Dawn Metcalf's Blog, page 14

Being Brave & Having Fun: NESCBWI14

I think my brain has recovered enough to hit some highlights from NESCBWI14 this past weekend. The theme was "Create Bravely: Make Your Mark" which was appropriate in its many forms and I came not only as a faculty member, but as someone with a new project in mind, a new POV experiment and a commitment to learn something about first chapters as those are my weakest link.

Some of the most inspiring things are the keynotes and it was an astounding lineup this year: the incomparable Jane Yolen, the touching Peter H. Reynolds, and the hilarious honesty of Laurel Snyder--honestly, I could just come for their talks--there was so many great things I took away from them, here were a couple of my favorite quotes:

"Get out of the way of the work."
"Think of the great two-word story starter: 'What If?'"
"Reinvent yourself every ten years; that's how long a fad has legs."
-- Jane Yolen

"I have a journal which I call 'Books Not Yet In Print.'"
"What is your philosophy? What do you believe in?" --> "Stories that matter, stories that move."
"The mistake can be the sparkspiration."
-- Peter H. Reynolds

"While there are rules and labels, these are the lowest common denominator. Being brave means stepping outside the rules."
"What have been the defining moments of Who You Are that are embarrassing to talk about? That's where your bravest works are."
"You are writing for an audience, one kid, not marketing."
-- Laurel Snyder

I learned about how to use Scrivener (thank goodness!) and first person with the always intelligent and insightful Nova Ren Suma, and got must-know feedback on my first chapter of the WIP-of-my-heart, both in session and in critique. It was a good weekend! Top it off with getting to bash swords and mince words with the fabulous A.C. Gaughan (who I've been hoping to rope into doing something together for some time) as we talked about re-envisioning "strength" so that we can we writers can write "strong characters who are female" as opposed to "strong female characters."


One of my closest NESCBWI buddies, Jennifer Carson, still hanging out with me after nearly 10 years & a new face who joined me in tweeting a pic for #WeNeedDiverseBooks, which was taking the Internet by storm this weekend!

I got to meet tons of new people and lots of old friends, talk to folks about #WeNeedDiverseBooks and hang out sparkly stickers as part of the Bravery Posse, and basically get to do all the things I love most: hang out with cool and interesting people, become inspired, take care of folks, be helpful, Pay It Forward, and all the while get to talk about good books while eating good food. Really, what more could I want in a weekend?

Oh, right, I bought and signed books and had books signed for me! A phenomenal time with phenomenal people.


This is where the magic happens. I cannot recommend it enough! See you next year!

Why We Need Diverse Books

If you are clued into the biblioverse, I'm sure you've heard about the recent controversy with BEA's BookCon diversity issue being a lack thereof and Ellen Oh's call to action with the #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaign going on May 1st-3rd (full info here). So I felt that I should weigh in as a writer and reader of diverse books, not to mention someone slightly riled up about the whole thing for many reasons, in many directions at once.

Firstly, I love books. I also happen to love cultural anthropology and science fiction, both things defined by a worldview that embraces things like diversity, differences and what it means to be a human being. In fact, I kind of made a career out of it before I made another career out of it. I feel pretty strongly about issues of diversity and not just where "diversity" = "black or white" but a diverse definition of diversity that includes, but is not limited to, social, cultural, ethnic, caste/class, racial, religious, nationality, age, gender, sexual orientation, challenge or ability and socio-economic status as well as a bunch of other variables. I say this in order to shed light on my perspective before I go on. Nuff said.

Secondly, I love reading and writing diverse books. While *I* know that I include diversity in my books including social, cultural, ethnic, caste/class, racial, religious, nationality, age, politics, gender, sexual orientation, challenge or ability and socio-economic status, I happen to like reading them, too (along with a bunch of aliens, dwarves, dragons and halflings thrown in for good measure). This means that I'm constantly on the lookout for books that twist my brain, make me think, make me question and share a new experience that turns my world upside down and makes me think, "What If...?" I love that.

