Nicknames and namecalling

[packsaddle]

I shudder to think about some of the endearments that my wife has applied to me. But when I address the boys I use their name. I never use a nickname unless I've been asked by them to use it. Other than that, unless I've missed something, I can't think of many times, any really, in which boys called each other names in a mean way. It didn't happen in my troop when I was a boy, either, and there were plenty of times it could have. Most of the time, the boys apply derogatory names to adults. Some are quite creative.

[Eagledad]

>> "Earning" a nickname means you're a full-fledged member of the group.........Sometimes moms and women don't get it.

[Tampa Turtle]

I usually address the Scouts as "Mr Smith" or "SPL Smith" or occasionally their first name. If they just got an advancement perhaps "Hello, First Class Scout Smith". If I ever use a nickname it is rarely, with a friendly smile, and if I think the lad has embraced it. Since that is hard to know I stick with formality and leave the nick names to the boys.

 

Occasionally and in private the adults may call each other by the nicknames the boys have bestowed on us--all in fun.

[Peregrinator]

There are some nicknames that are appropriate at least at the cub level:

http://tidworthscoutgroup.terapad.com/index.cfm?fa=contentGeneric.rnqnnnncwshrkaco&pageId=4775268

 

I might take exception to someone's being singled out as the smallest cub, or the loudest, or the fattest(!), but what harm can come from nicknaming a scout "Tall Pine" or "Hawkeye"? Just avoid anything that might call attention to something embarrassing, focus on positive nicknames instead.

[chaoman45]

One last thought - nicknames are often meant to be a sign of affection - frankly, it wouldn't surprise me if some parents didn't think that a 22 year old ASM giving their kids nicknames wasn't just a little but creepy.

 

Why is it creepy for me if a 50+ year old guy can do it without it being creepy?

[qwazse]

Chao - welcome to life under the microscope.

 

You'll never know what sets some people off. Could be your tone. Could be the jerk next door your age that is getting oddly friendly with a boy. Could be the way the boys use the names in your absence. Could be a parent feels his boy deserves a cooler name!

 

The general rule seems to be as long as you can take it with a smile and some pride, dishing it out shouldn't be a problem. But, from time to time you'll come across a group for whom you will need adjust your style. If only to give the sense that you value folks' input. All of the above suggestions may work.

 

No way from this side of the 'net to tell if this is one of those times for you.

[Eagle92]

Nicknames are a fact of life in my area, esp with COPE staff and within the OA.

 

I've had bunch in my time in scouting. From Jambalaya from a food from my home town, to Tackleberry or Tack for short b/c I was running the rifle range in the UK, to Yoda b/c of my COPE work. That pretty much has stuck.

 

I know in one instance, there is a gentleman who no one knows his real name, everyone knows his nickname. When it came time for Vigil, his nickname had to be used to ID him, and helped get his Vigil name.That nick name, and his penchant for pyrotechnics, got him the Vigil name of Witty Firebuilding Manservant.

[shortridge]

As a camp counselor, my policy was Stosh's - Mister Smith, Mister Jones, Mister Voldemort, whatever. The boys seemed to like it, and even sat up and listened a little better when addressed semi-formally, even around a picnic table.

 

Among my fellow staff members, nicknames ruled. We were all in this together, and teasing and joking was part of the fun and camaraderie and how we handled the job. One summer we had Top Gun-inspired handles; another, Dukes of Hazzard.

 

I wore all of my specific nicknames with pride; it meant I had arrived and was accepted by the older crowd on staff. I was known as Running Fish, then Chewbacca, and finally Rambo, which stuck. If someone made it clear they didn't like their nickname, folks would stop using it. We teased, but were respectful about it. And that should really be the rule of thumb.

[CalicoPenn]

"Why is it creepy for me if a 50+ year old guy can do it without it being creepy? "

 

What makes you think it wouldn't be creepy if I, a 50 year old guy, started calling a Scout "No Pants"??

[chaoman45]

Uh, because it's funny?

[Twocubdad]

My Scouts don't respond when I call them Mr.______ -- they think I'm speaking to their father. Serously! It's especially true if their dad is active in the troop.

 

I've only one kid in the troop with a real nickname -- Doobie. His mother calls him that be cause he needs to be a "Do Bee" not a "Don' Bee". I can't bring myself to call him that -- I figure it's just a matter of time before he is old enough to learn how most people define a "doobie." Unfortunately, folks tend to live up -- or down -- to their nicknames.

 

I've related the story before of walking out the Scout House to see a group older guys assigning nicknames to all the just-crossed over new Scouts. Just like in Animal House: "um, from now on you're Flounder. Um, you're Pinto....."

 

I called the older guys over and suggested to them they should try to learn the new guys real names before arbitrarily assigning nicknames. "But they all want nicknames," they told me. Well, maybe, I said, but it's really demeaning that you somehow get to decide their names for them. Get to know them a little and if a nickname come up organically, then maybe.

 

But we're just having fun -- the standard excuse for everything.

 

OHHHHH, well you should have said so!, I told them. If nicknames are fun, you three should have nicknames too!. From now on, you (turning to the biggest one) will be "Lardass." You, I said to the next one, are "C.D." -- you know, like your on your report cards. And you, I said to the third will be "Dewey" but we'll spell it "D.U.I." because, well, you remember.

 

Everyone still having fun?

 

 

[IM_Kathy]

we typically use first names when referring to the boys in the troop - when we have boys that have same first name as another boy then usually one of them will get a nickname.

 

now my son on the other hand got his first nickname his very first summer camp - "Walking Taco" as just a couple days into camp his scout shirt had nutrional value to feed someone for a day... it also became the them for last years troop t-shirt.

 

now my nickname "Sarge" was given to me by my now brother-in-law back when I was just dating my now husband. Most scouts call me by my first name - really only people that use my nickname are those that tent with me as it's important to use nickname if I'm having a night terror as it will wake me better/easier

 

to me if they are scout appropriate and the boy being called it doesn't mind then have fun. my biggest thing is when they start changing nicknames - nope, earn 1 stick with it!

[qwazse]

Jambalaya! Love it. (For a name but especially as a meal.)

[Stosh]

Hmmmm... Isn't John used as a nickname for Jonathan? Or Bill for William, Jim for James, Jack for John (never figured out where those came from....) Peggy for Margaret for the gals out there.....

 

I wonder if shortened names are acceptable for nicknames. What do you think, Virginia?

 

Stosh

[packsaddle]

'Johnny' is a common nickname for John (When Johnny comes marching home or 'Johnny Got His Gun'), occasionally the nickname applied is 'Jack' (JFK's nickname). The book of the Bible isn't "The Book of Jonathan" and that famous verse isn't Jonathan 3:16.

 

Edit: Just checked that river of wisdom, Wikipedia, and it lists 'Jon' as a nickname for Jonathan. Perhaps that's a source of confusion. (but it didn't list 'John')(This message has been edited by packsaddle)