The GSA’s view is also not, as jlw puts it, a belief “in single gender scouting,” so much as a belief/experience that girls specifically benefit from girl-only spaces, as mixed-gender groups, especially ones that have been historically male dominated, and ones that have historically been conservative (both true of the Boy Scouts), are more likely to marginalize female members. It’s why girl-only coding clubs and orgs and such are a thing, but boy-only ones are not a thing and needn’t be a thing.
7 Likes
That’s been more or less my take as well.
The BSA is an extreme-right organisation [1] that is maneuvering in an attempt to expand its reach.
Have y’all forgotten that they invited Trump to their jamboree just last year?
.
[1] Yes, I know that not all individual Scout troops are like that. The overall organisation is.
2 Likes
Pretty spiffy idea. .Let’s run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes it
1 Like
Every US president since 1910 has been invited to their jamboree, because officially every US president is also honorary president of the Boy Scouts.
I suspect they didn’t have someone like Trump in mind when they founded the organization.
3 Likes
So odd. Norwegian Boy Scouts and Girl Guides merged into one organization in 1978. Back when I was a young scout I always loved our combined badge.
7 Likes
Lacks bowel disruptor.
Though may have made Nixon involuntary void bowels all the same at least once.
I was a girl scout and loved everything about it but in my early teens it just kind of petered out. My mother tried to keep the troop going but there just wasn’t enough interest. Since I had four boys, it seemed like boy scouts was how I was going to have to go, but our local troop was so over-the-top religious, I just couldn’t allow it. We just used the books for family activities. None of their children are in scouting.
1 Like
It wasn’t just the fact that they invited him, it was the manner in which they handled it. Remember the speech? And how it took days of pressure before the BSA would issue even the slightest apology?
The BSA leadership is very obviously aligned with the Trumpists.
1 Like
It certainly could have been handled better, but this was the first time in the organization’s 100-year-plus history that they were put in a position where they HAD to apologize for the actions of a sitting President.
See this guy? I guarantee he ain’t telling those kids about the chicks he banged or bragging about the size of his electoral college victory.
1 Like
My scout troop had participation and a GREAT ScoutMaster. we camped one weekend every month, we hiked, we went to a week of scout camp, we had a week long 50-miler (alternating hike/canoe yearly)
there is NO WAY this could have happened if our scoutmaster’s company did not support him, allow him time off to lead.
It has to be a community effort.
Do I remember scouts? every day. It turned me from a listless kid into who I am today. Sometimes gladly and with fun - - sometimes through just hard work.
as previously mentioned here - the orgs probably should merge to survive. My troop recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. Total current count? 12 scouts.
Scouting competes with school, sports, video games, and many other things less beneficial. Given the chance and opportunity? it can make a difference in so many lives.
As to Eagle - yes, I earned mine. At the Court of Honor, my Troop had the tradition of presenting the Eagle Badge to the scout’s mother - because everyone knew - camping is fun! but mom’s pushing and effort is what drove everyone to get all the badges… 
Best of luck to the organization - I hope they are able to grow, adapt, and help more kids develop into leaders.
4 Likes
My son the Eagle Scout could do most of those, probably weakest on the architecture, strongest on making rods and bows. He made numerous crossbows in my shop.
That’s awful! My son’s troop has a large contingent of underprivileged kids, and they keep a stock of shirts for them to wear, no “scout pants” or other such required. Dues are minimal, and there’s always a way to get a kid on a trip if he can’t afford the fees.
2 Likes
Michael Bloomberg, prior to becoming Mayor of New York was a functionary in the National Eagle Scout Association. I saw him speak at their annual dinner in 1998. His opposition to the rule was met with huge applause by a room full of former Eagle Scouts.
It was a garbage and destructive policy which hurt the BSA. Good riddance. Glad to see the BSA pivoting away from becoming a sectarian discriminatory organization back to something worthy of respect.
3 Likes
It’s funny how we have this function in our politics where we vilify someone for their position, then when they change it, we continue to vilify them for the fact that they held that position once. Where’s the positive feedback for change? BSA is obviously in the midst of dramatic change, don’t you want to encourage them?
2 Likes
I don’t suppose I’ve ever tried growing an acre of corn. Is it a lot easier than it sounds…?
3 Likes
I know I say it every time they are mentioned, but the BSA seem to have more in common with the Boys’ Brigade than the Scouts.
The whole point of the Scouting movement was to not be the Boys’ Brigade, otherwise B-P would have stayed as vice-president of the BB.
2 Likes
My dad, before he was a scoutmaster, let my brothers and I use all his tools and spare wood to make swords. Then we’d go in the backyard and whack the crap out of each other with them.
Yep, we went to the ER for stitches sometimes. The cost of keeping the kids out of your hair.
1 Like
I couldn’t resist:
That’s a lie. I could resist; I chose not to.
1 Like
Sounds like my old scoutmaster, although we didn’t do quite that much (canoeing was more of a 16-miler, whatever we could do in a weekend). But that was his own vacation he took off for summer camp. He was like an older Hank Hill (if Hank smoked).
My daughter’s in Camp Fire, which is co-ed and has been for more than 40 years, but anyone my age or older still tends to think of it as “Camp Fire Girls.”
2 Likes
I got the Cthulhu Fhtagn religious award.
It was tough to find a counselor in my troop to provide it. Most adults certified in it go insane.
3 Likes