This means that, thirdly, I love writers who write these kinds of books. I love books written by Neil Gaiman and Neal Stephenson, Jay Asher and Steve Brezenoff. I love books by Holly Black and Laini Taylor, Libba Bray and Nova Ren Suma. I love MG books by Mike Jung, Sherman Alexie, Anne Ursu and Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, I love adult books by Ally Carter, Jeff Somers and Victoria Schwab, I love YA books by Maggie Steifvater, Tessa Gratton and Brenna Yovanoff, Paolo Bacigalupi, A.S. King and Cindy Pon. (And if you don't know some of these names, get thee to a library!) These are authors who may or may not share my nationality, my age, my politics, my gender, my race, my sexual orientation, my religion, my ethnicity or my socio-economic status, but they *are* all authors who write beautiful and lyrical or funny and clever, witty and brain-twisty stories with characters that linger on long after I've turned the last page. And THAT is why I love their books. Period.

Now the funny thing is just by looking at their author pictures, you might be thinking whether this is a diverse list or not, same thing might be true if you saw my group of friends or my extended family. But what you might not know about them is what you might not know about me and what I might not know about you, or the person next to you, or whomever wrote the spiderbot searching this text: don't judge a book by its cover. By that I mean, you cannot sum up the total experiences of a person just by looking at them. You do not know their childhoods, their siblings, their best friends, their children, the people who make up their family, their life-altering moments, their secret passions of the heart, their personal heroes or their demons, the identity of the person who loves them the most or the one who got away. You do not know the length and breadth of a person's life experience based solely on the color of their skin or what they wear or where they pray. Sorry, you can't do that and wave a flag of diversity. We are more than just the picture. We are diverse because we are human beings.

We need diverse books because we live on a diverse planet filled with diverse people and we all deserve to be the heroines and heroes of our story. Period.

The (Real) INVISIBLE Cover Reveal!

It's here! It's here! (No, really, I mean it this time!)

I'm pleased to share with you the cover for INVISIBLE, Book Two of the Twixt in all its golden, granite glory:



Ooooooo! Ahhhhhhh! *shiny sparkly eyes*

If you are thinking, "Whoa! What does that mean?" "Is that relevant to the story, somehow?" or "I wonder whose sigil that is...?" then I know you want to check out the official blurb:

Some things lie beneath the surface.

Invisible.

With the power to change everything.

Joy Malone wants it all—power, freedom and the boyfriend who loves her. Yet when an unstoppable assassin is hired to kill her, Joy learns that being the girl with the Sight comes with a price that might be too high to pay.

Love will be tested, lives will be threatened, and everyone Joy knows and cares about will be affected by her decision to stand by Ink or to leave the Twixt forever.

Her choice is balanced on a scalpel's edge and the consequences will be more life-altering than anyone can guess.

There will be more Ink and Joy, more about Inq, Kurt and the Cabana Boys, more Graus Claude and Filly and a new threat in the Twixt, and this time, Joy can't pretend she doesn't know what's going on...

Of course, there is also her "real life," which includes her best friend, Monica, and her growing relationship with Gordon, Dad's still with Shelley, Mom's still in L.A., Stef's home for the summer and Joy has to hold down a summer job if she wants to keep her phone. It's never easy being of two worlds at once and therein lies the problem...

What can you do when you HAVE to choose?

Want to find out? You can pre-order a copy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or an independent bookstore nearest you! You can even check out the Goodreads Giveaway you get your hands on an early release Advance Reader Copy ! 15 ARCs are available--enter to win!

And stay tuned for more contests, exclusive content, sneak peeks, special prizes and assorted swag wherever you can find me noodling around the web:

Website: www.dawnmetcalf.com
Twitter: @dawnmetcalf
Facebook: www.facebook.com/IndelibleTwixt
Tumblr: dawnmetcalf.tumblr.com

Respect, Yo!

Normally, I don't cross-post my social media (reminds me a bit about Dr. Egon Spengler warning, "Don't cross the streams!") but my recent post to my Facebook page got me thinking... it read:

Wearing my old Harvard sweatshirt, an old lady stopped me in the grocery store aisle and asked if I went there. I said yes, I went there for grad school, not undergrad. She said it was probably because I fit some ethnicity they were looking for. I froze. Politeness forbade me from screaming, "NO, IT'S BECAUSE I WORKED HARD, VOLUNTEERED IN MY FIELD AND PAID FOR IT ALL MYSELF! I *EARNED* IT!!!"

