Just moving these over from the Cookie Monster: Threat or Menace topic to it’s own. Apparently people have a lot to say about scouting!
1 Like
You joke, but the Girl Scouts are the good ones
“Girl Scouts is proud to be the premiere leadership organization for girls in the country. Placement of transgender youth is handled on a case-by-case basis, with the welfare and best interests of the child and the members of the troop/group in question a top priority. That said, if the child is recognized by the family and school/community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, then Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe.”
The Boy Scouts say something similar, but I have heard far more about individual troops denying membership to trans boys and harassment to those who do join. Also, based on my own experience with abuse in the Boy Scouts I would never recommend putting a trans boy in it
26 Likes
Depends on the Troop leadership and their willingness to just wholesale ignore the National scouting org’s bigotry. There are good troops, but far less than shitty ones.
11 Likes
The Girl Scouts are awesome! The Boy Scouts… well, I left the Boy Scouts after one year (after being a Cub Scout and a Webelos). My Troop experience was of toxic masculinity and Christian Nationalism. That may have been that particular Troop and Troop Leader, but If the national association was willing to turn a blind eye to it, if not condone it, well, the hell with them.
18 Likes
Yeah, definitely not a fan of the Toxic Masculinity Scouts. I too was a Cub Scout - loads of fun, troop leader was a woman. Webelos, less fun because my interests were already diverging in more mutant directions, but my dad had volunteered to be Troop leader, which was really sweet and I wanted to show my appreciation for it and him. Boy Scouts? A complete nightmare of hazing, abuse, and the reason that I can confirm all stories about finding boxes of porn in the woods.
21 Likes
My understanding is that this is the norm since the Mormon Church took over the national org. It’s basically Hitler Youth for Mormons now. They separated in 2019, but I think the damage was done.
10 Likes
That was the kind of vibe I was getting. I didn’t experience any hazing like @anon52120741, but did experience bullying for not liking the same things as the other scouts. The Scoutmaster wasn’t Mormon, but an evangelical. He spouted all sorts of Midwest evangelical nonsense: women belong in the home, gays were an abomination, Jews were evil, etc. He would also tell me I was going to hell because I wasn’t a true Christian because I went to the wrong church. Oh, and because I liked D&D, Tolkien, Harry Potter, and the Shanara and Thomas Covenant series.
Leaving wasn’t that big a deal. I was already doing a lot of camping with my family, and my mom knew a hell of a lot more about scouting than he did. She grew up pretty much outdoors with her family, and helped me learn everything I needed to know for my various merit badges.
8 Likes
This year’s exclusively online cookie, the raspberry rally, is out of control.
It’s a thin mint, but raspberry flavor. 
5 Likes
I’m disappointed that it’s a direct ship only cookie. Talking to some people more in the know in the scouts, it sounds like cookie sales are projected to be lower this year. The novelty of a new cookie would be helpful for booths, especially since it’s basically a variation of the ever-popular Thin Mint. And it’s been officially stated that we cannot order the Raspberry Rallies on our own and resell them at our booths. So, boo to that.
11 Likes
I hear you.
This is our first year back at scouts in over a decade; there was quite an age gap in our little brownies. Have they done anything like this in the years we were away? If not, maybe it’s being tried as an experiment.
I can’t imagine that every troop will stick to that rule, tbh.
6 Likes
This isn’t the first time the more than century-old organization has evolved to eliminate barriers for girls from marginalized groups and diverse backgrounds. In 2015, the Girl Guides of Canada formally welcomed transgender girls and in 2019 introduced a new uniform with members’ input.
11 Likes
I haven’t been a Girl Scout parent or troop leader for very long. As far as I know, though, this is the first digital exclusive cookie they’ve had. Given overall delays in cookie production and everything, my guess is that this is either a way to proactively deal with supply chain issues or a way to avoid overproducing a new cookie that may not be popular.
5 Likes
I recently got an insider tip that the Raspberry Rallies aren’t that good anyway and we’re better off sticking with the classics.
5 Likes
In Ten Mile River summer camping at Camp Rondack (Narrowsburg, NY) our troop’s patrols were each set up in their own discrete locations, but all within one large allotted area. Our six-scout Eagle patrol was set up 50’ away from my older brother’s Wolf patrol. One morning, the Wolf patrol arose to find their large garbage bin toppled over and its contents spilled; apparently, the bin lid had not been secured properly and a bear had visited it during the night. Sacrilege which required punishment, and to be meted out by our resident scumbag assistant scoutmaster who that summer proved to be something of a knife freak (that’s another story) and a pervert. The punishment: The Wolf patrol was ordered to take off all their clothes and stay out of their tents for the entire day. From our Eagle patrol area we could see the Wolf scouts all naked and trying to cover themselves as best they could while our scumbag assistant scoutmaster strutted amongst them, making sure none of them could retreat to their tents. All this took place while our scoutmaster (a decent fellow) was meeting with the other troops’ scoutmasters. That was the last time we had anything to do with the Boy Scouts.
7 Likes
Are they, though?
11 Likes
They don’t taste like raspberries, which is a boon in my book.
2 Likes
Point taken…
8 Likes
They’re also out of the GF Toffee-tastics & one other (S’mores? IIRC, real s’mores are a GS invention); the bakery is having supply issues.
Also, Camp Fire is co-ed; we were involved & had fun with it, but it kind of wound down during Covid (8th grader is in GS now).
2 Likes
I remember Explorers Club as co-ed, too. In my high school years, that was an option for extra-curricular science pursuits.
4 Likes
I will forever be grateful for what our Girl Scout troop offered. We have a couple of trans kids in our troop. There was never any question that each child would be welcomed and supported. As part of their scouting activities they got to meet our state House member. When one of the girls was testifying against some of the absolutely vile anti-trans bills at the statehouse, the rep was there for her. The troop took in trans kids who didn’t feel safe in the boy scouts and when I was looking for adults to speak at an organizing conference about how to support trans kids, the mothers of the troop were happy to step in. So, yeah I did Boy Scouts and avoided any nightmare stories, but the Girl Scouts have my heart.
14 Likes
