David CO

It depends on the speaker. Public speaking is tough. It's a lot like running for office. Some people will cheer. Some will boo. A public speaker has to be prepared for every kind of response. I once saw a speaker from AA get ripped to shreds. He was totally unprepared for the audience reaction. He thought it would be like a large AA meeting, with everyone being caring and supportive. He was wrong. Some people can pull it off, but it takes pretty thick skin.

I think it is already off the rails. It might have been better if you just deleted it.

No. The kids don't set the terms of discussion, the adults do. No profanity. No slang. No insults. I'm one of those old-fashioned teachers who still likes to have open and honest discussions with the students. No cancel culture.

Yes I do. I am very optimistic on the future of scouting. Not so much on the future of BSA.

Yep. I'm a Health teacher. Have been for 40 years now. Sometimes I teach Science. Along with a very good speaker from the local women's shelter, I teach the "Erin's Law" class on sexual abuse prevention. We have some lively discussions, and the kids are remarkably frank. One thing I am sure of. There is no universally agreed upon view on any of these issues, especially from the kids. Their opinions are all over the place.

You are free to believe that. I have my own religion. It really doesn't matter, since we have common ground here. I believe all sex outside of traditional marriage is sinful, so I am totally opposed to child sexual abuse. We don't need to quibble about modern psychology terms like "grooming".

For the most part, no. I think "grooming" is one of those meaningless psychology terms. Psycho-babble.

I'm a teacher. I work with young people. Are you saying it is critical for any adult to know, or it is critical for any adult to believe? Two different things.

Huh?

No. I don't understand that at all.

So many scouts are pushed into it by their parents.

That surprises me. I was guessing that your parents were pushing you into scouting. I assumed you were trapped and couldn't get out. If your parents grumbled about fees, you had the perfect excuse to get out.

Exactly.

It's still that way. The cool kids don't join scouting. They have better things to do. Out of 170 students, I may have one or two scouts. Not very many.

The average kid thinks so. Scouting has never been a very popular program, and it has steadily declined over the past 40 years. Yes, scouting has some very enthusiastic participants, but they are few in number. The average youth has little interest in scouting.

Yes we are. I firmly believe that without the lawsuits, or at least the threat of lawsuits, the executives would not have taken any action to end the child sexual abuse in BSA. They only care about money. All current scouts benefit from these lawsuits. The lawsuits make them safer. Future generations of scouts will be safer because of these lawsuits.

I disagree. Local scouting can continue on its own without all of that national and council infrastructure. We don't need them. 17 council employees is 17 too many.

Being in the pool sound a lot more fun than it really is.

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus fire in 1944 killed and injure many people. The circus was liable. The costs were huge. Yet the circus didn't go bankrupt or shirk their debts. It took 10 years to pay it off, but they did pay it off. BSA should pay every single cent it owes. Until it pays off the entire debt, staff should be minimal and salaries capped. No frills.

Yes. The current offer is unreasonable.

I'm sure the councils would absolutely love to have top down leadership with subordinate units. It ain't gunna happen. Everyone would quit.

and 50% of leaders are gone.

Not.

That may be one of the reasons I never saw any sexual activity taking place in my unit. After taking a couple of well-targeted throws in dodge ball, none of us were even remotely interested in doing anything sexual. Perhaps the boys in your unit should have invited your scoutmaster to join you for a game. It may not have solved the problem, but it sure would have given you boys a heap of satisfaction.

Now that the moment of silence is over... long live AVOID-A-SPHERE.