I was thankful for the outpouring of support of people just assuring me that human beings can be nice and while this hadn't been said hatefully, it was said out of ignorance or--at best--insensitivity. I was surprised how the feeling stayed with me, even as I checked out of the grocery store and drove home, lingering in the car, in the kitchen, and finally at the keyboard so I could put it aside and get to writing. But I didn't. It kept sticking in my mind, like molasses or a strong, stubborn smell, affecting everything I touched, infusing my brain.

It was yucky.

And yet, one of the things that sprang to mind wasn't the fact that I look "ethnic" enough to be used to slurs or that I am "white" enough not to recognize my privilege and know that I don't have this shoved down my throat every day as a matter of course, but the fact that we live in a world that has these reactions--and these reactions to these reactions--(check out the FB thread to see what I mean.) but that, in karate, we teach Respect, Self-Discipline and Self-Control.

Yes, I had the self-control not to lose my cool in the moment, but the real value that stood out to me was "respect." I was taught to respect my elders, which is part of the reason I didn't let loose. However, perhaps in my listening there should have been "respect those who deserve respect," and not default to age. (I'm not sure. Hmm.) But what I *do* know is that when my husband and I opened our dojo, we tweaked the standard Golden Rule of "treat people the way you want to be treated" to "treat people the way they want to be treated." This is a slightly subtle, but important difference. Just because you don't mind someone calling you names or swearing in front of your kids, giving you flowers instead of chocolate on your birthday or sending you an e-invite instead of posting a card in the mail doesn't necessarily mean that other people may not be sensitive to swearing or prefer chocolates on their birthdays or feel strongly about the etiquette of a proper envelope with a stamp. And this doesn't make you right or them wrong or vice versa, but it does lead to sayings like, "It's the thought that counts." Paying attention to the tiny things that can mean a little or a lot to someone else by being aware--or outright asking, which can be pretty brave--is a good way to be respectful and not simply see the world as a reflection of yourself, your own wants and needs, a mirror-turned-inwards; because everyone is different and those differences should be respected. And when someone treats you the way you want to be treated, you get a glimpse of how much someone else cares and feel--even just for a moment--how special you really are.

Go out. Be kind. Pay attention. Smile!

And, no, I didn't do this:

Romantic Teen Reads at Books of Wonder

Big news! I will be signing with an all-star Harlequin Teen cast during the Romantic Teen Reads event at the one-and-only Books of Wonder in New York City, Thursday, April 17th, 6-8pm. Who will be there and what will they be scribbling on? Check out this list:

Michelle Madow (The Secret Diamond Sisters)
Kady Cross (Girl With the Iron Touch)
Maria V. Snyder (Touch of Power)
Cara Lynn Shultz (Spellbound)
Amalie Howard (Waterfell)
and me with INDELIBLE!

Come by, meet the crew, laugh with us and buy books! You can RSVP on Facebook and check it out in-person and online at Books of Wonder!

You know you want to.


* Cool banner image by Michelle Madow who is, herself, pretty damn cool. Come see for yourself!

What We Could Have Learned from S.H.I.E.L.D. but Didn't

It's Sexual Assault Awareness & Prevention Month and, as a youth activist, I'm all about these kind of conversations throughout the month (including any day ending in "y"). But while I get to talk about these things as a public speaker and advocate, rarely do I get to talk about it as a fangirl of scifi TV and popular culture.

Pre-release of Marvel's Captain America: Winter Soldier, S.H.I.E.L.D. brought in some of the Asgardian heavies including Lady Sif and Lorelei, long-time enemies on either side of the Thor story arc--one, a loyal soldier of Asgard, the other a power-hungry seductress who can sway men with her sexy, sexy voice. (Cue the eye-rolling and Little Mermaid parallels, but let's go on.) Without giving away too many spoilers, it's no surprise the Lorelei manages to snag some of the agents under her spell, including the utterly forgettable Agent Ward (pardon the side commentary but I keep having to actually look up his name because it's such a yawn-worthy stock character, but I digress). Under her spell, he does whatever she says, including bringing her to Caesar's Palace, as befits her rule, and have sex.

And this is where things could get interesting.



"Interesting" for the writers seemed to be exploring May's reaction and the subsequent fallout, ending their side affair and revealing he actually has the hots for someone else on the team (gee, I wonder who?) but what *I* find interesting is that we could have had a real conversation about rape and sexual assault from a man's point of view.

