BSA Issues Statement to Law Enforcement Exploring Volunteers

[CynicalScouter]

June 25, 2020

To our Law Enforcement Exploring community, national and local agencies, adult advisors, Explorers, and their families:

As you know, for over 60 years, Law Enforcement Exploring is a proven, successful program that offers youth career opportunities in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Perhaps the most diverse career field in Exploring, Law Enforcement Exploring serves a community made up of young men and women from many cultural, ethnic, and economic backgrounds. This is one of the many reasons why Law Enforcement Exploring serves as a positive influence in helping break down barriers, misconceptions, and prejudices. The program builds relationships and bridges the gap between law enforcement agencies and our communities while creating the next generation of diverse personnel. It would be an understatement to say the last few weeks have been very challenging for our country, the black community, as well as the law enforcement community for whom the oath “to protect and serve” is a solemn vow. As a national program we recognize that the actions of a few have cast a cloud over the many whom we know to be good and caring people. Additionally, many of us may also have family members who serve in law enforcement or have children or grandchildren in schools protected by School Resource Officers. While our personal reasons for believing in and supporting Law Enforcement Exploring may vary, as dedicated volunteers and professionals working together, we are committed to serving over 28,000 youth and over 8,500 adults each year, through 1,700 Law Enforcement Exploring posts throughout the country.

There is no place for racism, not in Exploring, not in policing and not in our communities. Exploring stands with black families and the black community because we believe that each of our youth and adults deserve the opportunity to be heard and supported during these difficult times. This is not a political stance or an endorsement of any organization; rather, it is specifically aimed to address a human rights issue in which we all have an obligation. This is a time to listen and support the youth and adults in which we serve, regardless of our profession.

We also stand with our law enforcement community. Law Enforcement Exploring is made up of national and local agency adult advisors, who day-in and day-out, sacrifice their lives to afford us a safe place to live and work. Exploring also stands with you and appreciates your selflessness to protect and serve our homes, schools, communities, and our country. Additionally, as adult advisors in the program, we recognize that you go above and beyond by investing your time and energy into our Explorers. We all see the benefits of breaking down barriers and differences within our communities and working together to bridge the gap. You are part of an important legacy that has accomplished this for over 60 years.

We are committed to doing more by listening, learning, and communicating with a focus on promoting a culture in which every person feels a communal sense of belonging, respect, and value. Law Enforcement Exploring Advisors are invaluable to the program and make every aspect possible in becoming better versions of ourselves while helping our youth “Discover their Future.”

We would like to thank you for your service, and it is a privilege to continue our partnership in making our communities stronger. Standing together, we will continue to make a positive impact for the youth and adults we serve!

Tim Anderson National Director Learning for Life and Exploring

Edited December 27, 2020 by John-in-KC
Remove loaded language from title

[walk in the woods]

@CynicalScouter where did you come across this letter?  Are you involved with a Law Enforcement Post?

[thrifty]

damage is done, too late as far as I'm concerned.

[cocomax]

I wonder why BSA did not include the phrase "we believe Black Lives Matter" in this statement? 

They kept  "black families and the black community" in lower case, but placed "Law Enforcement Exploring" in caps.

 

 

 

[Eagle94-A1]

2 hours ago, cocomax said:

I wonder why BSA did not include the phrase "we believe Black Lives Matter" in this statement? 

They kept  "black families and the black community" in lower case, but placed "Law Enforcement Exploring" in caps.

Law Enforcement Exploring is a specific program name like Sea Scouts, Cub Scouts, Venturing, and Scouts BSA. Hence the capitalization.

[CynicalScouter]

For future reference https://etac.ihubapp.org/posts/54906/important-message-from-the-national-director-of-exploring

[TAHAWK]

On 6/27/2020 at 7:06 PM, cocomax said:

I wonder why BSA did not include the phrase "we believe Black Lives Matter" in this statement? 

They kept  "black families and the black community" in lower case, but placed "Law Enforcement Exploring" in caps.

 

 

 

Perhaps because Black Lives Matter is an avoidly Marxlist political organization that advocates abolition of law enforcement, criminal laws, courts, and places of incarceration, at least for "persons of color, on the grounds that the concept of "crime" as applied to such persons is inherently racist.  Black Lives Matters has the Motto "ACAB" = all cops are bastar_s.  So BSA is walking back its original "virtue" signal.

[John-in-KC]

Moderator Note

lets stop using loaded language, shall we?

[TAHAWK]

I am using BLM representatives' language, although you are cortrect that it is "loaded."  But if unpleasant but relevant reality is not allowed, I will certianly desist from posting it.  Private forum.    Your rules.  

 

"The Chicago Black Lives Matter organizer who justified looting as ''reparation' has doubled down — insisting this week that even calling someone a criminal is 'based on racism.'

Ariel Atkins told WBEZ that her group [Black LIves Matter Chicago] '100 percent' supports the violent looters who trashed chunks of the Windy City Monday, again repeating her claim that it is 'reparations.'

'The whole idea of criminality is based on racism anyway,' she told the NPR station.

