Monopoly - Revisited?

[evmori]

Ah yes but if I only want onions & pickles on my burger at Wendy's that's all I get. You can't get something they don't have.

 

Every unit is unique. Sure we all have the same basic structure but that's probably where the similarity ends.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[FScouter]

BSA is the most flexible and adaptive national program around. BSA compares to Soviet communism? Perhaps for some, complete anarchy would still be too restrictive?

[Hunt]

A few thoughts on this:

1. I think a major source of difficulty in this perennial discussion is whether there are major and minor tweaks, and whether the minor tweaks lead a unit down a slippery slope to more significant tweaks. (Here, by "tweaks" I mean deviations from BSA's prescribed procedures.) Your philosphy on the "slippery slope" will shape your reaction to this issue.

2. Another way of asking the question is whether BSA's rules are more like the rules of Monopoly or more like the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations. I'd say they are somewhere in between.

3. As several people have noted, BSA has made numerous changes in its program over the years. As ornery Americans, many of us are skeptical that the bigwigs in any organization actually know any better than we do. After all, many people think they know how to play Monopoly better than Milton Bradley does. I'm often reminded of the scene at the end of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" when government agents tell Indiana Jones that "top men" will be studying the Ark, and then you see it being warehoused.

[dan]

 

Wendy's down the street from me is advertising the mushroom swiss burger on its sign today!

HM MM I wonder if I can get a mushroom swiss burger without the swiss cheese? Would it still be a mushroom swiss burger? I am not a fan of cheese on my mushrooms or hamburgers.

 

Ah yes but if I only want onions & pickles on my burger at Wendy's that's all I get. You can't get something they don't have.

EXACTLY!

BUT a neighbor was on the Atkins diet, we went into Wendy's and he asked for triple hamburger, with no bun and he could not get that, so sometimes even if they have it you have to have it also.?!

I am not sure what fast food restaurants has to do with Monopoly?

[Kudu]

Dan writes:

 

I am not sure what fast food restaurants has to do with Monopoly?

 

I would be happy to explain that for you, Dan.

 

The analogy to Scouting would be that everyone sort of knows what a "burger" or "hamburger" is, but most of us can agree that mushrooms on a burger is just plain wrong. So McDonald's convinces Congress to grant them a Congressional Charter to protect the good name of "burgers" from associations like Chili's. McDonald's patiently tries to get all of the other hamburger chains to merge with them. Chili's refuses to go along, so McDonald's sues them out of existence.

 

By McDonald's definition, hamburgers are fried and of course they do not have mushrooms on them. The "Guide to Safe Eating" dictates fried food because corporate lawyers fear that McDonald's might get sued if someone gets cancer from eating burgers cooked over an open flame.

 

Oh, and in the 1970s the modern new hamburger program mandated that burgers and buns be held in trays on steam tables. I know that some people complain about the soggy bread, but you can't stand in the way of progress.

 

And let's not forget that a burger is obedient!

 

Pickles are prohibited too, but nobody remembers why.

 

In discussion groups, neo-conservatives try to preserve these cherished traditional values. They point out that it doesn't matter that burger eaters in other countries enjoy the freedom that comes from competition in the marketplace. This is America, and McDonald's is a private religious organization with a government-established monopoly on burgers.

 

Oh, and forget those old cookbooks that you see on Ebay. "Modern" burgers are always fried, held on steam tables and do not include toppings. Period. Every other way of cooking burgers is "old-fashioned," against the rules, and, according to the highly-paid corporate experts in Texas, simply unworkable in a modern society.

 

As Ronald McDonald said, "Burgers have a purpose." So if boys want to eat burgers they have to respect our traditional values and dress like clowns. If they are embarrassed to be seen in the Ronald McDonald's 1970s-era Official Clown Uniform, then obviously it is because they have no respect for traditional values!

 

Recently McDonald's became a faith-based religious organization. Out of respect to the deeply-held values of their two biggest sponsoring organizations, it uses its status as a private organization to preserve the traditional interpretation of "In God We Trust" to mean that you can't buy cola or other caffeinated drinks and, of course, no meat on Fridays. You all agreed to that when you signed the "Declaration of Religious Hamburgers," although for some reason it is not included in the excerpt that appears on your application form.

 

Hey, if you don't like it, you are free to eat elsewhere--just don't call it burgers!

 

Oh, no girls either. Girls have a veggie-burger program. In 1924 McDonald's tried to force them to call it a "veggie-pattie" so that boys would not get teased about burgers being girl food, but the lawsuit disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

 

If girls really prefer meat they can join McDonald's co-ed Hot Dog program when they turn 14. Its not really hamburgers, but it is a great program.

 

And you don't have to dress like a clown.

 

Kudu

 

 

[dan]

Kudu

Sorry I could not get past your first sentence which was

 

The analogy to Scouting would be that everyone sort of knows what a "burger" or "hamburger" is.

I do not believe that this forum yet alone all of the Scouter's within the BSA could agree on what a hamburger is. Some would say it would have to be cooked over a woodfire, while some would say it had to be cooked on a lightweight stove, just to mention some issues. I think I could make a case that a "hamburger" from some fast food places are not really a hamburger.

[scoutingagain]

Well, KUDU's post is most incisive and clears everything up. LOL

 

Except he forgot to mention the hats.

 

SA

[Kudu]

Well, Dan, perhaps for you complete anarchy would still be too restrictive?

 

It is simply a violation of "The Guide to Safe Eating" to cook burgers over a wood fire or a lightweight stove.

 

Remember Dan, a hamburger is "obedient" and "loyal"!

 

What a burger actually tastes like is not important because:

 

"A hamburger is a meal with a purpose!"

 

Kudu

 

[SemperParatus]

Kudu,

 

Your post will surely make many Grimace...but as for me, you made me

[CA_Scouter]

As is typical with most large organizations, wording can be misleading, and in some cases, downright conspiratorial! ( is that a word? )

 

Nobody to this point has noted that a 'hamburger' is not made from ham, in fact, its not even made from pork!

 

How does the BSA address this very important and disturbing issue?

 

:-)

 

 

 

 

[evmori]

Could I get a couple dogs with onions & relish to go? I've lost my appetite for burgers.

 

Ed Mori

Troop 1

1 Peter 4:10

[Spiney Norman]

Ed,

What, no mustard, tomato, cucumber, sport peppers and celery salt? Thankfully you did not ask for ketchup. Adding that to a dog is actually illegal arounf these parts.