Scouter99

That is a very interesting question. I'm sure there would be deep divisions over it from different corners, but, sure, I would sign that. Long-term camping is allowed for the devices, and if the staff sleep in tents, their experience isn't any different than the campers, so I would sign it. But, I'm not your son's Scoutmaster/designee, so it would be up to that guy and I would make sure he feels the same way before I spent 7 weeks in a tent. If the fact that he's being paid is an issue, do it as an unpaid CIT.

I'd agree with BD's plan "Let him enjoy his patrol mates and get to first class. Let him learn his knots, how to pitch a tent, plan and cook a meal on his own. Learn first aid, swim" He can't earn any of them til he's first class, anyway. BUT keep track of what is done on every camping trip. It's damn near impossible to turn around 3 years later and start trying to figure out how many miles were hiked on XYZ trip in 2009, and it takes a lonnnnng time, believe you me. AND use the requirements to guide some of his decisions about which MBs he earns at summer camp and throughout the year.

Well, then, sorry to peg you wrong At times, Andersson veers too far into the personal struggle (or the marketing of the book veers too far to away from its personal nature), so I found it lacking in detail, but his argument is lucid and his point is well demonstrated. "Toward Stonewall" fills in the gaps by giving in-depth coverage to pre-Stonewall gay movements. Reading Wilde or Mann's work, or viewing the paintings of Henry Tuke gives first-hand knowledge of what Andersson, Edsall, and Greer mean when they're talking about the emphasis on the youthful male form. (If you're short on tim

The paperwork involved in this award is a capital-N Nightmare. To facilitate boys who want to apply for it, I've created a spreadsheet that keeps track of every trip the troop offers or any Scouting event that any boy from the troop attended (OA, high adv., jambo) going back as far as the oldest scout in the troop. First column is the date (month/year), then trip title (XYZ State Park), then a column for each badge category: Camping, Hiking, Riding, Aquatics, Adventure. In those 5 columns is recorded the applicable data; for camping X nights, aquatics, X hours, riding X miles, etc. It's

To an extent, you are correct that these laws are coming from a desire to prosecute pedophiles. They are also mostly social attempts to control adolescent sexuality, which is something that large portions of the population is still uncomfortable with. There is a succinct article on the history of age of consent here: http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/teaching-modules/230 Basically, the role of those laws began as a way to protect very young children (10 and under) then transformed to a means of (trying) to control teen sexuality as well as protect young people from older people. When a legislature e

Packsaddles' use of the word pedophile is (purposefully) erroneous and does not reflect reality or my argument which is exactly the opposite: That relationships with sexually mature/maturing people is not pedophilia. I've replied to him above. In either event, Sandusky's case has no bearing on the tpoic, because it is non-consensual, and I have already made the distinction that we're talking about consensual relationships.

As Rick pointed out, American society has become more conservative (you can say "reserved" if you're allergic to the c-word) about teens' relationships with older people. Ages of consent have risen in US states from 7-12 in 1880 to 15-18 by 2007 in the case of unmarried people, and we know that even into the 1940s men often married girls as young as 13, but today of course marriageable age is much higher with exception in cases of parental or judicial consent. So, that's adult-teen relationships in a nutshell. More conservative nationwide without regard to politically-liberal or politica

"Abuse" is an ahistorical attribute that you're applying based on a contemporary understanding of relationships which puts culturally-constructed, arbitrary striations on who can have a relationship with who based on nothing but age. Consensual relationships aren't intrinsically abusive simply due to age. Would you call a 20-yr-old who is dating a 17-yr-old a pedophile? 23 and 17? 17 and 18? 17 and 14? Ephebophilia comes directly from the Greek word "Ephebos" which was the young man in a homosexual relationship with an older man--And now we're back to Plato, and you're again demonstr

Not at all: Sex between an adult and a teenager is not pedophilia. Like "retard" before it, "pedophile" has been hijacked by society and given a meaning that is false; pedophilia is a medical term with a specific definition: sexual attraction to pre-pubescent children. But, just as retard simply means stupid to the avg person, pedophile has come to mean anyone who dates someone under 18, or even just someone who dates someone X years younger than themselves. The actual definition of pedophilia cuts off at age 13, because by 13 virtually every person will have entered puberty and will theref

