Taking the 'Boy' Out of Boy Scouting

Canada Free Press ^ | 05/03/18 | Katy Grimes

[Sean_Anthony]

And in the real world, boys will still make sticks and Legos into guns, and girls will choose dolls and play house-- regardless of how feminists and the LGBT community and the media try to push their twaddle on the rest of us

The headline should read, “Boy Scouts Welcome Girls In New Gender Neutral Scouts.” How hospitable. The announcement that the Boy Scouts of America will be dropping “Boy” from the name and admitting girls is sadly not surprising, but is extremely disappointing.

My son, now a toxically-masculine 29, was a Cub Scout, Webelo Scout, Life Scout, and third generation Eagle Scout. During his scouting years, we observed scouting changing with more moms getting involved, disallowing boys from being boys in many cases. In 2000, he changed boy scout troops shortly after graduating from Webelo Scout to Boy Scout in order to find a troop he felt met the true sense of “Boy” Scouting. He moved to Sacramento’s Troop 1, the oldest, continuous Boy Scout Unit west of the Mississippi River, started in 1916. He enjoyed Troop 1 for many years until he achieved Eagle Scout and graduated high school.

[Reno89519]

They need to rename themselves as a chapter of Planned Parenthood.

[Harpotoo]

The new They Scouts!

[Mariner]

Chaperoning 40 boys and girls aged 10-14 on a 3 day camping trip would NOT be fun.

Not even in a parallel universe.

[siberianheat]

If the parents are in charge, and they are the ones running the troops, why should anyone tell them who they cannot add to the Scout experience?

I've said this in other BSA threads, but it bears support when others say it. I have a boy scout and a girl scout, and I trust my boy scout leader to teach life skills (camping, sportsmanship, survival) to my daughter more than I trust the entirety of girl scouts to do so. The reason is that Boy Scouts is family friendly and Girl Scouts does everything it can to keep fathers away from the girls.

[KC_for_Freedom]

All that you say is valid, but I do not think Scouting will survive after making this change. Here is why:

My scouting experience revolved around summer camp. Our camp in the Sierras was in a pristine valley with a free flowing river and all the activities. The valley was large and evenings found us playing “capture the flag” on a large sandy play area — the game went into darkness before we had to be back at our camps for evening attendance.

Our camps involved open air cots scattered roughly into the groupings of our patrols and or close friends. We were not “watched” by our adult supervisors through the night.

Were these camp activities to be coed, there would be lots of time where Scouts could pair and be alone in this idyllic setting. What could go wrong?

Well, activities like this need huge amounts of adult supervision or “dating activities” start to happen. I do not believe Scouting can accept the liability that camps like mine would pose. So the camp will be eliminated. And a lot of the reason young men became interested enough to earn their Eagle badges will go with it.

Not that young women should be denied the right to achieve the Eagle rank, but their summer camp should be a girls sex only place.

[siberianheat]

Unfortunately, this is the end game. This opens the door for more women to move into positions of control and the result will be that they will dictate what the programs are or what they will not be.

Girls have been a part of Boy Scouts since the 70's (as far as I'm aware). Venture crews routinely integrate boys and girls starting at age 14. And women have been leaders in BSA for a long time. My mother (in the late 70s) was a leader of my cub scout den. Women are on district council leadership positions and can be active at the troop level. To say that women have made things less manly for the boys is just totally false unless you are suggesting the Boy Scouts collapsed back in the 70's before girls and women were involved at all. In my experience over seven years of my son's scouting experience, the women are just as tough and driven to hone the boys into fine young men as the male leaders are.

I can't speak for the national level of BSA except to say that leaders in our troop (men and women) have no love for the upper echelons because they make decisions without any input from those below.

Anyway, these are only my opinions based on what I see on the ground. Most of our boys don't seem to care one way or the other about having girls around, as long as they can do all the same cool trips they've been doing.

[UpInArms]

What you are missing is boys need to gang. Provide a positive gang environment such as BSA or leave them to their own demise such as MS13. Our failing school system squeezes boys through girl extrusions and expects them to be gentlemen at the other end. No. The BSA movement was based on raising men from boys. The new slant on the scouting program will dilute the institution, cause its downfall, and open up the gates of unstructured hell of boy gravitation toward thuggery.

[Yaelle]

How else will they earn their birth control badge?

[RedMonqey]

I going to laugh my arse off the first time half the girls in the troop come back from the two week scouting jamboree pregnant.

How ’bout ’sexual Harassment!

[fremont_steve]

I was a scout in the 60s.

My kid went from Tiger cub-Eagle Scout - I was his Den Leader though his time in Cubs, and eventually his Scout Master. I’m still an ASM in the troop 7 years after my kid aged out. I serve as the Eagle Candidate coach.

I had MUCH more trouble with allowing Gays into scouting - and it had EVERYTHING to do with the fact that BSA had been telling us what “Morally Straight” meant - oh we were only kidding. It didn’t really have much if anything to do with whether there were really gay scouts or not -just -this stuff should be timeless.. and it turns out it isn’t. That bothers me much more.

