MetaFilter posts tagged with boyscouts

Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, Reverent, and Straight

Rykey — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 06:23:02 -0800

Seventeen-year-old denied his Eagle Scout Award and kicked out of the Boy Scouts of America for being gay. It's been an interesting 2012 for the Boy Scouts of America's national leadership. In keeping with its long-standing ban on homosexuals in its membership and adult leadership, the BSA dismissed a Cub Scout leader for being a lesbian, and shortly thereafter officially reaffirmed its position on homosexuality [previously]. In September, it was revealed that alleged molestations of boys by straight adult leaders were apparently covered up by the organization [previously], and now Ryan Andresen, a gay scout who created a "tolerance wall" for his Eagle project, has been dismissed from the organization. Some Eagle Scouts are returning their awards in protest of this year's developments.

The Perversion Files

Ghostride The Whip — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 14:03:54 -0800

When volunteers and employees were suspected of sexually abusing children, Boy Scout officials often didn't tell police, files from 1970-91 reveal. A Los Angeles Times review of 1,600 confidential files dating from 1970 to 1991 has found that Scouting officials frequently urged admitted offenders to quietly resign — and helped many cover their tracks.

Be One With The Wild

hippybear — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:57:26 -0800

The new Boy Scouts Of America recruitment campaign is... well... a bit hairy.

Mushroom, Mushroom...

zamboni — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:01:10 -0800

Merit badges for nerds, mothers, and Etsy hipsters. boy scouts, women & scientists have already earnt theirs.

Stalking is easier in the snow.

Barry B. Palindromer — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 10:26:31 -0800

In honor of it's 100th anniversary, the Boy Scouts of America is offering 4 original merit badges that were offered 99 years ago: Carpentry (pdf of original pamphlet), Signaling (pdf of original pamphlet), Pathfinding (pdf of original pamphlet), and Tracking (pdf of original pamphlet). Even if you can't get the actual merit badge, the scans of the old-school merit badge pamphlets are fascinating glimpses of American culture and boyhood.

Pro-Abortion, Feminist Training Corps Cookies

mccarty.tim — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:46:23 -0800

The Boy Scouts have garnered a lot of controversy for refusing to accept gay and atheist scouts. Meanwhile, the Girl Scouts have no official stance on sexuality, and while they officially pledge to "serve God," they have become more flexible on the policy. In addition, a Girl Scout council had endorsed Planned Parenthood as a source for information on sex education. These policies have earned the ire of Republican House Representative candidate Hans Zeiger, who declared the organization a "a pro-abortion, feminist training corps," and that "perhaps it will be time to look for our cookies elsewhere" in an online editorial. He has pulled down most of his writings, but most of them have been cached by Google.

Don't Be A Human Form Letter

COD — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 16:20:19 -0800

Mike Rowe (of Dirty Jobs fame, and also an Eagle Scout) offers this advice to newly minted Eagle Scouts: Don't Be A Human Form Letter. He expands on it as he explains to the Scouts in a letter why earning the Eagle Scout rank isn't quite the ticket to success that they may think it is, and why they can't sit on their past achievements while they wait for the world to recognize their greatness. He follows up with an email exchange with a Scout who was offended by Mike's attitude about the Eagle Scout badge. Don’t be that guy. Don’t wait for the world to acknowledge your accomplishments. By all means, take pride in what you’ve done, but don’t let it go to your head. When you’re finished with Scouting, donate your uniform to The Salvation Army. Fold up your sash and stow it away somewhere private, with all the other tokens of what you’ve done so far. Then, roll up your sleeves, get out in the world, and put what you’ve learned to use. Given that we are in the high season of high schools and colleges pumping out newly minted graduates that may have an over-inflated sense of the value of their accomplishments, this seemed interesting, and something that might strike a chord.

Patches?!? Did you need some steenking patches?!?

Ogre Lawless — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 19:24:06 -0800

Still clocking the old Boy Scout-style uniform? Perhaps you, like many others feel you could be more rewarded than you are today? Never fear, the "Boy Scout Store" has got your back! Develop your own program for: aging, blogging, bungee jumping, cat herding, coffeecraft, sexual revolution, Facebooking, Global Warming. smoking cessation, alcoholism and recovery, pranksterism, neighbor relations, robot building, incendiary devices, antisocial activities, street hooking, and, of course underwater basketweaving. Display your training in instigation and agitation. Maybe you feel you speak the language. Remember -- Scouting is for all.

Do A Good Turn Daily

Blazecock Pileon — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 10:54:22 -0800

1965 Boy Scout Handbook

Scoutmaster

Upton O'Good — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 23:10:06 -0800

Scoutmaster is a blog from a long-time troop leader in which he talks both about practical scouting tools, such as how to make a fire and how to lash a tower together, and about current issues with discrimination in the BSA.