Many people are celebrating the Stonewall Riots right now as the beginning of the gay rights movement, but the fact of the matter is that there have been modern concerted attempts going back to the Victorian age. The book "Toward Stonewall" has large free segments on Google books that cover the Victorian movements, which mostly centered on boy love ("boy" in the Victorian sense means "teenager" in the modern), including Germany's first Scouting movement, the Wandervoegel ("migrating birds"). These Victorian movements focused on the beauty of the young male, and the power of homosexual sex in

I'm just going back and reading, or re-reading this thread. You brought up several varied points in your post, but some really make me think.... I would so much rather see a boy leaning against a tree reading, than playing with technology..... but what I see more of is a boy or boys huddled up in a tent with a video game, with other cubs that didn't bring their games or tablet computers huddled around watching and wanting a turn. Our CM's sons are the ones with all of the latest gadgets, and it's usually around their tent where you find this huddle. On a campout, I view this tech as a

Hi! I'm a frequent lurker here, but as I have experience with GSUSA as well as Boy Scouts I'd like to comment on this comparison. I agree that you cannot equate the two organizations. The one thing that is true, is that the groups are organized very differently from each other, and have a very different culture. Girl Scout troops are not set up as Cub Packs or Boy Scout troops. That can however be a good thing. If there is no troop for your daughter, you can just start one -- no need to find a chartering organization or to set up an entire Pack for kids grades 1-5 and find den le

I wondered if any kind soul out there owns one of the 50s t-shirts with the BSA logo: http://www.ebay.com/itm/300807063267?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 I'd like to have one made at CafePress (or wherever) for myself, but I would need a scan/photo of the emblem laid flat. Let me know if you're willing to oblige.

Now you're arguing with yourself. The letter you linked makes a clear distinction (the same distinction I've been making) between admission of atheist boys (which is discrimination) and the requirement of all members to say the oath (which is a 1st amendment issue). You're not addressing the issue I took with Schiff which was contingent on what he meant by "lost sponsorship."

Contingent on what you mean, I have to take issue with this aspect of your reply; it doesn't accurately reflect the split. --If you mean the loss of gov't institutions as COs, we did not "lose sponsorship due to discrimination"; Chicago Public Schools, Housing and Urban Dev., and the military were forced to drop units by an ACLU lawsuit. When all three settled, then BSA stopped issuing charters to any gov't institution. The lawsuit was not solely over discrimination, it was also over separation of church and state. The argument was that when a teacher, HUD employee, or MP has boys swear to d

Here's your chance to unload, Scouting Magazine just admonished us all that if our troop isn't working, it's because we aren't using the Patrol Method: http://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2013/06/24/how-to-keep-your-troop-out-of-the-death-spiral/

Could you include some links or context so we know what you're talking about?

I wish I had that $2000 to flush.

From my perspective, the GSUSA's big problem is the way they're "organized." There's no continuity in units. Mrs. Jones starts a unit, but it's not like a BSA unit where all comers are welcome, rather, it's just for Katie Jones and Katie's friends. When they get sick of scouts, or stop being friends, the troop is just gone. There are currently 3 GSUSA troops meeting at my troop's CO; why? Balkanism. Of course they have waiting lists and don't have enough volunteers, it's a selfish system. In the past 15 years, there's been a parade of GSUSA units at our CO, perhaps 6; some were founded and fol

Thanks for posting these links. I looked up your book a few days ago; do you have any plans for a Kindle edition anytime soon?

Almost every Scouter in the country will tell you that sheath knives and fixed blade knives are "banned by BSA," but they are wrong. The BSA policy on knives can be read here: http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/GSS/gss08.aspx#f If anyone at the troops you visit challenges the knife, though, explain that it's standard NL issue, and if they insist, just toss it in the RV til you leave.

The problem with the argument that modern conveniences keep boys at home, is that we know from membership numbers that at the same time that TV, air conditioning, suburban life and all its comforts were exploding, so was BSA membership. A/C, shag carpet, arcade halls, and TV didn't keep boys at home in 1965, we can't assume that's what keeps them home today. In fact, as Rush fans know all too well, it may be the case that suburban life actually pushes boys right into our arms (nerd time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lu9Ycq64Gy4) because it denies their nature. But, perhaps the growth in m