In discussing what I should do at the time - my son (wise beyond his years I guess) pointed out that I was doing good by being there and helping the boys still coming up through the system. That service after all is at the heart of the matter - that other bit about doing a good turn daily. I believe in that too.

As a practical matter - the cubs being coed is a no-brainer. Parents MUST/ARE fully involved in the program - so now their daughters can participate. Big deal. The boys will be in separate dens from the girls. They will still be boys. I can say with certainty that I’ve had girls at cub pack meetings watching their brothers do stuff. They were bored stiff but had to be there - because their parents were there. Really no issue for me.

What about the Boy Scouts then - well - there will be female troops and male troops - they may camp in the same campground - but the units won’t be coed. I don’t see a real issue with that either - it doesn’t mean any change except the name on the uniform as a practical matter.

I hate to tell you folks - there have been young ladies at council summer camps for decades - there have been venturing units that are coed - and successful for decades. We crossed most of these waters along time ago - like in the 1980s!

[cld51860]

I attended an Eagle Scout ceremony back in September. It was a very moving experience (my boy is a second year Boy Scout, just becoming Scout 2nd class) and I have to say the young man was impressive. In fact, he specifically held it on September 11th so that he could pay tribute to first responders and the victims of that fateful day.

Sad to think this is all going to fade away into a bland, homogenized “family activity” type of thing, rather than specific to boys growing to be young men. Very sad indeed and a commentary on our times.

[cyclotic]

Here’s the problem. Boys are not allowed to be boys. The culture is completely emasculating boys. Many are completely useless when it comes to manly things. As the average 18 year old to change a tire or replace a battery.

As much as we love our mom’s, they don’t help boys be men. Modeling men being men is how boys become men.

A friend of mine was recently at a group camping site when four women drove up in a pickup towing a trailer. He thought maybe a Girl Scout Troop was coming. The women got out, set up a large campsite with 10-15 tents, a kitchen area etc. They then left in the truck. A while later a Boy Scout troop arrived and the boys came to a fully erected camp. Absolutely unacceptable.

When boys are together, they are loud, sometimes a little obnoxious and love o entertain each other with the noises they can make using only a hand and an armpit. Throw a couple girls in the room and they are told to be nice around the girls.

I honestly don’t care what the parents are supposedly calling for. Instead of capitulating, BSA should have told them that boys need their enclave.

But, in 2012, BSA caved to the culture and is now a perfect case study of the slippery slope theory.

Homosexual boys took 103 years to cave.
Five years and several cave-ins later they allow homosexual leaders, tranvestites, girls. I wonder what’s next?

I speak from experience. Cub Den Leader, Asst Cubmaster, Asst, Scoutmaster, Scoutmaster, Troop Founder, Father of one Eagle and one Life Scout. Currently with another boys adventure organization.

[Jim Noble]

On my HONOR
I will do my best
To do my DUTY to GOD and my country
To Obey the Scout Law
To help other people at all times
To keep my self
Physically strong
Mentally awake
And morally straight

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

[Slyfox]

There is no one in scouts who want to de-biologize any of the scouts. This is a character thing with parents doing the character training in a very organized fashion. Be happy that there are lots of concerned parents doing the right thing.

[TigersEye]

Soy Scouts of America

[punknpuss]

That all sounds very fine: bringing families together, but they could all go camping together as a family anyway. Many families do these things already.

This however is denying boys girl-free zones. Men and boys are belittled on a daily basis in the media. The nonsense of toxic masculinity is a movement in the school system. What is wrong with men being men and boys being boys without feminine influence and nagging? I weep for these young men.

[chapin2500]

You just made me laugh!

And then I cried...

The left destroys anything that is normal, nice, constructive, educational ect.

[RJS1950]

Well aware of all of that. Through that period of time the programs, and how decisions were made were still oriented to boys becoming men. Yes, girls could take part in various aspects but the overall program was still about boys and giving boys the chance to take grow in a program oriented to their needs and interests. Women have long had a part in the BSA at all levels. The Girl Scouts on the other hand moved away from the outdoor, camping and other activities and toward feminism and empowerment. That’s fine for them but boys are not allowed. This change is different. Girls will now be full members and it is doubtful that their adult female leadership who will be coming into the organization and leave it as an all male oriented program. They will push to enforce changes to make it “friendlier” to girls and that will eventually diminish the longstanding and successful framework of the BSA. Finally, boys need an organization that pays attention to their needs and interests without the distraction of girls; again just as the girl scouts operate.

[Keyhopper]

I can’t wait for the first 50 mile hike hauling all that gear and food. Who’s gonna carry it? The program is meant to teach you to be prepared, think ahead, and plan. The boys in our troop ran the show the men where there so no one got hurt. It was a competition between our five patrols.
Who had the best food, best living arrangements, best activities.
They have the girls scouts, if they don’t like it, change it!
Boys need to have men to teach them and have someone to look up to.
Rant off, sorry

[dr_lew]

As I understand it, which is maybe not much, this puts the Girl Scouts out of business. Because, you know, there’s no such thing as “girls” ... Hey, wait a second!