gay ex-scout, my loss americas gain....

[Big_Dog]

Just read this article in the headlines section. There are several things I take exception with, but on the lighter side... I thought it funny that this guy would call Boy Scouts a "geeky" program. Are we at the point now where he might like to host "Queer eye for the Scouting guy"?

 

bd

[SR540Beaver]

That is nothing new. Back when I was in Jr High and Sr High in the early to mid 70's, scouting was considered geeky then too.

[NJCubScouter]

Which article?

 

Commenting totally out of context, I would say that there have always been some people who have called Scouting "geeky"...

 

or before that, "nerdy"...

 

or before that, "uncool"...

 

or before that, "square"...

 

or before that, whatever people who didn't understand the program called it. The sad part is that there are a lot of kids who pay attention to the name-calling, and quit (or don't join) as a result.

[dsteele]

Big Dog is talking about this article:

 

http://www.madison.com/captimes/news/stories/62466.php

 

James Dale is evidently using his status as an ousted leader to further the gay marriage issue.

 

DS

[Big_Dog]

at the very top of the scouter.com banner is the headlines link. I find that a great source of info. For every negative article about scouting, there is a host of great clips about the good things being accomplished by scouts and scouters. Hats off to whoever put that there!

My thought was that back in the '70's when I was in school, homosexuals were considered 'geeky'. The way James states it seems to imply that even thought HE considered it 'geeky', he stayed with it because it gave him a sense of community. It's one of those things that if you have to 'splain it, it isn't quite so funny?!?

[Rooster7]

A quote from James Dale:

 

"We need a future...If marriage was equally available to lesbians, gays and bisexuals, I wonder how many HIV infections would be prevented."

 

Dale and others like to claim that homosexuality is all about "a natural orientation", yet they affiliate themselves with bisexuals. Why do gays empathize with the "struggle" that bisexuals face? I don't know very many straight people who can empathize with bisexuals. Shouldn't a bisexual's desire for both sexes be just as alien to homosexuals as it is to heterosexuals? And, if one is bisexual, how can marriage a desire much less a reality? Is Dale arguing that bisexuals should be allowed to marry one of each sex?

 

I find his remarks interesting...and very revealing in regard to the true nature of homosexuality. Bisexuality is perverted lust. Certainly, even most liberals would agree with that statement. Yet, Dale refuses to condemn bisexuality - Why? In fact, he puts himself in bed with them (figuratively speaking). Is it because he knows bisexuality is merely a cousin of homosexuality?

 

I also find it interesting that the Capital Times didn't see fit to ask any tough questions - Such as, "How can marriage help a bisexual man or woman commit to a monogamous relationship?"

(This message has been edited by Rooster7)

[SR540Beaver]

On the topic of geeks, one of our Webelos Dad told our Cub Master that his son would not be crossing over since the Boy Scouts seemed to be made up of geeks and losers. Funny thing is, his son is one of the "geekiest" in the den.

 

On another note, I got my council newsletter in the mail yesterday. It had an article about how den meetings used to be held after school and how the Cubs wore their uniform to school on den meeting day. The writer suggested that even though most den meetings are held in the evenings now days, we encourage our cubs to wear their uniforms to school in an effort to recruit more boys. I read the article to my 10 year old, 5th grade Webelos son (who loves scouting) and he told me he would be the laughing stock of the school. One of the boys in his den wore his uniform last year and was laughed at all day long. If only those kids knew what fun these geeks were having.

[Fat Old Guy]

"Boy Scouts seemed to be made up of geeks and losers."

 

The really humorous thing is that the world is now run by the geeks and losers of yesterday.

[scoutldr]

As a young Cub in the early 60's we had to take an oath to "be square". We thought it was a good thing.

[Big_Dog]

In the words of the great Huey Lewis:

"it's hip to be square"

[NJCubScouter]

SR540, a couple of years ago when my son was still in Cub Scouts (probably in the fourth grade) I had almost exactly that conversation with him. I told him about how I, as a Cub Scout, wore my uniform to school every week, then walked to the den mother's (not "leader" yet) house for the den meeting right after school. (And as someone else mentioned, when we said the Cub Scout promise, it included "to be square.") I told my son sort of half-jokingly that maybe he and his den should do that (wouldn't work anyway because all the den leaders worked during the day), and he said, Dad, I would be laughed out of school.

[SR540Beaver]

NJ,

 

I remember those days too. My 3rd grade picture was taken in my Cub uniform. I remember meeting in home with den mothers. It seemed like every boy in school was in scouts back then. I know they were not, but it was probably a majority. I remember our school cafeteria being "pack"ed for our pack meetings. I understand where the kids are coming from......the first time I put on my uniform after registering as an adult, my wife laughed at me!

[Big_Dog]

SO,

(BTW, this isn't hijacking the thread, my point was about geeky, not gay)

Why can't we do something about the perception? i.e. the NFL just reissued the 'shark-tooth' cap. The kids think they are way-cool. couldn't a shark-tooth cap have a scout emblem? Ok, maybe not an exact copy of the NFL, but why not something cool? If 'Goths' can wear black, and preppies can wear really expensive clothes, why not find some way of communicating: white-water rafting/rock climbing / rapelling/high adventure?

[Hunt]

Maybe we need a new thread name, because the "geeky" topic is much more interesting.

I think Big Dog has a good point--what is it that kids think is "geeky," the program, or the uniform? And if it's the uniform, is it the very idea of a uniform, or the way the current uniform looks?

What my son's friends say is that Scouting is "lame." This suggests they know nothing about the program--but have a false impression based on some of its trappings.

[acco40]

Directly from the article:

 

He recalled that it was the desire for community that attracted him - a boy who knew he was different and didn't fit in - to the Boy Scouts and made him stay even after the fundamental "geekiness" of the program became apparent to him.

 

It is hard for me to discern if Mr. Dale used "geekiness" directly or not. Regardless, I think it teaches kids a lesson about peer pressure. Some succomb to it, some do not.