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krypton_son

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Posts posted by krypton_son

  1. I can't see any harm in it at all.  My mother was raised Catholic, my father Methodist.  I was baptized as a Methodist.  I have studied all the denominations and really don't adhere to just one.  I consider myself to be a Christian.  I've always been of the mindset that going to church is good and you should if you want to, but it's not necessary to be a Christian.  With that being said, I don't see why he shouldn't be able to profess a love, respect and belief in God without professing a denomination as his own.  Isn't that pretty much what Scouting itself doe?  Duty to God, not a denomination.

  2. I'm personally not a fan of technology while camping.  To me it just takes away from the enjoyment of nature.  Too many kids are glued to their phones nowadays.  I don't think I would go so far as to not allow them at all on campouts, but I would certainly encourage them to use them as little as possible. 

    • Upvote 1
  3. @@krypton_son To be fair, I think this SM is a good man who perhaps has been at it too long.  Recently an ASM criticized something to the SM and his response was "If you want my job you can have it right now."  I know how difficult it is to get and retain good volunteers.  Unfortunately there is no waiting list for SM here so we have chosen to move on.

     

    You're 100% right CaliGirl, it's very stressful, and it can be a very demanding and thankless position.  Having said that though, abusing that position is a big deal, especially when it can affect the boys in such negative ways.

  4. Smoking was normal back in the day,  most of my adult leaders were never without a pack or two on a campout.  But weed or liquor was not allowed period.   One dad brought a bottle of Jack on a campout, my Sm was very clear " Last thing I need is a drunk scout, second to last thing I need is a drunk scouter!  The bottle goes or you do. "  

     

    I agree, and most of the time if the adults found out about the weed or alcohol they'd put a stop to it, but it usually didn't result in any severe penalties.  They just chalked it up to boys being boys. 

  5. I have to agree, Souting does seem way more restrictive and rigid nowadays.  Maybe it's just me.  I remember when I was a Scout it was pretty common to see the adults smoking.  If nature called you found a tree and took care of business. The adults usually brought a six-pack along for the camp fire at night.  There were usually a lot of "adult" language by the youth and the adults.  The kids weren't so strictly supervised like they are now.  And yes, there was almost always some weed or smuggled liquor going around.  It seems like we were more resilient and self sustaining back than.  Not to mention thicker skinned.  Nowadays it seems like most all of that is gone.  Now we have to watch what we say or do in fear of being sued.  It also seems like the scouts all need such close guidance and have their hands held to do anything today. 

  6. Thanks for your response, NJCubScouter.  The demerit was not at all related to the BOR, and was not for anything serious or violent.  In addition to the demerit and loss of rank, he was asked to leave a campout.  During the same time period, the SM also stripped an older boy of his rank advancement for talking during a Troop meeting.

     

    Yeah, that should never happen.  Scouts cannot be "stripped" of their rank, that's not something that as far as I know is allowed in Scouting (with the possible exception of a revocation of Eagle Scout rank in some rare instances).  I would have that Scoutmaster out the door faster than he could realize.

    • Upvote 2
  7. At the same time the teenagers need to learn from those mistakes and there is no learning until the scout realizes he make a mistake.

     

    You are 100% correct.  I think it's a case by case thing sometimes.  Obviously if the kid shows no remorse then kicking him out might be an option.  Or if it's an extremely violent action that he takes.  Although at heart they're kids and they make mistakes.  I think finding that line is the mark of a great Scoutmaster.

  8. If Frank was a star scout at age 16, and he made Eagle Scout before he turned 18, his unit must have given him a free pass on his misconduct.  He couldn't have spent much time in the dog house.

     

    What Frank did was not a solitary or isolated crime.  He exposed other scouts to his misbehavior on several occasions.  He led other scouts to take a casual attitude toward recreational drug use.

     

    A Boy Scout Troop is supposed to be boy led.  It is important that the boys leading the troop show a good example to the younger boys.  Frank did not do that.  He did the exact opposite of what a boy leader should do.

     

    I am disappointed that Frank's troop elected him to a position of responsibility.

     

    Frank should have been banned from holding any position of responsibility for at least a year.  If he was a 16 year old star scout at the time, this should have kept him from becoming an Eagle Scout.

     

    Since my Chartered Organization is a school with a zero tolerance policy, we would have pulled his membership.

     

    I'm glad that Frank has had a good life.  I hope that all the boys he misled into developing a casual attitude toward illegal drug use have had an equally good life.

     

    He was punished quite badly by his parents and never allowed to work at the camp that he loved again.  I never said that he wasn't punished in the Troop.  He was.  Very much.  But again, I think you're missing the whole point of Boy Scouts.   We exist to guide boys to become good men.  How would we be doing that if we were to just write him off and kick him out.  They decided to keep him in the Troop and help him understand why it was wrong.  And he did.  And because of that he became the man that he is today.

  9. Just my 2 cents here.  I remember when I was a youth in scouts, I worked at our council's summer camp for several years.  Not a year went by when there wasn't a few of us smoking cigarettes, marijuana and occasionally alcohol.  We were teenagers, it happened. I remember one particular scout named Frank who was a close friend.  He would occasionally get his hands on some pot and at night after taps we'd all get together in one of our cabins and he'd smoke it.  One night he was trading some patches with another kid who worked with us named Brian.  Brian was kind of the spoiled kid that nobody liked.  Brian got upset at Frank for not wanting to trade a certain patch that he wanted really bad.  Brian left and about 10 minutes later he along with the camp director and 2 other adult staff members came in and searched Franks belongings.  They found a few joints and a couple of beers.  The police were called and he was fired from camp.  At the time he was about 16 and a Star rank. 

     

    I still talk to Frank sometimes on facebook.  He went on to earn his Eagle Scout and later became a Scout master.  He is married and has 3 kids.  He heads up the fire dept. where he lives and has saved many lives.  He was honored by the mayor last year for heroism.  Was he wrong for what he did?  Of course he was.  He was punished (by both the camp and his parents) and missed out on working at camp, which he loved.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not excusing his actions, he got what he deserved.  I've always been under the assumption though that Boy Scouts was created to help guide and teach young boys to become good men.  If he was kicked out of Scouts or denied his Eagle rank would he have become the person he is today?

  10. Personally I would do it.  It's a patriotic act made by your troop.  Regardless of what the business is or it's political/religious leanings, if it wants a show of duty to country and patriotism, I think it would be almost wrong for Scouting to decline it.  Duty to country is at the heart of Scouting. It always has been. 

    • Upvote 1
  11. I think that if you're intelligent and determined enough to learn multiple languages, why not?  Besides, the strips are more of a utilitarian purpose then a decoration or award.  If someone really needs an interpreter, it's helpful to be able to see them and know that you can help.

  12. Since when should our national patriotism be subsumed with out faith?   Ultimately,  our faith and duty to our faith must define and color how we deal with our country , other folks and ourselves.  But to include  the two as if they were the same one third of the Scout Promise is not quite right.

     

    I couldn't have said it better.

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