or know people who do: do not buy your tree from the Boy Scouts. Why? The Boy Scouts discriminates against atheist and gay youth by baring them from their organization. Why would anyone want to support bigotry? I am happy to join with many other atheist bloggers today in calling for a boycott on Boy Scouts' holiday trees until they abolish their discriminatory practices. For those who must have such trees, there are plenty of other places to find them. It should not be terribly difficult to avoid supporting the Boy Scouts.
I suspect that many people, including many religious believers, would be reluctant to support the Boy Scouts if they knew about their bigotry. So this effort is not just about us buying trees elsewhere but about raising awareness more generally.
For more about the Boy Scouts, see:
- What I Learned From My Time in the Boy Scouts
- Are the Boy Scouts Trying to Emulate the Catholic Church?
- The Boy Scouts Are Not Prepared
