More, pro-religion. And, officially, not just Christianity. Still, as someone else mentioned, this might be the final straw for the Mormon scouts to splinter off.
However, many of us just skip those requirements…
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It’s not because of your gender, it’s because you are 42.
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It appears, from the BSA press release, that individual Cub Scout dens (6-8) kids, will be single-sex, but there is nothing that says two dens can’t combine for meetings.
Still not great as it sounds. It’s like cubby apartheid. Most places can barely Support a cub scout/ boy scout troop so I doubt this separate but equal (sarcasm implied) approach will work.
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I like “Human Scouts”. It has a funky Twilight Zone vibe to it.
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Agreed. If you’re going to be progressive, you have to do it whole hog. Currently, it just seems like “Yes you can adopt our practices, but keep your distance, over there.”
I would be in favor of boys and girls comingling in most aspects of scouting, except maybe bunking down together. I think it would help so much with removing the mystique that forms around the sexes from lower grades on because of gender segregation in schools. Kids should grow to see each other as they are, and not as the Other.
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…or they can already just join BPSA (https://www.bpsa-us.org/) - I’ve been an adult member for more than a year along with my daughter. It’s outdoors-focused, and is all-ages, genders, orientations, abilities!
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I think it is apples and oranges. For many, the difference is one sells popcorn and the other sells cookies. For my family, we didn’t like how the local Girl Scout org was run and didn’t like the program. The Girl Scouts program IS about empowerment and, to some degree, being the best Girl you can be. Cub/Boy Scouts were never about being a Boy. It was about Doing Stuff. And about Doing Good Things for Your Community and even Being Good Even When You Want to Be a Little Shit. A lot of it is hokey and feels like a 1950s civic lesson, but you get out of it what you put in, as they say.
Churches, which account for at least half of the sponsorship of Boy Scout troops, mostly despise the Girl Scouts for various reasons.
Maybe that’s a regional thing, but all of the Girl Scout troops near me are Church Sponsored.
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I considered starting a BPSA troop in my town before finding a Pack that seemed in tune with my values. Good on you though.
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Any word from the Night Vale chapter on their gender/species/whatever inclusion?
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Oh, age discrimination then.
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That is a very good description of the both Scouts groups.
In my neck of the woods, the Girl Scout troop was veteran sponsored. The local Catholic and Evangelical churches were pretty hostile to the Girl Scouts. Two Boy Scout Troops, one Catholic sponsored and the other veteran sponsored.
What I found with the church sponsored Boy Scout troop was the propensity to engage in cliquish sectarian activities which were off-putting if you were not a member of that church (mass for the troop, service projects concerning church property…). The veterans sponsored one was a heck of a lot more diverse and welcoming.
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We have found our sponsor to be very hands off. We do attend a service in uniform once a year just to thank folks in the church for letting us use their great facilities (big old hall from the 1800s). And we usually plant flowers on the property, too. Other than that, nary a bible in sight.
They also sponsor a very progressive theater program, so it might just be a very tolerant congregation.
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I’m sure half my scout leaders voted for the current administration, and they had us doing close order drill.
Gotta get the infants ready for the infantry!
Me too! I’d offer the secret handshake, but I forgot what it was.
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I remembered being decidedly weirded out by the military bearing and rituals (Taps, etc.) that you see.
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Estrogen. It kills brain cells, doncha know?
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My troop was pretty chill about all of that stuff. We were all weirded out by the troop a couple towns over that was really into it all (to the point where their troop uniform was camo pants and neckerchiefs). We called them the “militia troop”.
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From what I can tell, our local troop is generally chill as well. As with most things, it is what the leadership brings to it.
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How about something that really ties into the American pioneering spirit? Like the “Young Pioneers”? Can’t think of anything more 100% American than that! They can even wear red kerchiefs! Red is one of the colors of our flag, after all!
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