new Rank Badges for 2010

[Stosh]

My Council scout shop has the old badges and knows nothing about the "new" ones. They have no intention of getting them in.

 

Stosh

[Scoutfish]

I neither like or hate the new badges.

But i hate the principle behind it. My son joined as a Wolf Bear, so he doesn't have a Tiger badge. He has a Bobcat, a Wolf, and is about to get his Bear.

 

But his Bear will say 2010 on it. His Bobcat and Wolf won't. The Bear won't match.

 

Now maybe if his Wolf had 2009 and his Bobcat had 2008 (calendar year within fiscal year)..It might make sense. Next year, his Webelos won't have 2011 on it.

 

I think they should offer both the new one and old one. And honestly, the new one doesn't say 100 years on it, so just 2010 really doesn't make sense. Consiering it's a 100 year thing that is.

 

Personally, when I showed my son the link, he said he wanyted the old one because it matched his otrher patches, but would like the new one as a collectors item.. And this is froma 9 year old. A 9 year old who has no problem wearing a WWII helmet, with a tuxedo top with camo pants and flip flps on his nasty muddy feet to a wedding!

[BklynEagle]

Eagle732

 

I'm in an urban Troop. Most of the kids in my Troop come from lower-middle income families. It angers me when the boys at National go around coming up with brand new patches, books, hats, shirts, pants, socks, belts, and God only knows what else that are unnecessary, temporary, and inferior in design and/or quality, with a price tag that is grossly overblown. My Troop's families can't afford this nonsense. Just this past weekend, we were on a camping trip, and it was noticed that one of the boys was limping slightly. When asked if he was okay, it came out that the boots he was wearing were too small for his feet, but that his family couldn't afford to get him a new pair. I'd like to stress that for you: His family COULD NOT affort a new pair of boots. Now, I'm no bleeding-heart, but it strikes me as absurd that National goes around trying to make a buck on everything, and everything that they seem to come up with these days seems wildly inferior, while I've got Scouts who can't afford footwear. Scouting was designed with a number of purposes, among which was to provide city-boys with an opportunity to experience the great outdoors. It angers me when the hierarchy of the BSA goes about enacting policies that counter-act this purpose. I've spoken with many in my area, and a lot of us are in agreement: If National and the Supply Division keep going they way they are, the only way a lot of us going to be able to survive in the future (and many of us fear that it is the not-too-distant future) is by operating Troops that look like the one Lem Siddons ran in the first 3/4s of "Follow Me Boys" (i.e., non-uniform dress, etc.). Having said that, even then we can't win, because we will undoubtedly find ourselves feeling the wrath of the Paid BSA.

 

Now, I admit that I may have wigged out a bit with my earlier commentary, and I apologize if that posting offended you, Eagle732, and anyone else who may have been made uncomfortable. But I cannot, I will not, and I do not apologize for the spirit which led to said commentary.

 

Yours in Scouting,

 

BklynEagle

[hendrickms24]

"If National and the Supply Division keep going they way they are, the only way a lot of us going to be able to survive in the future (and many of us fear that it is the not-too-distant future) is by operating Troops that look like the one Lem Siddons ran in the first 3/4s of "Follow Me Boys" (i.e., non-uniform dress, etc.)."

 

If your troop looks like Lem's troop then your doing just fine. I think your making a big deal out of nothing. Just the way I see it.

 

Mark M.

[BklynEagle]

Look, I had just come home from the camping trip (See my earlier Jan 26 post), then I'm confronted with this new BS gimmick, and I reacted. I don't say that my reaction was right, but there it is.

 

As far as my kids looking like Lem's kids, I didn't mean that they look enthusiastic about Scouting, I meant that they look out-of-uniform. I merely sought a common cultural touchstone to illustrate.

 

All of you are, of course, still welcome to think of me as the posterior region of certain farm animals, if you wish.

[click23]

I can't wait until the 2010 interpreter strips are released. /sarcasm off

[Eagle92]

Brk.,

No problems here. Heck I heard similar comments abotu the price of uniforms and equipment from fellow Supply workers. And to be honest some of the folks working supply have no clue about scouting in the field. Trust me on that one, I had a boss who was assigned JAMBOREE duty,a nd complained about the experience after they returned. I would have volunteered to go, using vacation time, just give me the free food and shelter.

 

Point is that some folks who have no idea are

creatign products that won't sell and/or are not very useful excpet to maybe a collector.(This message has been edited by eagle92)