David CO

I do wish I could have a civil conversation with liberals without having them question my religious faith. My views are right in line with my religion. I have no need to convert to any other religion.

I'd actually like that one. I would put it right next to my Curmudgeon Award.

No. Our unit leaders have all reached a degree of maturity, and have achieved many adult accomplishments in their lives, so they aren't motivated by beads, pins, patches, and other childish stuff.

OK. Now I get it. Throw him in the strait. At first, I thought it was a misspelling.

Some kids don't like to swim in anything but a filtered, chlorinated, tiled, heated swimming pool. They don't like the feel of nature. They can't stand having the weeds touching their feet. I tend to think that this is what scouting is all about. Getting outdoors. Learning to not be so squeamish about the natural world. Yes. I know. The rules allow the scout to be tested in a swimming pool, and I am not suggesting that we impose our own requirements on the scout. I just have the feeling that this scout, and many others just like him, are really missing out on the scouting experience.

True. One never makes their best impression in a cold shower.

I don't think we need harsher sentencing. 18 year sounds just about right for armed robbery. The problem isn't with the sentencing. The problem is with what happens after the sentencing. This story is a good example. Sympathy with the victim would require the convicted felon (his lawyers, his advocates, and everyone else who is trying to spring him from jail) to have no contact whatsoever with the victim. No contact at all. It is bad enough that the victims have to relive the experience for several years while the trial is going on. They shouldn't have to go through it again 10 years later when the criminal is seeking a reduction in sentence. Programs like this not only allow the perpetrator to contact the victims, they encourage and incentivize it. Programs like the one in this story should be illegal.

One might think that being tagged with that ridiculous title would be punishment in itself.

I gave you an up-vote for using an Earth Science term. Unfortunately, justice for victims is being pushed under like an oceanic plate in a subduction zone.

The real story is crime rates are high. We should have more sympathy for the victims of crime, and less for the perpetrators.

What does your story have to do with racial injustice? You should have started a new thread.

Not during a bankruptcy. Trying to promote scouts to people who are not already connected in some way is a pretty tough sell. How do you promote a bankrupt organization to someone? I have no idea.

Nope.

That's my point. You looked for the kids. It appears to me like most of the girl units are being formed because, for one reason or another, adults want to have girl units. They then go looking for the kids.

Which should come first, the chicken or the egg? When I started my troop 40 years ago, we already had the kids. The unit was chartered for the kids. We didn't decide that we wanted to form a troop, and then went looking for kids to fill it.

I really dislike it when people refer to government expenditures as investments. Taxation is a harsh business. Best not to soften the language.

Cool name, Phantom Scouts. Black capes. Theme from Phantom of the Opera. Rod Serling narrating BSA commercials on Creature Features and Dark Shadows. If BSA had done that, and created a Phantom Scout division in 1968, they might have actually achieved their goals.

So Boypower is just another one of those $250/plate fundraisers for the council. No thanks. Not interested.

I was responding to MattR, who didn't say that his views on humility were based on his religion. They might have been. I don't know. I am not going to make any assumptions. My views are significantly influenced by the Muscular Christianity movement of the mid-nineteenth century, which was popularized by the Y.M.C.A. It did run somewhat contrary to my Catholic school education, which tended to emphasize the contemplative rather than the physical nature of man. I think there's room for both. I prefer to be contemplative at mass. I am annoyed by all the distractions that are added to Sunday services in order to make them more interesting and relevant to today's church-goers. I can't stand to see people dressed like slobs at church. On scout trips, I dress like a hobo and shout like a banshee. Great fun. Humility is fine at church, but sometimes a boy needs to be allowed to proudly puff his chest out and act like a boy.

I couldn't disagree with you more. Boys get enough of this stuff at school. Boys are told to be docile. Girls are encouraged to be assertive and empowered. It's enough to make a person sick. Scouting should be an opportunity for boys to break away from these feminizing influences. Go on an adventure. Have a blast. Lean your head back and howl at the moon.

No kidding. It's was tough enough asking the parents to pony up the money when we knew that the meetings and activities would take place. Asking them to pay a non-refundable annual fee for something that might not happen is ridiculous. Our Little League refunded the registration fees when the shutdown forced the cancellation of the baseball season. Our football program is guaranteeing full refunds if the upcoming fall football season is cancelled. The scouting programs gives no refunds on registration fees. Parents are going to consider this when choosing between scouting and other activities.

Since you are new to the forum, I should tell you that I am not in favor of admitting girls to Boy Scouts. I do have a few suggestions though. Don't copy the Girl Scout activities. No smores. No journeys. Don't focus on all the self-esteem and girl empowerment stuff. That's Girl Scouts. If they want Girl Scouts, they would join Girl Scouts. Boy Scouting seems old fashioned because it is old fashioned. Don't knock it. Embrace it. Girl Scouts changes its program every 10 minutes. Try to avoid that. Try not to think of scouting as being in competition with other activities like sports and music. Scouting encourages kids to be active in other worthwhile activities. We are not a cult. We don't try to isolate our scouts from their communities. We have Chartered Organizations. The CO can be very helpful to your unit. Work on building a good relationship with your CO.

Getting back to the topic, I don't think the title of Scoutmaster is doomed. Even if BSA does decide to change the title in their paperwork and publications, many units will continue to use it. A lot of people don't say Scouts BSA.

Do you mean offensive trigger words... like hypocrite?

Some people are so obnoxious even the coronavirus will stay clear of them.