“This is about being a true-blooded American guy and girl" - Imperial County sheriff's deputy

The Explorers program, a coeducational affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America [BSA] that began 60 years ago, is training thousands of young people in skills used to confront terrorism, illegal immigration and escalating border violence . . . .

While reading this incredible lead article on the front page of today's NYTimes, my jaw dropping ever lower as I digested its horrors, I suddenly had the odd, faintly-heartening thought: Should we be grateful for one small favor? I mean, as homos we are fundamentally excluded from BSA membership, which normally means no participation in any of their fun and games or lovely overnights, so at least the Boy Scouts of America and their affiliate, the coeducational Explorers program, aren't teaching violence, militarism, xenophobia, racism and fascism to our own young people (or at least not to those boys and girls who dare to be out while teenagers).

But seriously, this is appalling, so appalling that I had to think about whether this was April Fool's Day.

These are children, and they're being given "soft" guns, sometimes shooting real guns (“I like shooting them,” [one 16 year-old girl] said. “I like the sound they make. It gets me excited.”). They are taught how to fight ill-defined or subjective categories of enemies like "illegals", "terrorists", "active shooters" and marijuana farmers. No, I didn't see anything in the article about taking down homos; maybe we've made some progress.

The program is restricted to kids 14 or above, but the reporter, Jennifer Steinhauer, suggests there seems to be some wiggle room: One sheriff's deputy supervising a local post as a volunteer avowed, “I will take them at 13 and a half".

The story primarily covers towns in Imperial County, in Southern California. It's the poorest county in the state, " . . . and the local economy revolves largely around the criminal justice system. In addition to the sheriff and local police departments, there are two state prisons and a large Border Patrol and immigration enforcement presence."

Our older monsters are creating new monsters.

[Todd Krainin image from the Times]