From: Jonathan Dixon (dixonj@COLORADO.EDU)
Date: Wed Jun 28 2000 - 15:08:11 CDT
On Fri, 23 Jun 2000, Donna Davis-Daisley wrote:
> So, what do you think? Would you be comfortable with this person serving with
> youth? Was the original action from council appropriate or overreaction? I'd
> appreciate your thoughts and suggestions!
Not being there to see everything, it is hard to judge. However, it seems
to me that the council probably overreacted at first. The adult's excuse
could be valid, as he might have accidentally moved the JLTC addresses
into a larger mailing alias without realizing it; on the other hand, he
could have thought that the boys would appreciate the email and now is
trying to cover himself.
Even if the mailing was intentional (and assuming that it wasn't just
directed to your son), I'm not sure that it was anything other than a
lapse in sense. I'm guessing that your son didn't hear anything he hadn't
heard at school, on TV, from friends/other scouts, or any of other myriads
of sources. I know I've gotten a few email jokes that would curl
toenails; like hearing someone tell an off-color joke, you just sort of
let it pass by. Passing them along is essentially part of the internet
culture, probably in part because a large percentage of the heavy internet
users are young, single males (esp techno-geeks). The adult's action was
probably completely unconscious.
This seems to me a minor transgression, which should certainly merit
punishment to be certain it is not repeated, but which doesn't reach the
level of something that ends a person's priviledge of working with youth.
I would support his being there, and would talk with those youth who got
the original messages to make sure they understand that if there is
further repetition they should go to the council and more drastic action
can be taken.
Jon
---
Jon Dixon
dixonj@colorado.edu
