NJCubScouter

Well, I was assuming that Latin Scot's Scout Shop (say that five times fast) didn't put up those signs at random. But I guess we'll find out soon enough.

American Business with Crime Prevention?

More than once, it's beginning to look like the Olympic rings.

I personally don't view it as either positive or negative. The question for me is whether it is prohibited or not. And maybe I missed it, but I don't see where "PDA" (short of "sexual activity") is actually prohibited (by National) for either married or unmarried Scouters. (Leaving aside that kind of odd (and discriminatory) document on Guidelines for Female Conduct, which is really geared toward camp staff, who are employees rather than volunteers.) It is really more a matter of unit/CO rules, based on common sense as to how people should behave in public, and about what their "PDA" might suggest about what is going on between them elsewhere. As for the latter point, there is a difference between married and unmarried persons. And whether you like it or not, the BSA does treat married couples differently than unmarried persons, specifically in the tenting rules, but I think this also carries over into what is generally "okay" and what isn't "okay". How about two adults of the opposite sex, on a camping trip, sitting next to each other and speaking softly and laughing to each other so nobody else can hear what they are saying? They aren't even touching each other, but it might still be a show of affection. I think this is going to be viewed one way if John and Mary are married to each other, and another way if they are each married to other people. In the first instance an onlooker might think "Aw, isn't that nice" and in the second case it might be "Hey, what's going on?" As for what someone from another troop might think, it's actually none of your business, but if you feel a need to think about it at all, it would probably be best if you just assumed the people are married to each other.

On the bright side, the troop still exists. The pack in which I was a Cub Scout and the first of two troops in which I was a Boy Scout are no longer around.

Qwasze, thank you for posting those. I decided to compare the statements on alcohol in each one and found the following: Canada: "I WILL NOT EVER:... Consume alcohol on Scouting activities for youth." UK: "Do not drink alcohol when you are directly responsible for young people and never allow young people on Scouting activities to drink alcohol." South Africa (two statements): "1.2 Members in SCOUTS South Africa are expected to;... 1.2.11 Refrain from drinking alcohol in front of youth and/or providing alcohol products for youth." "No member or other person who has a duty of care shall use or permit the use of alcohol, illegal drugs and chemical or related substances while supervising, partaking in or presenting any facet of SSA’s programmes." BSA: "I will not possess, distribute, transport, consume, or use any of the following items prohibited by law or in violation of any Scouting rules, regulations and policies: Alcoholic beverages or controlled substances, including marijuana." There was no specific statement for Australia; perhaps their policy is in a different document. The statements from Canada, UK and South Africa are clear statements about what is prohibited. The BSA policy confuses things by inserting the statement "prohibited by law or in violation of any Scouting rules, regulations and policies." So what are the rules, regulations and policies on the subject of alcohol?

According to this, http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/merit-badge-calendar/, Advanced Computing, Multi-Media and Computer-Aided Design have been in the works for at least five years. I actually thought they had been out for a few years, because I must have seen them on a list of "upcoming" merit badges and did not realize they had been removed from the list. They are back on the list now, I guess. I had never heard of the Biometrics merit badge before.

I watched a couple of the videos on YouTube (including a performance of the "Crest of a Wave" song; actually the first video I found was of some instrumental song, but then I looked down the list and saw a bunch of kids standing on a stage, so I knew that was probably the right one) and read these articles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gang_Show https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gang_Show It's an interesting tradition. I had never heard of any of it (including the song) so I am going to assume that none of it is known in the U.S. (except for the stray British person or two that finds themselves over here.) Well, it's a little bit better known now that we are discussing it.

I suppose you are correct that an 11-to-17-year-old boy, seeing a married couple holding hands, might conclude that it is likely that, when the couple is in an appropriate setting (i.e, in private, and not in a tent at a Boy Scout camping trip), there might be "other stuff." And you don't have to be 11-to-17. I myself would conclude (if I gave the matter any thought) that the married couple is probably up to "other stuff" at the appropriate time and place. For that matter, people in my troop know that I have three children, so even if they never actually met any other members of my family, they probably would conclude that there was some "other stuff" involved somewhere, sometime. The key word here is "married".

Barry, I don't know who you are quoting there, but it isn't me. I never would have said the part about no hand holding by married leaders. I don't remember anyone saying it, but if they did, it wasn't me.

Maybe it's a reincarnation thing.

As others have said, I think that at least two different topics are being discussed here, and the responses are getting jumbled together. There is no rule against, and nothing wrong with, a married couple (that is, married to each other) holding hands at a BSA event.

I think we do help a lot of the people who ask questions here, and many more who never post but who read the conversations between others. Not everyone is helped to the same degree, and perhaps some are not helped at all, but I think that is a minority. Having said that, I have also said once or twice that perhaps some of the advice given by some posters in here should have a disclaimer attached to it. I think that when someone gives advice that is contrary to National's guidance (and sometimes policies) on a subject, they should at least acknowledge that fact. I also think that sometimes some people are too quick with "find another troop." And then there are times that someone asks a fairly simply question and quickly gets five pieces of advice, all of which conflict with each other, and then the arguments start. Well, I guess sifting through the conflicting advice allows our newer members to develop their critical thinking skills.

I guess I should take some comfort in the fact that I am a clerk at the Bailey Building and Loan instead of working for mean old Mr. Potter, metaphorically speaking.

Good photos, I particularly like the one of the owl trying to blend in with the sky. If it were a cloudier day...

So did she take the leader job again?

According to meritbadge.org "they" thought of it 24 years ago.

What I find interesting is that our next-door council that vanished does not seem to have been covered by any of the UW's that withdrew funding, while my council, which survived, overlaps with two of them. Or, put another way, about two-thirds of my council is covered by UW's that withdrew funding.

My vague recollection from my one and only Philmont trek of 43 years ago is that we probably got up at sunrise, broke camp, ate quickly and got going. That was a long time ago though.

Not sure why this belongs in Issues and Politics, except that it leaves me free to say that our local United Way stopped funding our BSA council about 15 years ago, over "membership issues". I am not sure whether the funding has ever been restored, So, NOW it belongs in Issues and Politics.

What do you mean, nobody answered him? Lots of people answered him. Yours is the 58th post in this thread. You have also managed to resurrect a thread that had been "resting" for eight years. Or maybe it was pining for the fjords...

In the U.S. she would not even have been eligible to be a Cubmaster until age 21. She would have been eligible to be an Assistant Cubmaster. Although I think some parents would have an issue with a 21-year-old Cubmaster.

I see Col. Flagg's photo. Well, it's really a photo of the character from MASH...

It may seem that way sometimes, although "a lot" is a subjective term. I think lawyers may have more of a tendency to identify their (er, our) profession because sometimes the threads involve legal issues. I don't know what most of the posters on here do for a living, and even in cases where people have provided that information, I don't necessarily remember. There seem to be a number of people involved in various aspects of the computer field. Are there more of those than there are lawyers? Are there more teachers than lawyers? Are there more insurance salespersons than lawyers? I don't know, because most people don't say.

I thought the "cultural" awards were adult awards. They seem to be talking about awards for Scouts. I also thought the only "knot" a Scout could wear was for a religious award and maybe also a heroism award. Was I misinformed?