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As most of you know, I do think this is an Offensive Skit, and I am a very strong opponent to hazing in any form.

 

However, to have a Cubmaster and Den Leader resign over the reaction of an unknowing "victim" seems to be a little over the top. I would have thought banning the skit from the pack would be enough to appease the most distraught individual. So now the pack is short a Den Leader and Cubmaster, is the Damp Adult going to step up and show how a Pack is supposed to be run?

 

I have to say, as much as I dont like the skit, this is way too much.

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Wow!

 

the 'victim'was incensed and made a scene,

 

the CM and den leader resign,

 

the cubs are feeling...what? probably not good. Did they learn anything useful - probably not.

 

Lose-lose-lose.

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I think we're all tired of seeing the same skits over and over again. When we tell the Scouts to come up with new ones, they can compose new ones themselves, or take a path of less resistance and "lift" them from movies and TV shows, including the scatalogical references, body counts, and other subject matter that remind us that kids lose their innocence at a younger age these days.

 

I think the key to avoiding unpleasant surprises is to preview them, like you're supposed to do when planning a campfire. If it's a pack meeting, the den leaders can bounce them off the assistant CM for "propriety". In my experience, you can't count on a lot of the parents; I have 11-year old Scouts who have seen every R-rated movie out there, with their parents' permission...hello?

 

There are obviously some skits that are squeaky clean, some that are clearly over the line, and some that are in a "grey area". We had one at a District summer camp in which a first year Scout from another troop saved a latex glove from serving dinner, inflated it, held it against his stomach, and solemnly proclaimed he was "Udder-man", the only superhero who was also a cow...he went on for a minute or so, ad-libbing a routine about how he was ready to save the world, and so on, and so on. His delivery, gestures, and timing were incredible -- the lad was a natural and had us all in stitches. When I got done wiping my eyes, I saw that our DE was hopping mad...you guessed it: highly inappropriate. I guess the point is, anything you do can offend someone.

 

You know, with all the fuss over Indian-related sports team names, it's only a matter of time before the American Indian Movement goes after OA for the ceremonies and costumes...

 

With St. Patty's day upon us, I wonder why the Irish haven't complained about Notre Dame's nickname, the Fighting Irish, and that cartoonish little mascot guy who looks like he's always ready to get sideways with you? You hope it's because it's harmless and not worth getting worked up over, right?

 

KS

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An interesting add-on to this conversation is the topic of improv. More than once, I've seen boys faced with the challenge of finding a new skit and they have turned to "Whose Line is it Anyway?" for inspiration.

 

What are your thoughts on improvisation? The pros are that it can be hilarious. It's always fresh and new. It really showcases the acting talent of some boys. It gets the audience involved.

 

The cons are that it cannot be pre-approved by an adult because there is nothing to approve. Therefore, the content can become tedious or unacceptable. These boys are also not professional improv artists so a really good act may be hard to find.

 

I find it an interesting concept. It has made for some of the best and worst campfires I have seen.

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Oh, c'mon lad, it's St. Paddy's day! Everyone's Irish! ;) (I know, I know...)

I'm a Notre Dame student who knows several kids who've studied abroad in Dublin. They said most of the Irish students don't get too offended about our (rather silly) mascot. After all, one of the ways we got the name was from a battalion of Union soldiers which included several ND priests and boys (mostly Irish). Not a slur so much as a historical reference.

 

As far as the skits are concerned, I think that kids will be kids, and the adult leaders need to keep in mind that not all their humor will be pc. I see nothing wrong with "Udder Man" the super-cow. What was the matter? Did the leader see it as some form of interspecies cross-dressing?

 

Unless it clearly crosses a line in degrading a group of people, or has sexual or highly violent themes (not slapstick), I don't see much of a problem. I don't think poking fun at adults, scouts, cattle, etc. is wrong as long as it's kept good-natured.

 

Improv can be risky, but also a lot of fun. For my Catholic youth group related events, we would put an adult or responsible kid in charge of "buzzing:" stopping the action if the skit got tedious or started to take a turn for the worse and then calling out a new direction.

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I guess I see a different problem here. Where was the support of the committee for these leaders? When it comes to being a leader in the scout program, there will always be the unexpected whether it' skits, off color jokes, scouts not running a meeting correctly or even just the way they cook. When a situation where one adult pulls rank on the leadership to the point of upsetting the program, the unit leaders need to come together quickly to resolve the problem. Even if that adult was right, it brought the wrong results because the situation was handled wrong. If your unit adults don't work as a group of one, you will loose good leaders who don't need to put up with that guff for giving one hour a week.

 

I entered a discussion on this forum about the expectations of adult leaders in a unit. I said something about who would allow someone well known in the pornagraphy industry and I was surprised to read someone say that it really depends of the pornagraphy. While this Oklahoma grown God loving boy doesn't really see a gray area here, he is right to some degree. What is offensive to you may not be at all to me. Just look at the comments on this subject. Your unit needs the support of the group to make sure the program follows a standard that all leaders are willing to support when the unexpected happens, and it will happen, a lot. If adults don't agree with your program, they have choices. I have seen it work in some very tough situations.

 

Scouting is hard, and we don't always see eye to eye, but we can learn to handle tough situations by getting together and dealing with them as a team. When an adult or scout decides to behave badly in the wrong place, one adult may be doing the talking, but that person sure better have the unit standing behind ready to give support. Such persons are not as common as you would think.

 

I hope the committee calls these two leaders and ask them to come back with a promise of support.

 

Barry

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KoreaScouter says:

 

You know, with all the fuss over Indian-related sports team names, it's only a matter of time before the American Indian Movement goes after OA for the ceremonies and costumes...

 

Actually, it is my understanding that this subject has already come up and been discussed. My information comes solely from reading the Internet, possibly including posts on this forum, so others presumably have better information. However, my general understanding is that representatives of Native American cultures have discussed OA ceremonies and costumes with representatives of the OA and that in fact the OA has made some changes or adopted guidelines in order to ensure that there was nothing offensive. Whether this is something that happened on a national-to-national level or in certain areas of the country, I am not sure of. But it fits right in with my understanding of the OA from when I was a Scout, which is that the use of Native American rituals was intended to give honor, not offense, to those cultures.(This message has been edited by NJCubScouter)

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asm238, regarding the skits on the web site you reference:

 

Grey areas? Of the first five skits, one call the "victim" a jerk, one deals with suicide, one with diarrhea, and another includes torturing insects.

 

And the cup of water is offensive?

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