Ankylus

Some of the finest Eagle scouts I've ever known earned the award 17. I had no idea this was some kind of issue. The bees that some people get in their bonnet.....

There can be no doubt that BSA has been under attack from the political left on a number of grounds over a rather long time. Whether you agree with their goals is not material to whether this is happening. It is happening. This is just one front in that battle. So the question really is what does BSA do about it? Well, BSA caved on the whole homosexual issue, for good or ill. (But I ask, what difference does a scout's sexual orientation make? It's not like sexual activity of any kind is permissible amongst scouts within the scope of the program.) Did it satisfy the critics? Did they b

Au contraire, as a private club we can discriminate on many bases. That's been to the US Supreme Court and back.

I do not mind a bit of political discussion around the campfire. I think it is a part of being an active citizen, provided it is done well and thoughtfully. It sounds like the fellow in your scenario went overboard, but I don't know that I would have chastised him or anything. At most, I would have tried to change the topic or guide the discussion in a less political direction. That is, so long as he wasn't haranguing a scout. No scout's parent sends their boys with us for political indoctrination. Have to draw the line there. (And we do not permit scouts to loiter at the adults' camp

The responses are all over the place here, and I am trying to figure out what the thread is really about. I will say that anytime somebody starts talking about the reputation of an institution that means an individual is about to be done wrong. Because if the action taken against the individual could be justified on any other ground, it would be. I will also say that zero tolerance policies are put in place to protect adults and institutions rather than children. You will never convince me that they do more good than harm for the children. But I understand the OP to be, "What justifies exp

Thank you all, and to qwazse.

Just found this forum today, so I thought I would try it on for size...see if it can help me and if I can help it. I hope both parts of that are true. I in the US and am an assistant scoutmaster in a large troop. We have about 126 registered scouts and a bunch of registered adults. Previously, I was assistant scoutmaster in another similar sized troop and a den leader, a Cubmaster, and a Comittee Chair of a Cub Scout pack. (Not all at the same time, of course.) I look forward to the experience of this forum.