'Because criminality is punishing people for things that they have needed to do to survive or just the way that society has affected them with white supremacist BS,' she said.

'I will support the looters till the end of the day. If that’s what they need to do in order to eat, then that’s what you’ve got to do to eat,' she said of those who even tried to smash their way into a Ronald McDonald House caring for sick children and their families.

Atkins dismissed the idea that civil rights had 'ever gotten wins' from 'peaceful protests.'

'Winning has come through revolts. Winning has come through riots,”'she said.."

 

SOURCE NPR

 

 

SOURCE THE REAL NEWS (vido)

 

 

[Owls_are_cool]

Racism violates the scout law...friendly, courteous, kind, so today's scouts and leaders do have a pathway to follow outside this new merit badge. I have only been exposed to scouting for less than a decade, so I would be curious how troops/packs racially integrated earlier than 1970. One thing I do know is we need to give the current generation of scouts credit for: they are more accepting of other races, religions, etc than any generation before them. 

[TAHAWK]

My troop as a boy was largely military dependents, a majority Marine "brats," sponsored by a United Methodist congregation located in the then very conservative Orange County, California.  It was far more diverse than the population of the area and represented almost all of the nations where we sent young soldiers after WWII..  Many were "halves": half Jpanese; half FIlpino; half German; half Chinese; half Korean; half-Iraqui; half Persian.; half Panamanian; half Italian. They were also what we call "Black";  Japanese; Mexican; and "White."  All the color variations of our common species, from divergent  cultures, including representatives from most  significant religions of the World., including Bahai, Muslim, Shinto, and Zoroastrian. 
 

I have no idea, how Troop 43 became the troop for military dependents in our council, but it was.  I was part of the 25% minority who was not such.  But I was tolerated.  No doubt, the fact that my stepdad was a wounded veteran of "The War" helped.  One picked up  alot of military lingo to "fit in."  The floor was the "deck," for example.  The best was ""Ichiban,"  picked up in occpation duty in Japan or Okinawa.   

Founded in 1908, Troop 43 had not started out  very diverse, although there were clerly Catholic boys from the first, but the old, curling B&W prints revealed that brown and yellow Scouts were showing up in increasing numbers in the 1920s, and "Black" Scouts, a small minoritty of the local popultion, began appearing  in the 1930's.  I joined with a wave of post-WW II dependents resultng from the  years after WW II when the young soldiers, sailors, Marines, and Airmen came back from "overseas" with their acquired wives and families.  and joined the "boomers' from the large miltary bases and defence industry that  had explosive growth in Southern California.  

Our Assistant SM, later the SM, was a Marine Master Gunnery Sgt.  He tolerated "Black Marine" about as badly as "former Marine."  No such thing, just "Marine."  He told me once that joining the Marines just befor eturning 15 was a "fine thing," that taught him that "race" discrimination waa something I can't say here.  It sent him to China, "many lovely tropical islands, " Germany, Japan, Italy, and California - an odyessy for a Kansas farm boy.  

I joined this  stew of folks, and just never thought much about the issue of "Integration." That was the way the "best troop in all the land" was.

 I did wonder at adult prejudice outside the troop family against our Japanese, and half-Japanese Scouts, but put it down to ignorance due to their lack of the regular esposure that I had with them in Scouting and in school.  My tent mate for two years was Toshi Nita, born in an Armerican concentration camp because he was at least 1/16th blood of Japanese-born ancestors.  He was easily that, because all his great grandparents were born in Japan.  We talked about his recollections of the camp, but not the racism or politics of it.   (Happily, as I was embarrassed by the whole topic.  My Mom, an "Abe" of Abraham Lincoln High School, [Look up Kenny Washington football.]  had explained that what we had done to our Japanese citizens was a great wrong, like slavery and "racial" discrimination - hating and fearing people of different colors and culture with out reference to the individual's qualities.  She was likely influenced by her father's experiences in WWI when all the Black mill workers in the factory joined as "Indians" to beat Woodrow Wilsons resegregation of the military.  Fighting together may not erase all prejudice, but it can.)  I remeber watching B&W TV with Grandpa and listening to a "joke" that implied that all Irish were drunks.  Grandpa made a growling sound and explained that, "Talking that way is bad and can lead to bad things.")  Tosihi., Sr. had volunteered for the Army from the camp and served and was wounded in Europe, so "Tosh" got a pass from the military dependents, evne the ones whose parents had fough in the Pacific. (Have you seen the scar on his calf.  Cool!)

There were three segregated troops in our council, two all-Catholic and one all "White."  The first two were puzzling, since, like many other troops not sponsored by a CAtholic congregation, we had Catholic Scouts,  and the last troop seemed very strange indeed.   But, then, the hatred of the John Borch Society for Scouting was also part of the environment that made little sense.  (I just never felt like a "Communist dupe" when Trick-or-treating for Unicef and could not understand how the World Britherhood Merit Badge was an evil thing.)

Troop 43, beyond being the best Troop ever, was probbaly far from "normal," but racially secregated troops were also far from normal in our area in the 1950s.  Your mileage may vary.