[7091] in APO-L
Men and the BSA
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Phillies Phan (John Given))
Sat Oct 30 01:17:30 1993
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1993 20:05:27 EDT
Reply-To: "Phillies Phan (John Given)" <GIVEN%DICKINSN.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
From: "Phillies Phan (John Given)" <GIVEN%DICKINSN.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L%PURCCVM.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
Well, I'm never one to keep my mouth shut on fun issues, but I'll keep it
brief.....
1) "Men of Alpha Phi Omega" True, "man" can refer to all human kind, but
why do you think that is? Surely, it is a reflection of the patriarchal
society which has so dominated western culture. So, if there is a hope to
make men and women equal, we can't go on using language which makes men
superior to women. Also, in APO specifically, I really doubt that the
original authors of our Toast Song intended "men" to be "human beings." Why
would they? All the members _were_ men. They said "men"; they meant "men."
So the argument that the Toast Song actually refers to all human beings is
invalid.
2) The BSA. I have a problem with Jerry's statement in the latest T&T: "We
ackowledged our respect for the constitutional right of all private,
voluntary organizations to determine their own values and policies." Well, I
don't object to that statement, but to the "constitutional right." I believe
that it is downright wrong for any group to discriminate against anyone on
the basis of an innate characteristic of who they are, be it gender, race,
ethnicity, sexual orientation, handicap, etc.
John Given
President, Alpha Gamma Alpha Chapter
Dickinson College, Carlsile, PA
given@dickinson.edu
Of course, my views do not reflect those of the AGA chapter, Dickinson Colleg,
or anyone else.
