Trevorum

I have come to believe that a very large portion of most person's "knowledge" is actually 'folk knowledge', obtained from non-experts in casual social settings - around the dinner table from ones peers, for example. This is in contrast to documented knowledge - the type of thing we learn from experts and from books.

This explains why so many people believe in ghosts, for example. Or why so many people believe that Obama is a socialist. Or why people think that our society could function better with less government regulation. All these these things are 'common knowledge' among broad swaths of the public.

You may or may not agree with what this young man has to say, but I'm sure you agree with me that he is an outstanding and articulate example of Scouting's finest.

http://tinyurl.com/85vrtue

As a side note, I just finished Stephen King's new novel "11-22-1963" about the assassination and the foreknowledged attempt to prevent it. I'd never had read any of King before, but his authorship of The Shawshank Redemption (which I saw as the film) convinced me to try this one. Many of you already know this of course, but he's a terrific writer! The book gives a wistful portrait of early 1960s America and his research into Oswald's life during the preceeding years is convincing of the Lone Shooter theory.

We went there in 2003. Don't know about more recently, but it was a *great* camping experience for our troop. Units did all their own cooking, so we were immersed in the patrol method for six days. I've never seen the patrols form-storm-perform like that since. Gorgeous scenery, and good hiking, too.

BSA has always been strongly heteronormative and I don't see that changing, even despite our greater understanding of intersex disorders. The condition is just too rare.

For more information about persons with biological characteristics of both genders, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersexuality

BDPT, why should there be a "line" at all??

Character is irrespective of gender (or gender identity) and I feel our mission to develop character in young people should be blind to gender (and gender identity). It's terribly unfortunate that some people want to draw a bright line between those they deem worthy of our mission and those they feel are not worthy.

Gender identity is such a difficult concept for most of us to fathom. We can't wrap our minds around it. The overwhelming majority, very nearly all, of us are born with body and psyche in tune. A very few people are born with different wiring. Being the parent of such a child, not to mention the child themselves, must be terrifically difficult.

A bubble? hmm... I'll have to think on that some. However, I think the pendulum analogy is more apt. If you can picture the pendulum swinging in multi-dimensional space rather than just two, it's even better.

I understand that there are emotional (and even visceral) responses to the matter of opening BSA membership to gay persons. Some folks will never be able to frame the issue as one of diversity and inclusveness. However, public opinion across the nation is steadily and irreversibly becoming more tolerant and welcoming of gay persons. As this happens, the BSA policy will increasingly become problematic at the unit level. I feel that at some point, National is going to have to face the reality that this policy is severely limiting membership, not from those gay persons who would want to join (truly a minority), but from other mainstream Americans who increasingly see the policy as exclusive, intolerant, and hateful.

FOR EXAMPLE, below is a REAL email recieved this week from a Wood Badge participant.

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"Well here is a question that I always get every year. We have lost several scouts because of it and actually i would love to do something about it.

Our sponsor has a policy of ALL inclusive. That directly conflicts with the gay issue. A few weeks ago I got a call from our cubmaster who has kids in his pack that both parents are gay. They would love to help out with the pack and become den leaders.

I addressed the issue that since our sponsor is all inclusive, and has no issues at all with gay people, we have to swim somewhere in between. We allow kids from gay people to join our pack and troop but we do not allow openly gay leaders. Meaning that if you are gay and you walk around with it all the time you cannot be a scout leader. I had many nasty discussions about it because it is considered by our sponsor to be discrimination. My reaction is don't ask don't tell, especially don't tell and do not be open about it, especially not around the scouts.

What is y'alls opinion, should we deny those children to participate in the program or should we deny them. In our case this has in the past and will in the future cost us a lot of scouts, not because they or their parents are gay, but because they do not agree with the policy of exclusion.

Do we not say somewhere that we do not discriminate?"

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I tell my two sons that by the time they have sons in Scouting, this will be a thing of the past.

I was forwarded that news feed yesterday and just rolled my eyes.

I'm an anthropologist and have been gainfully employed as such since I recieved my first degree in 1975. Working in the private sector, I now direct a department of 15 other anthropologists. We are busy, profitable, and provide a valuable service to our clients.

But there are never enough jobs in anthropology for all the graduates that are produced by college and universities. Resumes cross my desk routinely; I hire the best and let the others find their own career paths. Some of these find work with other firms, others stay underemployed or change careers. I sorta figure it's that way in any industry.

Thanks. I'm glad all is well

Has anyone heard anything from Ed (evmori)? He hasn't posted in several months.

LOL - Aside from their main gigs, both have promoted Scouting at a very high level.

(This message has been edited by trevorum)

They should have recognized Spielberg. Hope they'll recognize Rowe.

shortridge, you appear to be absolutely correct and I apologize for distributing bad information. Thank you for checking the source. Apparently, I mis-remembered "third leading" as "leading". It's still a heart-wrenching thing, no matter the statistics.

I am heartened by the compassionate replies. It is well for us to keep in mind that suicide is the leading cause of death among teenagers.

As a Texan, I've suffered under Perry's policies as Governor. His being a fellow Eagle Scout has nothing to do it.

From what I have read, Jeffs deserves to be locked up.

Nonetheless, I strongly believe that the Government has no right to tell anyone who they can marry or not, as long as every person is a consenting adult.

If a Protestant wants to marry a Jew, that should be their right. If a Black person wants to marry a white person, that should be their right. If a 20 year old wants to marry an 80 year old, that should be their right. If a disabled person wants to marry, that should be their right. If a man wants to marry another man, that should be their right. If three or more people want to marry, that should be their right.

very cool, Fred!

You are talking like an Irving executive who deals with membership dollars and not a Scoutmaster who deals with boys. I feel deeply sorry for that callousness, and that of others who refuse to see the real pain that this policy causes to real, live boys.

Seattle says, "The chattering classes like to chatter about their political wards, the homosexuals, but that's not where Scouts come from."

I strongly disagree. Young fellows enter Scouting at an age when their ultimate sexual orientation is unknown. A small, but non-negligible, portion of these fellows will ultimately discover over the next several years that they are different from most other guys, that they are homosexual. I know for a fact that some of these young scouts can not deal with being told that they are less worthy and some of these young people commit suicide because of this conflict. It is an ugly fact but undeniable: suicide is the leading cause of death among American teen-agers. God help us if we contribute to that.

I gotta say I don't understand this fascination with kilts. Must be a heritage thing. I'll have to look into a toga.

You tuck the collar under to wear a neckerchief? Why??

According to Gallup, Americans' support for the moral acceptability of gay and lesbian relations crossed the symbolic 50% threshold last year.

The future is coming at us. Is BSA prepared?

http://www.gallup.com/poll/135764/americans-acceptance-gay-relations-crosses-threshold.aspx

Many patches have no real value except to the person who earned them. OTOH, you never know what somebody three states over may be collecting. My advice is to list the duplicate patches on eBay for a nominal price - maybe 50 cents, or a dollar each. If there is interest, collectors will bid the price up to market value and you can donate the proceeds to your local unit. If no one bids on the patches, then I would just hand them out to any interested youngsters at your next camporee along with a copy of the requirements for the Collections Merit Badge.