Organization will become Scouting America after decades of turmoil and flagging membership numbers

Organization will become Scouting America after decades of turmoil and flagging membership numbers

Archived version: https://archive.ph/duDar

  • PP_BOY_English
    31•25 days ago

    I think any organization that gets kids outdoors, teaches them social skills, builds self-esteem, and promotes community involvement is one worth praising. Too bad that the BSoA instead focused on hating the gays and raping boys. Maybe, just maybe, a name change is just a sign of some larger restructuring of the organization.

    • ArtieShaw
      12•25 days ago

      I think any organization that gets kids outdoors, teaches them social skills, builds self-esteem, and promotes community involvement is one worth praising.

      I was in Girl Scouts for years. And although as an adult I can criticize plenty of GS policies, the things you list were always the priority of the scouting experience.

      My much younger brother was in Boy Scouts and comparatively, they were weird. It had this whole religious and quasi-military aspect that was off-putting. There were uniform inspections and drills at the monthly family events. And there were mandatory church/temple activities that were required to advance to the next stage. Although technically you could attend a church or event of your choosing - in practice we were the only Protestant family in our community so they just chucked him in with the Catholics. That was mixture of confusing and educational.

      My experience gave me community service, camaraderie, and a deep dive on cookie selling strategies. I can still tie a mean bowline. My brother got some weird indoctrination and one fun memory of winning the pinewood derby. They didn’t even do that much camping.

      • @MrFappy
        5•25 days ago

        That’s definitely down to the individual troop. The troop I was in required nothing like that. The most religious part to it for my troop was the fact that we met in the basement of a church (it was their daycare area, so not all “basement-y”

        • ArtieShaw
          1•25 days ago

          Huh. I wonder if you’re younger than my brother (he was born 1979). He definitely had to do some weird things to get out of Webelos.

      • @mkwt
        2•21 days ago

        Boy scouts always traditionally had a strong component that was preparing boys to enter basic military training. The camping in the woods part was never just for fun-it’s getting a start on land navigation, and basic patrolling skills.

        Of course, every troop emphasizes different things, but “off-putting quasi-military aspects” are not at all off-brand for the boy scouts.