Fat Old Guy

The uniform already has an indication of how long someone has been in Scouting, it's the service star.

I've long thought that the term "rank" is inappropriately applied in Boy Scouts. Advancement in rank implies greater authority but that isn't the case in Boy Scouts. However, increases in rank in Boy Scouts does carry greater responsibility.

What sort of responsibility? Well, as a Scout progresses through the ranks, he becomes a role model for younger Scouts. That can be quite a responsibility.

Scoutldr's point is right on the mark and should be covered by "Scout Spirit." Unfortunately, it seems that many think that Scouts should only behave as Scouts when they are at Scout meetings. The rest of their time they can be monsters.

" "Feral dogs" (i'm guessing that's a euphemism for wolves)"

You guessed wrong. A wolf and a dog are two very different critters. Dogs have smaller brains and less smarts than wolves and, in general, exhibit behavior that is akin to that of wolf cubs. A feral dog is a dog that was born and raised in the wild.

I can understand that OA wouldn't want to broadcast this information but "removing newspapers from vending machines"? Did they pay for all of those papers?

It's PC run amok!

"Yes folks thats right, Thumper has an area where National needs to WAKE UP!!! We need to be able to decorate the red felt jackets like we did when I was a boy!"

Was that ever approved or was it just tolerated?

The heretics are inside the wire! We're being overrun by homophiles and atheists! Send Puff with a full load!

No, I'm against labor unions telling members what they can do in their free time.

"We had a copy of the Lenape-English Dictionary and a the Deleware-English Dictionary."

I had always been taught that the Deleware and the Lenape were the same people. What's the difference?

http://www.delawaretribeofindians.nsn.us/

Sounds like too much intrusion into the private lives of members of a trade group.

" What the fellow yelling pi equals six is not allowed to do is force everyone at the football game to stop what they are doing so they can hear him yell pi equals six, or force others to join him, or discriminate against those that don't join him in yelling pi equals six."

I've never been to a football game where anyone was forced to yell "pi equals six." In fact, most of the time when it is time to yell about pi, those who believe that "pi equals six" do so inside their heads. Those that believe that pi is closer to three say so inside of their heads. The only ones that complain are those who believe that pi is a government conspiracy.

"I think that I said that making up meaningless titles for positions of responsibility is wrong."

So you don't approve of my troop calling the ASPL the Snurrflehokoer?

Kid deserves a medal or at least a rousing "Hoo-rah!"

Stories like this one make my eyes get all misty.

Are you tolerant of those who claim that illness can be treated by shaving the head and blood letting?

Should I be tolerant of someone who insists that pi equals six?

"Had I or my parents subscribed in 1967 to the current G2SS rules, then none of those "experiences" I carry would have occurred."

Who do you trust in our current world? If your neighbor said, "Hey, I have an extra (insert local NFL team here) ticket. Do you think that Young Spiked Eagle (YSE) would like to go to with me?" Do you say, "Not unless there's another adult in the car." What if that other adult is the accomplice of the neighbor?

What if your uncle says, "I'm going to Hollywood on a business trip. I have a big expense allowance and I'd like to take YSE with me so he can play in the Pacific." Would you trust him?

Have you told YSE that if he's walking home in the rain (do kids still walk in the rain?) and Father MacNamara pulls up and offers a ride that he should run screaming into the night?

Does a unit need to fill out a fundraising application if they say, "Okay parents, we need an extra $200 to buy the trailer! Break out your wallets!"

A cake raffle is really no different. No one over the age of 10 buys a ticket because they really want a cake. They buy the ticket to funnel money into the troop.

In any case, we have our DE saying that we can and that makes it okay until someone higher up says that we can't.

" XX said that having this kind of raffle within the unit is OK."

Gee, that's what our DE said. It's gratifying to hear that XX concurs with the professional.

(This message has been edited by a staff member.)

For those that can't figure it out, in this instance XX is secret shorthand for beedubyah.(This message has been edited by Fat Old Guy)

"The skills needed to become a First Class Scout, form the groundwork or the foundation for all the good stuff that there is to come. Sadly in a lot of troops, the Scouts don't really learn this stuff and there isn't any good stuff coming where they can put these skills to work."

I don't have the resources to do a study and I'm sure that BSA will never admit but I believe that the "First Class Emphasis" and "First Class/First Year" stuff is to blame for much.

We seem to have quite a few people who think that if a Scout doesn't make it to 1st Class by the end of his first year, that he's a failure and that the program has failed. I hear too many leaders saying, "I want to run these boys through XYZ so they can get ABC" (fill in with XYZ and ABC of your choice). Run them through? Is this an assembly line?

Are we putting too much emphasis on Eagle? We always say that advancement should be the outcome of a good program but isn't that program supposed to be focused on Scouting and not advancement?

We send kids to camp for "Trail to First Class" and then tailor campouts to meet requirements. Rather than going on a hike and letting the Scout find the things needed for his requirements, we take Scouts on hikes specifically so he can find signs of animals and identify trees.

How many troops conduct "Trail to Eagle" planning sessions? How many troops have Eagle Advisors?

Does all this really make advancement the natural outcome of the program or does it make the program about advancement?

We used a have a cake raffle in my Cub pack. Someone brought up the issue of gambling and BSA so our CC went to the DE for the Q&A. The DE said it was okay as long as it was an internal operation. In otherwords, we couldn't sell tickets on the corner.

As much as many of us would like to see some sort of throttle in the systme to prevent parents from pushing their sons to be Eagles by twelve, it isn't in the rules.

About the only thing that can be used to slow down the Eagle race is the project. If one was of a mind to, the committee could just disapprove all projects proposals from young Scouts. However, that would be more than a bit dishonest.

In olden days, you could only work on one rank at a time which meant that you had to earn T-foot, then 2nd Class, and finally First Class in order. That slowed down the process. Over the years, BSA also had restrictions on when Scouts could start earning merit badges.

Now, things have changed. Even though BSA gives lip service to the idea that Advancement isn't a goal, they've made 1st Class absurdly easy to get. Couple this with the parents who are frantic to have their kids "earn" Eagle before they start to drive and you have a mess and an advancement race.

Things happen like kids taking positions that they really don't want because "they need them to advance." You have parents that pressure Scoutmasters to have Scouts bumped out of positions because "someone else needs the slot."

It's a mess but it's one that we have to live with.

"Taking away their badges is a symbolic gesture but one that puts a notch deep enough to last a lifetime."

I don't think that rank can be revoked.

"A few years ago I dealt with two different cases of Eagle Scouts stealing from others."

Obviously when these guys are reciting the Scout Law, it is just a bunch of words.

I checked scoutstuff.org and it has no listing for patrol flags.

"Do you really think that if gays become allowed in the BSA, there wouldn't be a change in G2SS?"

Would all outing require at least one heterosexual leader?

"Activist knew that if they could take out as many religious based restrictions against homosexuality as possible, eventually they would cast enough doubt on the religious belief against homosexuality that it would be viewed as extreme."

That's already happening. The Episcopalians are approving, endorsing, and promoting homosexuality so obviously the bible is meaningless to that group.

There really isn't a "standard" patrol flag anymore. They can be anything (within reason) that the patrol desires.

In our troop we have a banner (hangs from a horizontal member of the staff), a few regular flags and large staff that is decorated with totems.