Letter to the Editor: Ignorance Is No Reason to Ban a Youth Camp

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This is in response to Kathleen Bieker’s letter to the editor of March 17 regarding a YMCA camp in Mineral. Ms. Bieker objected to the camp because the YMCA is “too woke.” She mentioned a secondhand conversation citing the possibility of a trans person walking into a group shower situation. My question/suggestion: Why group showers? Make all showers and bathrooms private.

Doesn’t that make the most sense? I don’t know about Ms. Bieker, but I never enjoyed showering in front of strangers — ever. Not as a child and not as an adult. There is no reason that showers can’t have private stalls. The same with bathrooms. There is no reason folks need to urinate in public — male or female. Make all bathrooms and showers private, individual — like they are in our homes. Put locks on the doors. Then no one needs to look at another’s body and have any opinion about things that are none of their business.

To say “no” to a youth camp because a trans person “might” be accepted is both silly and ignorant. There are plenty of sick people in this world, and those who hurt children are drawn to places where access is available — churches, schools and youth organizations.

But they don’t look different from us, and often strive to be accepted and blend in so they can build trust and gain access. The answer is not to ban all youth organizations or churches; but to better vet and supervise all persons who have access to children.



To conduct background checks and to hire enough staff to ensure no one of any gender is ever left alone with a child. It means training supervisors in what to look for and to ensure they are not using broad generalizations like “all trans people are pedophiles” or “woke people allow pedophiles to hurt children” as criteria. Ignorance is no reason to ban a youth camp.

 

Cheryl D. Campbell

Chehalis