Be thrifty, kind and a good MPAA brainwashing canidate.

IronLizard — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 21:46:10 -0800

The MPAA has come up with a new way to stop pirating early (PDF), let the scoutmasters drill it into the kids while their brains are still malleable. via

BSA lobby? First floor, no charge.

Blazecock Pileon — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 07:28:15 -0800

Newsfilter: While Philadelphia officials dispute with a local chapter of the Boys Scouts of America over its use of taxpayer-subsidized, rent-free property, despite a policy of open discrimination, the Republican-controlled federal government discusses legislation that would make it illegal for taxpayers to withdraw funding from any youth organization, including the Boy Scouts of America, regardless of its activities or stated policies.

Solomon Amendment held constitutional

rkent — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 07:59:40 -0800

The Solomon Amendment is constitutional. The 8-0 holding in Rumsfeld v. FAIR (PDF), contrary to much of the media coverage, does not force law schools to allow the military to recruit, it merely ensures that they will not receive federal funds if they do not (text of the U.S. Code affected by the Solomon Amendment). A distinction without a difference? The ACLU is not happy with the outcome; "Protest & Amelioration" have been demanded. More inside.

Naked Washington

dances_with_sneetches — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 09:02:18 -0800

Naked Washington. The Boy Scout Memorial statues in Washington, DC always struck me as a bit odd. Why is this kid leading a naked man? Or maybe, better, why is a naked man pursuing this kid? Maybe if the guy from Naked Washington gets his book sold, we will all know. Meanwhile, it's available on CD.

quirked — Wed, 30 Oct 2002 07:32:24 -0800

Boy Scouts tell Atheist Eagle Scout he has one week to declare his belief or get out. On membership applications, Boy Scouts and adult leaders must say they recognize some higher power, not necessarily religious. "Mother Nature would be acceptable," said Brad Farmer, the Scout executive of the Chief Seattle Council of the Boy Scouts. Hmmmm...

Vek — Wed, 15 May 2002 08:47:46 -0800

Jerrold Schwartz, who pleaded guilty to sodomizing a Boy Scout, is free on bail and allowed to continue running his tour business for Scouts and students this summer. His company, Adventure Trails Inc., runs summer camps in Colorado, and winter and year-around camps in the Northeast.

Tale of the Radioactive Boy Scout.

geneablogy — Tue, 19 Feb 2002 17:58:10 -0800

Tale of the Radioactive Boy Scout. As the article says, nobody really needs an unsafe homemade nuclear reactor, especially one made of duct tape an aluminum foil. That didn't stop one teenager from trying....

Boston Boy Scouts allow gay leaders

awcole72 — Wed, 01 Aug 2001 16:58:29 -0800

Boston Boy Scouts allow gay leaders
I have many friends who were Eagle Scouts. They all say that there were many openly gay scouts during their time. This whole issue strikes me as purely technical.

What do other Scouts at Metafilter think?

Senate passes amendment withholding money

zempf — Thu, 14 Jun 2001 12:53:26 -0800

Senate passes amendment withholding money from schools that deny use of their facilities to the Boy Scouts on the grounds of their exclusion of homosexuals. Says Jesse Helms, sponsor of the amendment to Bush's education bill, this is meant to combat "the organized lesbians and homosexuals in this country of ours." Is this justified in light of the Supreme Court's ruling that the Scouts have the right to exclude whomever they wish, or just flat out anti-homosexual?

NYC latest to threaten ban on Scouts

darren — Thu, 01 Mar 2001 10:18:00 -0800

NYC latest to threaten ban on Scouts NYC Council disagrees with national organization's policy that homosexuality is inconsistant with Scouting's prinicples, and wants time to try and change national organization's views. Free subscription required.

A Damn Good Idea,

Doug — Thu, 06 Jul 2000 08:07:07 -0800

A Damn Good Idea, but about as likely as Dr. Laura joining NOW.

Boy Scouts: 1 Gay Memebers: 0

mathowie — Wed, 28 Jun 2000 12:00:41 -0800

Boy Scouts: 1 Gay Memebers: 0 Court Says Boy Scouts Can Bar Gays, which is slightly troubling, in that a psuedo-national organization can make rules that go against government policy. I don't see how a scoutmaster being gay has anything to do with teaching kids how to tie knots and go camping though.

Supreme Court Debates Boy Scout Ban on Gay Leaders

bvanveen — Wed, 26 Apr 2000 17:43:45 -0800

Supreme Court Debates Boy Scout Ban on Gay Leaders You have to love the comparison used here...

"Justice Antonin Scalia, the other former Boy Scout on the court, sought to help Davidson, interjecting the group did not ask if leaders were ``ax murderers'' or ``adulterers'' either."

It's always nice to be reminded what a horrible person some people think you are.