It was 100% clear that Ward wasn't interested in Lorelei under normal circumstances and ended up having sex against his will/under the influence of Asgardian magic mojo, but it might as well have been ruffies. He didn't say "no" (or have even the ability to say "no" under these conditions), and the fallout for him, personally, and the relationships he has professionally were profoundly affected by it. And yet not one word about how he felt about this. And herein lies my point: in the misogynistic rape culture that we're all raving about lately, there is a dual assumption that is at work here, 1) that any excuse for sex is fine by men & 2) that men don't get raped. I disagree. Strongly. And, by failing to talk about it, we become part of the problem.

According to the Rape Crisis Center, 1 out of 33 men have been the victim of rape or an attempted rape in their lifetime, accounting for about 3-10%, somewhere between 93,000 and 140,000, according to the CDC. (By the way, this accounts for about 10% of reported cases; do the math--the rest are female--and an estimated 60% of rapes go unreported). No one likes to be coerced, no one wants to have their choices taken away or forced into anything--from sexual contact to eating their veggies--and guys have the extra, added bonus of a homophobic, victim-blaming culture that adds another ton of shame-based meaning onto an already degrading and horrific crime heaped on a person. How often do we get the chance to talk about such things in popular culture? A lot of conversation came up about the rape scene in the Divergent movie--and whatever you've got to say about it, it got people talking! And here was the chance to have that kind of important look at something a lot of men don't want to look at and here it was, staring them right in the face...

And they didn't.

I admit, I was disappointed. Although no one seemed to notice or even react much when I pointed it out in my geeky conversations with friends and *that*, more than anything else, made me want to write this post. Maybe I expected more from Whedon, but I was actually surprised that we didn't go down this road--one that he explored in Buffy often enough--from casual sex to rape to failing to give permission first--and the entirety of Dollhouse was basically based on the premise, but this time, it wasn't even sniffed at. What a lost opportunity!

And why? Because it was a guy. And we presume guys are okay with this.

I, however, feminist that I am, still believe in everyone's basic humanity--that guys, just as girls, have every right to have boundaries of trust and comfort, that they know what it's like to feel betrayed, have their feelings hurt, to avoid wanting to be debased or humiliated and not have sex used as a weapon against them. The difference is, even while it's hard to talk about women's issues in a male-based society, it's sometimes even harder for men to talk about these issues for themselves. Was this the cause of the oversight? Shame? Maybe, but I think it's more the fact that this premise doesn't even show up on most people's radar that's the real underlying problem. Most guys would feel something after being drugged, manipulated and abused--even if it was sex with a hot alien chick--unless they're as 2D cardboard as Agent Ward (sorry). But we don't go there. We don't talk about it. And we should.

We should.



In our writing world, please check out Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak for RAINN15 Campaign and if you or anyone you know is a survivor of sexual abuse, please reach out for help and support at the National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1.800.656.HOPE.

First INVISIBLE Sightings & Signings!

It's here!!! It's here!!! It's here!!!

The first copies of INVISIBLE have *just* arrived and I couldn't wait to share them with you! Behold the first box of them in all their shiny glory--isn't the new cover gorgeous?!?


I admit, I was a little worried about the direction they'd take with the title of the next book, "Invisible," but I think they nailed it!

Imagine my surprise when I went to my local bookstore and saw that Invisible was already on the shelves! I had to take a picture next to Book One just to be sure. Don't they look great together? The first two books in my first series, side-by-side. *sniff*


(The funny thing is, I bet if you looked in your local bookstore, you might find it there, too! Take a picture and send it to me if you do!)

So since I was already there, I offered to sign a stack of fresh books for the store and they let me grab a chair and get to work. You'd think it would be hard, but I came prepared--I brought my newest pen with invisible ink! But we did have a little trouble with where to place the "Autographed Copy" stickers...


Okay, so it was a slightly larger stack than I'd anticipated, but I'm game! There were too many to fit on the table, so we switched to the floor. It made quite a scene and boy, are my hands tired!

And this little side project made us all laugh!


Can you see my smiling face through the window? My husband thought it'd be funny to make an "invisible house" around me as I worked. That peaked roof and turrets took more than a few tries and I was laughing so hard, I kept knocking down the gazebo.

And, last but not least, a smiling, happy author taking a picture with her latest book: this is what we strive and sweat and pray for--a beautiful book! (Just goes to show it's not all for nothing.)


And, no, that's not Ink waving behind me, silly. He's fictional.

