Boy Scouts of America changing name to be more inclusive

[Caveman Jim]

Boy Scouts of America changing name to be more inclusive after years of woes

The Boy Scouts of America is changing its name for the first time in its 114-year history.

www.actionnews5.com

80,000 boys were abused before the bankruptcy fiasco…

What could go wrong???

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[billdeserthills]

The rebrand is another seismic shift for an organization steeped in tradition that did not allow gay youths or girls to begin joining its ranks until relatively recently. Seeking to boost flagging membership numbers, the Irving, Texas-based organization announced the name change Tuesday at its annual meeting in Florida.

"In the next 100 years we want any youth in America to feel very, very welcome to come into our programs," Roger Krone, who took over last fall as president and chief executive officer, told The Associated Press in an interview before the announcement.

In other words, a body for every pedophile?

 

[Nosferatu]

The emasculation of the USA continues to get younger and younger.

I just checked out the Girl Scouts website. Yes, they are still calling themselves the Girl Scouts of the USA. I din't find anything specific about allowing males to join, just this tidbit about transgenders:

What is Girl Scouts' position on serving transgender youth?

Girl Scouts is proud to be the premiere leadership organization for girls in the country. Placement of transgender youth is handled on a case-by-case basis, with the welfare and best interests of the child and the members of the troop/group in question a top priority. That said, if the child is recognized by the family and school/community as a girl and lives culturally as a girl, then Girl Scouts is an organization that can serve her in a setting that is both emotionally and physically safe.

 

[CamoDeafie]

The outdoors; learning important wilderness skills, being prepared, getting skills to be self sufficient, and not rely on government, or adults... survival skills, camaraderie, teamwork, first aid.. most of these do not depend on what genitals are they equipped with. However, there's still something to be said of teamwork & camaraderie being easier in single-sex groups. That said.. I went through a 5-day wilderness survival course with 15-16 other students, mixed genders, 3 adults to the group... and we did tasks laid out in a 1960s Boy Scouts manual... no problems; we were too wornout/tired to think of anything but getting to the next task/goal in the woods, eating, drinking enough and sleeping. No doubt some kids tried some stuff but I saw no such thing in my group.

 

[Joe13]

The outdoors; learning important wilderness skills, being prepared, getting skills to be self sufficient, and not rely on government, or adults... survival skills, camaraderie, teamwork, first aid.. most of these do not depend on what genitals are they equipped with. However, there's still something to be said of teamwork & camaraderie being easier in single-sex groups. That said.. I went through a 5-day wilderness survival course with 15-16 other students, mixed genders, 3 adults to the group... and we did tasks laid out in a 1960s Boy Scouts manual... no problems; we were too wornout/tired to think of anything but getting to the next task/goal in the woods, eating, drinking enough and sleeping. No doubt some kids tried some stuff but I saw no such thing in my group.

If there were girls in the Boy Scouts back when I was in it, I'd probably have gotten a 'parent' badge as opposed to making Eagle…

I went thru just about everything available within 5 hours of here and was inducted into pretty much everything available.

When I became a lifeguard and spent some time on the 'Sea Explorers' docks where it was co-ed, trust me - lots of those boats had been 'christened'

 

[CamoDeafie]

If there were girls in the Boy Scouts back when I was in it, I'd probably have gotten a 'parent' badge as opposed to making Eagle…

I went thru just about everything available within 5 hours of here and was inducted into pretty much everything available.

When I became a lifeguard and spent some time on the 'Sea Explorers' docks where it was co-ed, trust me - lots of those boats had been 'christened'

Like I said, no doubt some kids tried stuff the way the course went.. we spent 8+ hours hiking each day. Meal breaks, camp takedown/setup, starting fires, doing the task/solving the problem, taking task/solution down, inspections, end of day drill sgt thing with the top teacher.. and we had 3 adults, 1 of whom was the medic basically.

 

[Yarome]

I don't see any way that ends well. Evidently there is nothing sacred anymore and ever moving away from those principles and institutions that once helped youth develop as individuals only furthers societal decay... IMHO.

They have lost the plot. Even sadder... that leaves few to no other options for parents that find value in enrolling their children into those types of organizations.

Unless people start drawing a line in the sand, we're quickly turning into a "Go woke, or, Go without" society.

 

[CamoDeafie]

They have lost the plot. Even sadder... that leaves few to no other options for parents that find value in enrolling their children into those types of organizations.

Unless people start drawing a line in the sand, we're quickly turning into a "Go woke, or, Go without" society.

There are other organizations/groups popping up, most are religious/church based, some are a bit.. out there. Others are more oriented to wilderness survival as opposed to the old ways of the BSA setup (be prepared). Matter of fact, "officially" the Girls Scouts are supposed to do everything the same as the Boys Scouts but... the majority of the GS troops don't seem to do much beyond hawking their cookies and doing social work

 

[Yarome]

There are other organizations/groups popping up, most are religious/church based

IMO, there are not at all the same animals. I saw that happen with my own sons. In the area we lived, about the only organized BSA units were mainly church sponsored. That was all fine and well. I know they had a "young men's program" that focused on the religious aspects, but the BSA program was fully separate without any pressure for the "BSA only youth" to participate in their religious "young men's program".

