Re: Hill's "Snipe Hunt"

Terry Slade wrote:

>> There is a sucker born every minute. I was a sucker once as I went on
my snipe hunt and
I now look back on it like a right of passage. I became "one of the guys"
that night and so did these scouts. <<

Terry, like you, I don't want to start the "hazing" thread again, or
comment about the message sent when we, as leaders, think that rules don't
apply to us because "we know best".

Instead, I'm troubled by a leader who looks upon scouts as "newbees" or
"suckers". A "rite of passage" like this is something that you endure, not
something that you enjoy. Is this the only way to become "one of the
guys"? Couldn't this be done just as well by the boys sharing around a
campfire, or working together to complete a task? Be honest - can you say
that *every* boy who ever was the butt of an older scout's joke is then
accepted as "one of the guys"?

I know that we'll probably never agree on this. IMHO, losing even one boy
because of this kind of activity is a tragic waste. Or do you feel that a
boy that is bothered by this doesn't "have what it takes" to be a scout?

Joseph A. Alessi in Ozwin 2.12.2
JosephAlessi@Compuserve.com
District Advancement Chair
Scoutmaster, Jamboree Troop 530
I used to be an Owl

• Messages sorted by: [ date ][ thread ][ subject ][ author ]
• Next message
• Previous message