668
Stevens, J., dissenting
ting dirty. But when the game is over or the work is done, that kind of dirt disappears with soap and water. "There's another kind of dirt that won't come off by washing. It is the kind that shows up in foul language and harmful thoughts.
"Swear words, profanity, and dirty stories are weapons that ridicule other people and hurt their feelings. The same is true of racial slurs and jokes making fun of ethnic groups or people with physical or mental limitations. A Scout knows there is no kindness or honor in such mean-spirited behavior. He avoids it in his own words and deeds. He defends those who are targets of insults." Id., at 225-226 (emphasis in original); see also id., at 189.2
It is plain as the light of day that neither one of these principles—"morally straight" and "clean"—says the slightest thing about homosexuality. Indeed, neither term in the Boy
2 Scoutmasters are instructed to teach what it means to be "clean" using the following lesson: "(Hold up two cooking pots, one shiny bright on the inside but sooty outside, the other shiny outside but dirty inside.) Scouts, which of these pots would you rather have your food cooked in? Did I hear somebody say, 'Neither one?'
"That's not a bad answer. We wouldn't have much confidence in a patrol cook who didn't have his pots shiny both inside and out. "But if we had to make a choice, we would tell the cook to use the pot that's clean inside. The same idea applies to people. "Most people keep themselves clean outside. But how about the inside? Do we try to keep our minds and our language clean? I think that's even more important than keeping the outside clean.
"A Scout, of course, should be clean inside and out. Water, soap, and a toothbrush tak[e] care of the outside. Only your determination will keep the inside clean. You can do it by following the Scout Law and the example of people you respect—your parents, your teachers, your clergyman, or a good buddy who is trying to do the same thing." App. 289-290.
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