Smile Your On Candid Camera !!

[Fuzzy Bear]

Ed,

 

Since no other person wrote about not going through the O.A. Ordeal, I am guessing that you mean it as a question. I won't answer that one but will leave it to another.

 

The choice to go on a snipe hunt has more to do with taking the choice away from a person than giving it. The idea is to trick the person into believing any number of things, such as, you will be part of our special group or that we are going out to catch food. Those are lies told to a person to make them the butt of the joke. That means that the information is withheld to take away the choice.

 

If they were to be truthful, then the question would be asked, "Do you want to stand out in the cold for several hours by yourself?" or "Do you want us to laugh at you and make fun of you for being so stupid?" or "Since you will be made fun of, you will not be part of the special group." That information is withheld or the joke will not happen, therefore no laughter.

 

You might be asking if someone had a Diabetic condition and needed food at regular intervals or if a person needed a special diet because of food allergies, then yes, that is taken into consideration because the health of a person is considered first. The food question is asked of the candidates before the Ordeal. Unlike a fraternity hazing incident last year on a nearby campus where a young person died of an alcohol overdose, the O.A. is concerned about a person's well being and is not concerned with hazing a person.

 

I was Chapter Chief my last couple of years of high school and I had tapped out several of my brother Scouts and Scouters. Soon thereafter, the Tap out was taken away. I had not hurt anyone and I strongly believed that those that were in charge had made a wrong decision based on faulty evidence. I did finally hear of those that had been hurt in some faraway places and I accepted it at face value. Then, I carefully thought through what it was that we were doing. What I found was that the truth of the O.A. is really in the meaning of the words rather than the acts. The acts are secondary. We can change the acts to preserve a person's welfare and then we can impress the meaning of the words through those changed actions.

 

You say that you are a Brother Vigil member but you do not sound like your experience or the meaning of the words is a positive part of your life. I would hope you would reconsider what it means not only to be honored, to be a part of a special group, and to be a valued member but that the service you perform and that the sacrifices you make are a benefit others. The Ordeal is symbolic of those acts and yes, you were given a choice.

 

FB

 

[Hunt]

"Snipe Hunts do not teach a lesson."

 

I strongly disagree with this--they do teach a lesson--it reminds the weak that they are not the equals of the strong. Obviously, some people think this kind of thing is "innocent fun." How many accounts of others who didn't experience it as innocent fun do you need before you reexamine your views? Personally, I hate to be embarrassed and humiliated. Also, I think this behavior is contrary to numerous points of the Scout Law: trustworthy (you have to lie to the young scouts to get them to do these things), loyal, friendly, kind (at least). What I've liked most about my son's troop is that the older boys included him as one of them from the very first (even when he first visited as a Webelos). The ranks and advancement provide enough "initiation"--the boys don't need to provide any.