As time went by, their churchwide policies shifted. The troop they were in somewhat broke away from the BSA traditions/organization and quickly morphed into being merely an extension of their "young men's program". IOW, there were no more 'BSA troop meetings". It was only their church young men's group... that occasionally scheduled BSA type activities... like an overnighter or a day hike... but lost all focus on skills, advancement, organized youth leadership, etc etc. IE., fundraising would be centered on attending dome type of religious young adult conference in "such and such" a place vs. attending an encampment, or jamboree.

The only way my boys were able to continue was to organize a whole new unit and got stuck acting as committee chairman for the duration of their remaining scouting years. When they were done, so was I, and it was unfortunate to see the unit quickly fall apart. The local BSA headquarters offered little to no support and for awhile the Beaver group and one of the Cub packs persisted for awhile, but those quickly fell apart too.

With grandchildren now coming up, and seeing these types of changed in the BSA organization... I fear they'll never have those types of opportunities.

The BSA program relies so heavily on dedicated, unpaid, adult leadership.... I fear many would be hesitant to get involved and have to abide by ideals they may not personally believe in, or deal with all the additional complications those types of policies are likely to engender. At least... I know that I wouldn't.

 

[thorborg]

I have uniforms, badges books and stuff from the 50's while not of any particular value, but am now wondering if, due to this revelation, they are lower value, increased value, or now illegal to own

 

[Indy62]

So..BSA has gone woke.

Meanwhile in Russia:



And China...

 

[Joe13]

I have uniforms, badges books and stuff from the 50's while not of any particular value, but am now wondering if, due to this revelation, they are lower value, increased value, or now illegal to own

I have a lot of in package things from my time, plus some mentors gave me patches and such that at the time were worth quite a bit of money. I haven't actually thought about selling any of it but it has been sitting in a bin in the attic for 30+ years so it might be time to look around….

It is to bad the Girl Scouts do not do similar things. When my sister was in it, it was a joke as was when my daughter was.

Logistically having boys and girls will be a nightmare imo as you will have to have separate sex adults to account for the adult to kid ratios required.

 

[Hotdog 7]

It seems the change to a more broad name (ergo, 'inclusive') is in line with how European scouting organizations are titled - Scouts UK, Federation of French Scouting, Scouterna (Sweden), and the Italian Scouting Federation. I don't think the name really matters, it should be whether or not the organization is delivering a quality product.

 

[clanhanson]

Name doesn't matter one bit. All that matters is that leaders are cut from good cloth and strive to better the scouts under their wing, whether those scouts be male or female.

One must remember that there are lots of "Tomboys" out there, and they seldom find Girl Scouts satisfying. I was raised by one... my mother worked in a tie gang and was later put in charge of setting and triggering explosive charges for the road crew. She often expressed her disdain for the Girl Scouts and wished something more like BSA had been available to her when she was young.

 

[CLT65]

My daughter loves scouting. She was the first female Eagle Scout in our county. They're not really co-ed; I think they do a pretty good job of keeping them separate.

She wasn't interested in the Girl Scouts because they're mostly into cookies and social justice causes. She's always been a bit of a tomboy, and just wants to do traditional scouting stuff. I think that allowing girls into the Boy Scouts has been a good thing for the most part.

 

[monkeybutler]

The emasculation of the USA continues to get younger and younger.

Yeah that and all the immigrants coming in the back door.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Not happy with the name change.
Not happy with the way the Boy Scout program has been run for decades.
I was a Boy Scout and have many happy memories of being one.

If girls want a more field craft orientated scout program...then change the girl scout program.

As for my other thoughts on this issue....
They would only cause problems here on the forum...so I will keep them to myself.
Andy

 

[CLT65]

If girls want a more field craft orientated scout program...then change the girl scout program.

The problem is that the Girl Scouts are completely different from the By Scouts of America, totally different organization that has been quite "progressive" for a long time. There is zero chance of them changing for the better, which leaves girls like my daughter out, unless there is room for them in the BSA.

I'm not saying that the BSA is perfect, not at all. They've had their issues for sure and I can agree with you for the most part. I'm just glad because it's been a great experience for my daughter.
The female troops are separate from the male troops, as it should be. They're there for scout stuff, not boy-girl stuff.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

The problem is that the Girl Scouts are completely different from the By Scouts of America, totally different organization that has been quite "progressive" for a long time. There is zero chance of them changing for the better, which leaves girls like my daughter out, unless there is room for them in the BSA.

I'm not saying that the BSA is perfect, not at all. They've had their issues for sure and I can agree with you for the most part. I'm just glad because it's been a great experience for my daughter.
The female troops are separate from the male troops, as it should be. They're there for scout stuff, not boy-girl stuff.

Again...
If there are issues with the Girl Scouts...
Then change what is going on with the Girl Scouts.

Andy

 

[Koda]

Some cognitive dissonance on this one....
Character building, self reliance, morals, outdoor skills and all the things the traditional Boy Scouts embraced etc. etc. can be taught co ed and could even be better off coed. But at the same time there is nothing wrong with sex specific programs for boy or girls more specifically focused on those masculine or feminine roles. It wouldn't bother me if the Boy Scouts changed their name to embrace a coed strategy on their own accord, but they have been under pressure to cave into social demands for years and I'm not certain thats a good thing to force people into other agendas. Funny there's no pressure on the Girl Scouts to include boys.