BACK PREJUDIC 5'?m2f Homosexuals vs Boy Scouts: A study in prejudice (scene: six chairs side by side facing audience) LIZ -- (enters, paces, looking at watch, sits) AMY -- (enters opposite) Good morning. (shakes hands) LIZ -- (stands) Oh, ah, hi. (shakes hands) AMY -- What was so important that it couldn't wait for our lunch meeting? LIZ -- Oh, ah,... Please, have a seat. (motions, sits) AMY -- (sits) What's the matter? You look like you have to announce that my dog died. LIZ -- Well, it's about that bad. AMY -- Well, I've got broad shoulders. I can take it. LIZ -- My company has decided not to donate money to your organization this year. AMY -- Your company? You act as if your company has made a decision without your knowledge. Aren't you the C.E.O. anymore? LIZ -- Well, yes, I am... but. AMY -- And you act as if MY organization isn't YOUR organization too. Are you pulling your son out of Boy Scouts? LIZ -- Well, no. AMY -- What's this all about? Why are you distancing yourself from your company and the Boy Scouts? LIZ -- Because I didn't want this decision to seem personal. AMY -- Okay. I won't take it personally. But your company has been donating money to the Boy Scouts for ten years. What's the sudden... Say, is your company in financial trouble? LIZ -- No, no, nothing like that. It's the public stance your organization has taken against homosexuals. AMY -- The Boy Scouts have excluded homosexuals from leadership since we were founded. Nothing has changed. What's going on here? LIZ -- Well, I think that excluding homosexuals from leadership is prejudiced. AMY -- Yes, I suppose it is. But are you aware that you are too? LIZ -- Me?! How am I being prejudiced? AMY -- Do you know what prejudice is? LIZ -- Yes. It means to pre-judge someone, especially a minority. That's what you are doing to the homosexuals when you exclude them from leadership. AMY -- Yes, I suppose you're right. In a sense you could say that homosexuals are a minority, since they make up only about one or two per cent of the population. But minorities are usually considered to be grouped based on characteristics over which they have no control, like skin color, age and sex. But the characteristic which sets homosexuals apart is their behavior, which is very controllable. LIZ -- Listen, I don't want to judge anyone. AMY -- But you did. LIZ -- No, I didn't. AMY -- You're as prejudiced as the Boy Scouts. LIZ -- How can you say that? AMY -- When you cancelled your donation to the Boy Scouts, you also discriminated against a relatively small group of citizens, namely young boys. But this group is a true minority. They have no control over their age or their sex. LIZ -- I'm not discriminating against the boys, I'm discriminating against the organization which discriminates against homosexuals. AMY -- You may be making a statement against the organization, but it's the boys you'll be hurting by withdrawing your support. Now do you see the prejudice? LIZ -- Yes, I suppose it is prejudice, in a sense. AMY -- Do you realize the implications of our respective prejudices? LIZ -- I don't know what you mean. AMY -- When the Boy Scouts reject homosexuals, we essentially reject the characteristics of the group. That is, we reject sex outside of marriage, we reject sex between people of the same sex, we reject sex with multiple partners and a disease-producing lifestyle. LIZ -- Alright. AMY -- When you reject the Boy Scouts, you essentially reject the characteristics of the group, an organization whose creed is to help other people at all times, to keep themselves physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. Our guiding law is to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. Our daily goal is to do a good turn to another person. As a group we have a long history of building strong, capable leaders with personal integrity and moral strength... LIZ -- ...Alright! I see where you're going with this! AMY -- Good. The question is not whether you're prejudiced, it's who you're prejudiced against. You're rejecting a moral organization in favor of one than promotes immorality. Is that the image you want your company to project? LIZ -- Listen, it isn't as simple as that. AMY -- It isn't? LIZ -- No. The homosexuals have been threatening to picket in front of my building and pull the plug on some of my customers. AMY -- (stands, backs away) Oh, well, if bottom line profit is involved, who am I to mention prejudice? LIZ -- (stands) You make me sound like a money grubbing ogre. The homosexuals are very influential. AMY -- (backs away) Fortunately for future generations, so are the boys scouts. LIZ -- Will I see you for lunch? AMY -- Lunch? What is left to talk about at lunch? LIZ -- I need help deciding who I'm going to be prejudiced against. (exits) AMY -- See you at lunch. (exits) ©2013 Bob Snook. Conditions for use: Do not sell any part of this script, even if you rewrite it. Pay no royalties, even if you make money from performances. You may reproduce and distribute this script freely, but all copies must contain this copyright statement. http://www.bobsnook.org email: [email protected] BACK |