Am I over-reacting?

[gcook1]

Hi everyone...I'm a Scoutmaster who needs some unbiased opinions. Yesterday, I received an email from our advancement coordinator. One of our Life Scouts had emailed him a first draft of his idea for his Eagle project. It was obviously a first draft...missing a lot of information. However, there was one section that bothers me greatly. In the Project Description, he described his project...who it benefited, what he was doing, etc. But the last sentence was a doozy.

 

"I strongly suggest you approve this project. If you do, you will find a nice paycheck under your chair and if not, you will find a small needle in your arm full of cyanide that I have the power to activate."

 

So I'm thinking a) what an incredible lack of common sense and maturity to put that on the form. b) complete lack of respect/understanding of the Eagle Scout project and rank. I'm not signing off on this kid's project. This is a Scout who is 15 and a Sophmore in high school. Yes, I would count him as one of my more immature Scouts. If someone's doing something "un-Scoutworthy" on an outing or at a meeting, he's not leading but he's most likely participating.

 

What would you do in this situation? My initial reaction is to let him and his parents know I don't plan on signing off on his project and he's got a LOT of maturing to do before I'll consider approving any project he proposes.

 

[evmori]

And C)a poor attempt at humor.

 

I'd have a sit down with this Scout & talk to him about it. Since you said he seems immature, you might find this was a poor attempt at humor & nothing more. If that's the case, I would talk to him about the wrong time & place for such things & the right time & place for such things (although I'm not sure there is a right time & place for what her wrote).

 

Ed Mori

1 Peter 4:10

[gcook1]

oh, I totally agree with C). I'm sure in his head he was being funny. I guess I'm just wondering if he's really ready to work on his Eagle. Should I just have the talk about proper timing of humor and let him go ahead? Or does this demonstrate he needs a little more maturity first?

[Gold Winger]

Call the police, let the professionals handle it. Just as were are not trained to determine if a given situation is child abuse, we are not trained to analyze the minds of teens to determine if they are joking about death threats.

 

(This message has been edited by Gold Winger)

[fotoscout]

Tough call !!

 

My response would be governed by how much I knew of the boy. If it's a kid you know from his Tiger days and recognize this as part of his warped sense of humor, you probably want to sit down with the boy and his parents to discuss it.

 

If there is anything questionable about the boy, then I agree 100% with Gold Winger, you have to go the professionals.

 

You know there is a thought that if it wouldn't fly in school, then it shouldn't fly in scouting. Certainly if a teacher received the same note, the authorities would be brought into the picture.(This message has been edited by fotoscout)

[Nike]

I would alert the parents that a meeting needed to be held with them, thier Scout, the Advancement Chair, people from district, and surprise everyone with a detective from your local law enforcement. This was stupid and absolutely positively NOT FUNNY. Boy needs to get that message, as do his parents. Be forewarned that you may lose a Scout.

[FScouter]

A funny/threating/stupid comment has nothing to do with the merits of the project, nor does his level of maturity. Evaluate the first draft on the content of the proposal provided, not on the stupid comment.

 

The comment/death threat is a separate issue.(This message has been edited by FScouter)

[evmori]

The comment/death threat isn't a separate issue. This goes directly to Scout Spirit if he wasn't kidding around!

[croushorn]

Go with #C.

As usual, you all need to chill a little. Lecture him a little and redirect him to do it properly. "And that is why Son, you will not dicuss an Eagle project by email with any adult. PICK UP THE PHONE OR ASK ME AT A MEETING."

GW: I really hope that was sarcasm...

[scoutldr]

First of all, NO, you are NOT overreacting. This is how Columbine and Virginia Tech started. This kind of thing should be taken VERY SERIOUSLY and I would IMMEDIATELY turn this over to law enforcement. Let them sort it out and get the kid the help he desperately needs. This is not "humor"...this is sociopathic behavior.

 

Just call the police non-emergency number and request a meeting with a detective. Do not call the parents, do not call the District or Council. They will likely blow it off to avoid publicity. Do not put this off...please. Yes, you may lose a scout ... better than someone losing their life, because everyone ignored the clear warning signs.(This message has been edited by scoutldr)

[John-in-KC]

I'd have a long, heart-to-heart, Scoutmaster Conference ... with this young man and his parents. There is no way to accept this as humor these days. A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal. This kid has blown that box wide open.

 

I'd have a long talk with your COR to boot.

 

Is this enough of a threat for you to contact your SE? That has to be your call, from your knowledge of the young man, in your own heart.

 

 

[Eagledad]

>>First of all, NO, you are NOT overreacting. This is how Columbine and Virginia Tech started.

[Stosh]

Too many well-meaning people have not acted on initial cries for help from individuals they thought were 1) immature, 2) just kidding, 3) poor choices, 4) etc. 5) etc. 6) fill in your favorite excuse.

 

If this boy is calling for help and it's kept "in-house" it could be a disaster. Get professionals involved, if it's not a call for help, then the pro's will be able to tell the well-meaning novices exactly what it is. This goes way beyond what the scouting program is capable of handling. I may be embarrassed, ridiculed, sued by parents, etc. for taking such drastic measures if I'm wrong, but if I'm right, I'm the hero.

 

How much is one willing to gamble on this boy? When in doubt, call in the big guns, those that really know what's going on. The boy may be mad because someone over-step the situation, but the boy may be relieved that someone finally cared enough to help. I'd rather say I was sorry for doing too much than saying I was sorry for not doing enough.

 

Stosh

[OldGreyEagle]

One of the Troops Eagles went to collge this past week, he has two other room mates. One of the room mates told a gathering of people that if he doesn't get good grades, he may just go "Virgina Tech" on them.

 

He was reproted to the School, and the young man is having a Pych eval and his status as a student reviewed, maybe he was just being "funny", maybe not.

 

Then again you may want to ask just how did he plan to inject the cyanide, had the scout learned Phlebotomy over the summer?

[scoutldr]

Over the top? OK, guilty. I had some of MY scouts at Va Tech in those very buildings when the shootings occurred. Those were VERY long hours until I got confirmation that they were OK. I can't imagine being a parent in that situation. All of the "experts" say this is a "zero tolerance" situation. Do not try to second guess the lad's intent. We are not qualified to do that. If he has the b---s to do this at 15, what will he do at 17 or 18? I don't even want to think about it. Sweeping this under the rug or turning it over to defensive in-denial parents is absolutely the WRONG thing to do.