This TOTALLY made my day! What a great way to start April, 1st!

...

oh.

Skip A Starbucks for Isabella

Today, I want to dedicate this space to writer moms--specifically, to one writer mom in particular: C.J. Redwine. C.J. is doing a special fundraiser called "Skip a Starbucks" fundraiser with one, simple purpose: to adopt her daughter and bring her home. (Click the link for full details, prize list & photos.)

One of the best things about being part of a global writing community is to be able to do Good Works such as raising awareness, taking a stand, helping in some tangible way or volunteering for a worthy cause along with other loving, giving, talented people. Take a moment to check out all the wonderful things that a simple skipped indulgence can do and all the great things that are available as "thank you prizes" as a result! Nothing can say it better than this:


"Isabella will know the story of how a community of people came together
to bring her home to her forever family. - C.J. Redwine"

Please help one wonderful writer and support her every effort to reach across the world and bring a little girl to the family that loves her. Find out more, share the link, pass the word, Pay It Forward & if you are a fellow "would-be writer" mom or dad or human being, you can always check out C.J.'s Writing Workshops or her Query Handbook and help yourself while helping others. Do this. Be part of the magic.

Smile. It feels good!

Feeding the Muse on Black, Bitter Coffee

I've been on a dark/gritty/disturbing/cute & beautiful kick, indulging in things like Orphan Black, Run Freak Run, old archives of Aaron Alexovich's Heart Shaped Skull and Faith Erin Hicks' much-beloved Demonology 101 and surfing short animated films on YouTube. (This is, I'm guessing, what people do with music when they make playlists[?])

I figured on this Friday, I'd share a few of my favorites in case anyone else is out there feeding their Muse on black, bitter coffee and invite everyone to share some tidbit that makes their inspiration tick. Enjoy! (Or at least get a peek into what inspires the local crazy.)

P.S. Check any of the links to get hooked on these faves!

"Kagemono: The Shadow Folk" by Sabrina Cotugno (darling & creepy)


"Windmills" by the Windmill Team (sad & beautiful)


"The Saga of Bjorn" by The Animation Workshop (darkly hilarious)

Wrapping My Head Around the SciFi Noose

I have been debating what to say on a number of deep issues that have been rocking the writing world that I love so well, and today I think I'm ready to give one a shot because yet more controversy has freshly hit the blogosphere with thoughtful posts by The Book Smugglers, John Scalzi's Whatever and Foz Meadows on issues such as Toni Weisskopf, SciFi legitimacy and fandom.

Science Fiction: Writers & Fandoms


ala BONE, Smith, Sniegoski & Sakai

I love science fiction. I have long admired science fiction writers. I watch science fiction movies. I have entire shelves dedicated to my favorite science fiction books. And--oh yeah--I write science fiction stories. Yet I can say that I have felt little love from the science fiction community when I started this wild ride back in the day. Every time I have attended a con or reader event, I have come away with at least one experience that left a burned and blackened bitten tongue in my mouth. Every time I debated whether to join SFWA, something incredibly stupid hit the fan and I felt defeated before I'd even begun. (Full timeline of recently buffoonery thoughtfully provided by SL Huang here.) And yet...and yet...there are several writers in the SFWA community who are struggling with this, too, and others who have reached out and stand tall, fighting the good fight, allies together in this strange war against Otherness which seems so at odds with the whole concept of science fiction that it makes my brain ache. I want to do something. I want to be part of the change. And yet...and yet...stuff like this happens. So while I'm all for joining the Insect Army, the argument that change can only come from within is 100% wrong. Change can come from the outside, too--but it has to come from action.**

And that brings us to Jonathan Ross and Loncon.



To be fair, I didn't know "Wossy's" schtick, but I was familiar with his name and controversial antics, which is--to be fair--nothing new in the world of celebrity gossip. When I heard that he had been chosen to host the Hugos, I Googled the name just to be sure I was thinking of the same guy. Yep. My Twitter feed filled with outcry and concern and, most importantly, included a post about the conference organizer who stepped down in protest (after she completed her remaining obligations, both things I find to be markers of good character). And while there was a lot of good discussion, (and a lot of bad discussion), I was raised believing that inside every complaint there is a request and a request should be made to someone who can *do* something about it. Venting to let off steam and take comfort in your friends has its place, but I find what is most effective is taking pen to paper or, in this case, fingers to keys. So I wrote one tweet for the cause:

