Columbia, SC — The controversy involving the Boy Scouts triggers some hard memories from half a century ago. My brother Frankie had joined the Boy Scouts, and I had joined the Girl Guides (now Girl Scouts). My mother could no longer drive due to medical problems, and my father worked very long hours to pay the bills.

We both had meetings after school but never together. Dad could hardly keep up. So at some point he decided that I should drop out because our get-togethers were at different times and locations.

Resentful, I asked, “Why can’t we belong to the same group?” He explained “because the girls would seduce the boys, and there could be some ‘sexy stuff’ going on.” Mom argued that any “sexy stuff” would likely be the other way around. But both agreed that some moral temptations were inevitable, so I had to bow out because “building character” was mostly for boys.

The letdown was very hurtful because, these many decades later, I still remember the details. And I’m still asking the same question: Why can’t the genders participate in scouting and building character together? After all, we are born into the same families together.

If I were raising a son now, I would prefer that he be scouting with girls rather than with homosexual boys, just in case lax supervision could allow some of that “sexy stuff” to happen. Also, combining these two worthy organizations would reduce costs, and provide easier transportation for the busy parents.

Lucette Dingle

Pendleton