This week, Girls Scouts of the USA received backlash for their “political” social media post. After Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed to the Supreme Court, Girl Scouts posted an image to their Twitter and Instagram accounts to celebrate her as the fifth woman appointed to the court. However, many were not happy due to Barrett’s anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ stances.
After criticism, the posts were deleted. The posts featured an image of Barrett, Sandra Day O’Connor, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The caption read, “Congratulations Amy Coney Barrett on becoming the 5th woman appointed to the Supreme Court since its inception in 1789.”
As reported by Refinery29, followers called out the organization for celebrating Barrett, a conservative, who critics view as a threat to women’s and LGBTQ+ rights.
Girl Scouts Responds to Amy Barrett Backlash
The organization tweeted a statement on the controversy after the posts were removed. They wrote, “Girl Scouts of the USA is a nonpolitical, nonpartisan organization. We are neither red nor blue, but Girl Scout GREEN. We are here to lift up girls and women.”
In a statement to Refinery29, a Girl Scouts USA spokesperson explained that congratulating female justices was “tradition” and was intended to celebrate women.
“This has been construed to be a political statement, but that was not our intention and we removed the post to minimize the negative conversation,” they stated. “For over 100 years we have and will continue to work for equality and to break down barriers for girls everywhere and support increasing the presence of women across all levels of government.”
Users Upset on All Sides
After the organization removed the posts, they faced continued backlash for both the original posts and the decision to take them down due to criticism.
Barrett’s supporters spoke out against Girl Scout’s decision to remove the posts. Many uploaded screenshots of the deleted posts and stated that they never should have been deleted.
The Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative non-profit organization, tweeted, “Of course the @girlscouts caved to the mob and deleted this tweet congratulating Amy Coney Barrett. SAD.”
On the other hand, MSNBC analyst Brittany Packnett Cunningham (and many others) slammed Girl Scouts for dismissing politics, saying they should be teaching young people to be fluent in politics.
She tweeted, “Because if your young women WERE fluent in politics and the ways in which political decisions have been leveraged to diminish our autonomy over generations, not only would they not celebrate Amy Coney Barrett, they wouldn’t *become* Amy Coney Barrett.”
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USA Today
Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Twitter
Independent Women’s Forum, Twitter