How we do love to kill one another. I have this vision of a far-right, sure-of-her-righteousness Christian standing with a huge gun, surrounded by bleeding, rotting corpses, saying to God, “Hey–look at me–I just cleaned out all the sinners for you. I’m the only one who was willing to go to the end for you! You and I are going to have a blast throughout eternity without all those sinners around.”
This thought sprang into my mind when, between the inclement weather and being confined to home last weekend with a bit of an illness, I found myself idly surfing Facebook and seeing what friends where doing.
I noticed one commented on a post that had started the conversation stream with these statements:
So, I was thinking that I would just go to a Planned Parenthood location that doesn’t do abortions and give them a $20.00 donation. How do you guys feel about that? What? You don’t like that?? Why? Because they have ties to other clinics that DO commit abortions? Hmm. So then why in the world would some of you give a donation to a Girl Scout troop when you know that the organization is involved with the abortion industry?
I had no idea that people were so addicted to cookies. Prolifers, it is time to really be prolife. Stand against the Girl Scouts!!
The poster, who identified herself as a Pro-Life advocate, states unequivocally that the Girl Scouts of America organization is involved with the abortion industry. Many responders spoke self-righteously of being able to buy the same cookie for less money at a dollar store or a big box store..
A few questioned the veracity of the statement, but not many. None of those who happily gorged on the same non-nutritious cookie from another source mentioned gluttony as sinful, of course. Too close to home.
More than that, I was troubled by the claim and decided to do some research. From what I’ve discovered, the big issues is that all Girl Scouts and Girl Guides (what they are called in England) are also members of the 10,000,000 person World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
According to the documentation on the site that is calling for this boycott to the cookie sales (www.cookiecott.com), “WAGGGS, . . . “aggressively promotes youth reproductive/abortion and sexual rights, specifically on behalf of its 10 million members.”
So, I checked this out. I would agree: young girls should not be aggressive promoting abortion rights, although the idea of teaching them, in concert with their parents, responsible sexuality does not seem out of line.
Here’s what I found when I checked the link from the boycott site: a photocopied page from a Girl Scout manual that reminds the girls of their membership in WAGGGS and encourages international friendship and travel.
So, I headed over to the WAGGGs site (www.wagggs.org). Here’s what I found.
The stated purpose of WAGGGS: “WAGGGS delivers high quality non-formal educational programmes and international opportunities that provide girls and young women dynamic, flexible and values-based training in life skills, leadership and citizenship.”
They have developed an aggressive campaign to educate people about and help stop the unending violence against women that takes place routinely around the world.
They partner with organizations that are devoted to environmental health, that seek to empower women, and that seek to raise the status and safety of women in the world. If you want to see the full list of their partners, go to: http://www.wagggs.org/en/about/WAGGGSpartnerships
Planned Parenthood is not on that list. Now, do some of the organizations that WAGGGS partner with have associate with Planned Parenthood? Possibly.
But I want you to note the stance the the original writer of the FB post took: Girl Scouts actively supports Planned Parenthood (and by implication, it actively supports abortion on demand.).
No, Girls Scouts do not do that.
That claim is a load of hogwash, perpetuated by far, far right extremists who want to paint any organization that is not in absolute lock step with their absolute absolutist views as evil, killing babies, destroying the morals of our children, etc.
I read further about the history of the attact against the Girl Scouts, which apparently started around 2011. Much of the attack is blamed on right-wing Christian activists.
I didn’t read the comments on the article I read about the background of this story, but am more than sure they are full of ridicule for anything Christian, labeling it evil, ignorant and destructive.
And I am at the point where I am about to say the same thing.
Will we ever stop this madness? Do we really have to kill our opponents in order to make our own stands? This attack is simply scurrilous, untrue and unfair. But many believe it and an organization that has done a lot of good for a lot of girls will suffer.
I honestly don’t get it.
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