When many parents think of Girl Scouts, they imagine young girls in uniform selling Thin Mints and Tagalong cookies – not learning about stone labyrinths, world peace, global warming, yoga, avatars, smudging incense, Zen gardens and feminist, communist and lesbian role models.Conservatives saw this one coming down the pike a few years ago, when the Boy Scouts got raked over the coals for prohibiting gay scoutmasters and the Girl Scouts were so quiet you could hear the crickets chirping.
But that's exactly what many of 2.7 million Girl Scouts will learn about with a new curriculum called "Journeys" released last year. . . .
Back in the day, Bill Buckley* postulated a law of organizational dynamics:
All institutions that are not explicitly conservative will eventually become liberal.Fast-forward to 2009, and all institutions that do not explicitly prohibit homosexuality will eventually become pro-gay. So next time the Girl Scouts come knocking at your door selling cookies, try not to notice they're now wearing flannel shirts, butch haircuts and sensible shoes.
And if you're foolish enough to let your own child join the Girl Scouts, don't complain when they come back from their annual camporee spouting quotations from Mary Daley and Shulamith Firestone.
"Really, mom, what kind of self-hating homophobic collaborationist are you?"Future Femi-Nazis of America!
"Homophobic? Why, I don't . . ."
"We're being oppressed by the patriarchy!"
"Oppressed? What are you . . ."
"It's dad! Don't you see? He's exploiting us!"
* -- A commenter suggests Robert Conquest as the originator of the maxim I've attributed to Buckley. UPDATE II: Linked at the Creative Minority Report. When dealing with feminist dogma, it is important always to be as harsh as possible.
Feminist ideology is so self-evidently counterfactual that only a fool could believe it. Ergo, you should never address a feminist as if you were speaking to a person deserving solicitude, respect and deference, but rather comport yourself as if confronted by an unruly brat throwing a tantrum. National Offend a Feminist Week was a rousing success. Some of us celebrate all year long.
UPDATE II: Linked at Stop the ACLU and Pirate's Cove. I'm hoping we get some more linkage so this shows up at Memeorandum. Then Amanda Marcotte and Jessica Valenti will denounce the patriarchal homophobia, and I'll ride the tsunami of hate to 10,000+ visits tomorrow. So link me now, you misogynistic right-wing bloggers, and we'll all catch a wave.