@dawnmetcalf Re: Jonathan Ross hosting the Hugos?!? Read & respond: fjm.livejournal.com/1290060.html #insectarmy

I was passing along the link that Farah Mendlesohn, former Loncon Division head, had provided as an email on her post so that concerned citizens could contact the correct party, should they wish to do so. (I figured many of my followers and friends might wish to do so.) I walked the talk and wrote a letter outlining this simple point: I was not interested in debating whether or not Wossy was a "legitimate" SciFi fan nor whether he was good for publicity or even if this was a purposeful move on the parts of the conference organizers, given all the preparation that had been done prior to the announcement to brace for impact. I couldn't claim to know whether Wossy would pull out his particular brand of "humor" to shame, ridicule or belittle those in attendance because, despite being science fiction fans, we cannot see into the future. HOWEVER, what I *could* say is that given the current climate of our changing community, one that is struggling to be inclusive and reach out to those feeling marginalized, ignored or abused on both sides of the Pond, I thought that someone like Mr. Ross was an incredibly poor choice given where we are as a community at this time. In fact, since the guy volunteered to do this, it wasn't too hard to retract or explain and since he hadn't expected the storm that came on despite the fact that those who extended the invitation must have suspected such a thing would happen, I considered that a poor way to conduct business and a poor way to treat anyone. Period. (Note I am not saying that the SciFi community, Hugo award nominees or interested fans didn't have EVERY RIGHT to voice their dismay--I sure did!--but it was a terrible thing for Loncon to do in the first place to Ms. Mendlesohn, Mr. Ross, and everyone involved.) This whole thing illustrates one of the very things that is currently purple and bruised; it points the finger squarely at the obvious fact that the "higher ups" seem to be completely out of touch with what is happening all around them and insults their participants with their--at best, ignorance, or, at worst, derision. We're not "anonymous insects" or "fuggheads," (and isn't it dismissively infantile to resort to name-calling?), but people trying to stand for change while others want us to sit down, talk nicely and shut up. I think Seanan McGuire put it best when she said, "The dinosaurs are dying off. I am proud to be part of the comet." (If I wasn't a huge fan of hers before, I sure as heck am now!)


(P.S. Because Ursula Vernon is friggin awesome!)

Which brings me back to fandom.

Who gets to be a "real fan" reminds me of the whole stupidity around who gets to be a "real geek girl." And despite the fact that I really love all that the gals say in this video, I still want to stand up and scream I DO NOT HAVE TO PROVE MYSELF TO YOU OR ANYONE! Do I think a "real fan" has to have read the SciFi "classics" as defined by anyone, even the white male majority? No. Do I think there is value in reading classic SciFi? Hell, yes! But that's the job of academics, not fandoms. A real fan's only job is to love their geekery of choice with all their happy little heart and when another real fan meets them and learns that they're excited about the very same stuff can say, "Hey, have you read [X]? Oh, you haven't?! Well, I think you'll LOVE it!" End sentence. Word of Mouth is still our biggest seller, both as writers and readers. As an English Major I get the value in reading the classics, following the roots of where our modern storytelling comes from, learning the geneaology of your favorite genres and discovering where the movements began can be a great source of fun for those who are interested, but as a fan? A fan's a fan because they love something that inspires and moves them. Nothing more required. You got a smile on your face? You're in this club.

And that's what I want from my SciFi community because a smile is universal--it has no race or color or sexual orientation or gender or religion or socio-economic strata--and it doesn't even need to have a reason to be. You like science fiction? I *love* science fiction! Let's talk until the wee hours and write like fiends.

How hard is that, really?


Nothing to Prove by Geek Girls & the Doubleclicks

** By the way, I'm not trying to blow smoke, here. I had a classmate who was the first Eagle Scout to come out to the Boy Scouts and publicly take them to court back in the 80's. We stood by him and attended lectures, petitioned, protested and I swore that no son of mine would ever be in the Boy Scouts as long as they had such a policy. As a private organization they could certainly be as bigoted as they pleased, but they should not get any government support nor would they get any support from me. I kept petitioning. I kept writing letters. It's been 30 years and change is happening from keeping the pressure on. I am not a boy nor a Boy Scout, a Scout leader, a Scout mom or have anything to do with the Boy Scouts, but I *did* care enough to take a stand for change.