The other shoe....

[cyclops]

NJCubScouter, it's Thanksgiving!

 

Have a happy one.

 

And don't let the 'turkeys' get you down - I think you did the right thing.

Edited November 26, 2015 by cyclops

[Jackdaws]

Well I have been waiting several days to be able to respond I saved what I typed up the other day

 

 

As a female I will chime in.

 

I don't think girls should be allowed into Cub Scouts/Boy Scouts.    If the girls are so dissatisfied with what the GS offers then they should push to make the change.  Obviously some girls now days are more outgoing and adventure seeking and are not content making pottery, learning to cook and making jewelry.  That's great.  I was a GS for over 3 years and never once went camping, went on a hike once.  We even had a lock in one time, it was pretty lame. So do I feel there was a distinct lack of activities offered as pottery and jewelry were things I was never crazy about. I had to join the BSA with my son to go camping.  To me the BSA does emphasize the physical outdoors more than the GS do. 

 

I quickly did a search to see exactly what the GS do these days.  Looks like they offer a STEM program, archery, horseback riding, robotics, hiking and camping.  So to me it looks a lot like various activities that are offered by CS/BS.  http://forgirls.girlscouts.org/home/badgeexplorer/

 

If these girls are not getting these activities then they need to push their local councils and at the national level. 

 

Also one of the girls in the article was 13.  She can join a venturing crew if she really wants to be in the BSA. 

 

I do not think girls should be allowed in.  Boys need a place where they can be rough and tumble boys.  I do think allowing boys in will affect their masculinity.  Call me old fashioned I guess.  Yes, I am a female member of the BSA and am a lot more active than your standard female Cub Scout parent.  And I recognize that when my son crosses over that my involvement in his scouting path will be greatly diminished as he is to stand on his own two feet and join a boy led unit.  I doubt my involvement with the BSA will cease though.  I enjoy it.   

 

I hope my ramblings make sense. 

 

Susan

[qwazse]

... I am a female member of the BSA and am a lot more active than your standard female Cub Scout parent.  ...

I hope my ramblings make sense. ...

Makes sense from a mom who has not tried to give her girl the same opportunities through the GS/USA as her boys had through the BSA.

 

What your argument boils down to is "This is not BSA's problem to solve."  And, it's a solid one. Except for that third point of the scout law.

[scoutldr]

There is also another option open to girls now...American Heritage Girls.  Are Campfire Girls still around?  I think it is a common theme running rampant through society now...the entitlement attitude of "I want what you have and you need to accommodate me."  There is no prohibition on forming your own organization like Baden Powell, Lady B-P, Ernest Thompson-Seton and Juliette Low did back in the day.  It's hard.  It's a lot of work.  Just like it always has been.

[Krampus]

We've allowed everyone else in the door, why not girls? You can't argue equal rights but then bar someone because of gender. How's that any different than barring someone for any other reason?

[desertrat77]

We've allowed everyone else in the door, why not girls? You can't argue equal rights but then bar someone because of gender. How's that any different than barring someone for any other reason?

Exactly.

 

It makes me wonder why.   

Edited December 4, 2015 by desertrat77

[Stosh]

If other groups won't start their own co-ed camping programs on their own, why do they insist on harassing other groups into accommodating them because they are too lazy to start their own???

[qwazse]

If other groups won't start their own co-ed camping programs on their own, why do they insist on harassing other groups into accommodating them because they are too lazy to start their own???

I think it's out of a belief that we have something magical. Those of us on the inside think we're merely capitalizing on the inherent easy-to-please good nature of young boys. Folks on the outside think we've accumulated years of privelage in a society that largely believes boys should be in the woods, and that figures girls don't have time for such shenanigans. We have, if you will, a brain trust.

 

My 90 year old aunt recalls a Campfire Girls program that put her under canvas for multiple weeks through the summer in a program chock full of Indian lore and lots of hikes in the Catskills. Somewhere between then a now, Americans got it into their heads that girls just don't need that sort of thing. Some folks think BSA is uniquely positioned to set things aright.

[Krampus]

Some folks think BSA is uniquely positioned to set things aright.

 

those folks clearly have never used a BSA computer system.

[Peregrinator]

If other groups won't start their own co-ed camping programs on their own, why do they insist on harassing other groups into accommodating them because they are too lazy to start their own???

Because what they want is the prestige of belonging to the BSA and the opportunity to earn the Eagle Scout award, which they believe will get them special privileges in society.