GRRRl Scouts
Other Girl Scout leaders annoy me a lot, often, in so many ways, but I don't know if I've ever been so irritated as I am by Girl Scout leaders who think they have every (theoretical, thank god) right to say they won't accept a girl with HIV into their troops, because they "don't feel qualified" since they don't have "medical training" like I do. The conversation has gone something like this:
Me: refusing to accept a girl with HIV, a medical condition that would have absolutely no effect on the troop, is not so different from refusing to accept one of a different race or religion. A troop leader who refused to take such a girl would only be acting out of misinformation or prejudice.
Other leader: you can't compare HIV to religion. In case you haven't heard about HIV, it's a very serious condition [those words were actually used!]. We know to use gloves, but the girls might not.
Me: I'm a nurse, I know all about HIV. The medical community has agreed for a long time that there's no reason to keep kids with HIV out of schools, and there's no reason troops shouldn't accept them, either.
Different leader: Schools have nurses! Girl Scouts is more dangerous than school! It's nice that you know how to handle HIV, but we don't!
Me: There's nothing I would do for a kid with HIV that a leader without medical training wouldn't do. They don't require any kind of special handling or treatment.
Other leader: but you're a nurse! How many troops have nurses? We shouldn't have to accept these kids if we don't feel comfortable with our ability to handle the situation.
Ad. nauseum.
Me: refusing to accept a girl with HIV, a medical condition that would have absolutely no effect on the troop, is not so different from refusing to accept one of a different race or religion. A troop leader who refused to take such a girl would only be acting out of misinformation or prejudice.
Other leader: you can't compare HIV to religion. In case you haven't heard about HIV, it's a very serious condition [those words were actually used!]. We know to use gloves, but the girls might not.
Me: I'm a nurse, I know all about HIV. The medical community has agreed for a long time that there's no reason to keep kids with HIV out of schools, and there's no reason troops shouldn't accept them, either.
Different leader: Schools have nurses! Girl Scouts is more dangerous than school! It's nice that you know how to handle HIV, but we don't!
Me: There's nothing I would do for a kid with HIV that a leader without medical training wouldn't do. They don't require any kind of special handling or treatment.
Other leader: but you're a nurse! How many troops have nurses? We shouldn't have to accept these kids if we don't feel comfortable with our ability to handle the situation.
Ad. nauseum.