From: Jack W. Sandoz, Jr. (jsandoz@EARTHLINK.NET)
Date: Sun Apr 30 2000 - 20:45:32 CDT
"(MAJ) Mike Walton (settummanque, the blackeagle)" wrote:
> Hey Joe!!
>
> You wrote in part, replying to Paul Wolf:
>
> >Paul, just because a rule has a stated purpose, it doesn't
> >mean that it does not have an unstated purpose. In any
> >case, I believe that the reason this rule remains unchanged
> >is to limit Boy Scout Advancement to boys only.
>
> Well, seeing how the rule was in place as far back as 1956 (that's as far
> back as my Exploring Handboks and Senior Scouting books go), and that
> females were not even *thought of* as participants in Scouting until the
> late 60s, I think that Paul's right on target.
Women's rights to to just about anything from vote to ride a bicycle has been in
question worldwide for a long time.
Women in Wyoming had voted since 1869 and in Utah since 1870. New Zealand became
the first nation state to vote in 1893.
On August 26, 1920, the nineteenth amendment was passed. The passage was
"Article IXX: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be
denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex".
I am NOT pickin' a side but I do think that the founders of Scouting considered
the issue.
> The purpose was to give those boys that dropped out of Scouting after
> earning First Class (remember Joe and everyone; back then, FIRST CLASS was
> considered just as or even MORE special than earning Eagle, simply because
> it was just SO HARD to earn First Class!!), a "second chance" to get back
> into Scouting and to eventually earn Eagle. Several boys that earned First
> Class back then at 15 or 14 and left Scouting for a couple of years could
> come back and earn Star, Life and Eagle in an year and a half and become
> Eagle Scouts before they turn 18.
Why should only boys who had attained First Class get a Second Chance?
If an older boy joins (or returns to) a Boy Scout Troop, would he not be
welcomed there?
A boy advances at his own pace. Steady like the tortoise or in spurts like the
hare.
> Later, when we did admit females, the rules were tightened so that females
> could not earn merit badges as Explorers, which then removed all methods for
> them to earn Star, Life and/or Eagle.
>
> But Paul's right, Joe.
> Settummanque!
It seems clear to me that the makers of BSA policy in the twentieth century have
had the belief that the Boy Scouts should be primarily for Boys.
Whether or not this should continue...I'm not goin' there.
Jack Sandoz
SM Troop 007
Granada Hills, CA
