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hello from Lawton, Oklahoma!!


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I'm interested in seeing an all-male youth scouting-type organization to be formed in America. Since BSA ended this long-standing all-male condition some time ago, I have a dream of founding an scouting alternative for absolutely for boys only. What I dream of would take a certain degree of economic resources and a few people who can share my vision. Attached is what I had in mind in a PDF form. What do people hear think of my idea? 

 

Five-Star Boys of America.pdf

Edited by BoysLivesMatter
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Welcome to the forums. Best of luck on your endeavors.

The idea? Doesn't sell to me. My better scouts were venturers in a coed crew. Scouting in the company of girls did wonders for my boys.

On the other hand, that you don't want to discriminate on the basis of religion would be a selling point at my church.

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2 hours ago, qwazse said:

Welcome to the forums. Best of luck on your endeavors.

The idea? Doesn't sell to me. My better scouts were venturers in a coed crew. Scouting in the company of girls did wonders for my boys.

On the other hand, that you don't want to discriminate on the basis of religion would be a selling point at my church.

Girl Scouts are still non-coed. Do you therefore, to be fair, condone their ongoing female-only policy? Why does it do Boy Scouts 'good' to add girls to the mix but not Girl Scouts 'good' to add boys to the mix? I think the current situation regarding scouting is entirely unfair to boys. Some boys want to get away from their sisters as far as possible. 

Parents and children of both sexes should have the choice to scout coed or non-coed. What I propose to do is make things fair and just for boys to level the gender playing field. 

I don't want to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation either. 

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2 hours ago, qwazse said:

Welcome to the forums. Best of luck on your endeavors.

The idea? Doesn't sell to me. My better scouts were venturers in a coed crew. Scouting in the company of girls did wonders for my boys.

On the other hand, that you don't want to discriminate on the basis of religion would be a selling point at my church.

Same for me, I have no problem with being co-ed. If anything, it develops communications skills faster. I wish I had the time to join venturing. I like having co-ed, it makes everything a lot more fun and interesting. At the camps I’ve worked at, it’s been great to have a mix of everyone.

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You’re writing program at the 500 foot level.

What you need to do is what Baden Powell did.  Write a book.  Write it so the boys will love it. Then, test your principles in a single unit environment. 

BTW, wrestling isn’t a contact sport?  I’m laughing. 

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3 hours ago, BoysLivesMatter said:

Girl Scouts are still non-coed. Do you therefore, to be fair, condone their ongoing female-only policy? Why does it do Boy Scouts 'good' to add girls to the mix but not Girl Scouts 'good' to add boys to the mix? I think the current situation regarding scouting is entirely unfair to boys. Some boys want to get away from their sisters as far as possible. 

Parents and children of both sexes should have the choice to scout coed or non-coed. What I propose to do is make things fair and just for boys to level the gender playing field. 

I don't want to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation either. 

@BoysLivesMatter, I have the highest respect for GS/USA, and have had to talk "off the ledge" many young women who didn't.

But, for decades the rhetoric at the top of both organization made it increasingly difficult for folks with interests in both to work together.

How did it do Boy Scouts any good? Well from a leadership perspective, it kept me engaged as both a Crew Advisor and ASM. I'd like to think that my presence was a positive influence ... or, as I explained to the occasional scout from time to time ... I didn't do any more damage than what was already there. Certainly, when it came time to place flags at veterans' graves last Memorial Day, it was a joy to meet the young women of Scouts BSA in my district -- and then again at Klondike derby. They caught me up and told me summer camp went well too. Some were chomping at the bit to be old enough to join a crew.

Now, you don't know me from Adam, and maybe once you did you'd rather not try to recruit me for a few spare hours. No problem. Maybe I'm the only person who's market share you'll miss out on. If so, I'm sure you will be joined by others who will settle their hammocks down in bear country and keep the Constitution at the ready.

The digger, sanitizer, and toilet paper in my backpack does not discriminate by age, religion, sexual orientation ... or sex!

3 hours ago, John-in-KC said:

... BTW, wrestling isn’t a contact sport?  I’m laughing. 

@John-in-KC, World Scout Jamboree the Swiss exhibit included a bed of hay for a scout hankering to wrestle his/her opponent!

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Honestly, I wish you well, but in today's world, I doubt you will make any headway with this.

 

You would have better luck joining/supporting an already existing Boy's only group, then to "invent" your own. Maybe you can get them to re-brand to include Boy in the name (but nothing "Boy Scout", cause that would be taken to court).

 

Starting a ground up program would require 1 to start, and then enough attention to grow

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8 hours ago, BoysLivesMatter said:

Parents and children of both sexes should have the choice to scout coed or non-coed. What I propose to do is make things fair and just for boys to level the gender playing field. 

Parents already have that choice.  ScoutsBSA is not a co-ed program, troops are either all boy or all girl.  No charter organization that sponsored a troop before the introduction of all girl troops last year had to jump in and also sponsor a new girl troop.

I have been involved in scouting as a youth and adult for more than 55 years, and have no problem with giving a girls troop the same opportunities as boys have had for the last 110 years.

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My daughter is in Girl Scouts and she also earned Webelos and Arrow of Light.  She told me she wants to go to my meetings and do what we do because we have more fun.  How do I argue with that???

I am going to tell you what I tell people when they bring up what GSUSA does or does not do.

I am not part of the GSUSA organization and I can not speak on why they don't have a more outdoor oriented program.  I am unable to make GSUSA have that kind of program, and I have no way to make them allow boys join their organization.  I don't know why they do what they do.  I CAN provide and promote the BSA Cub Scout program to the best of my ability to whoever wants to be involved.  I believe in the program and I believe that if a girl wants to camp, fish, hike, etc and the other major youth organization is not providing her that opportunity, who am I to tell her she can't?  

We don't have many girls in the Pack right now, but the boys don't care.  When my daughter visited the Troop (Boy) last year because there was not a Troop for Girls to visit, they all accepted her and went out of their way to make her feel welcomed.  And, I am in a small Texas rural town.  

From what I have heard and seen its not the Youth that are against girls in the program, its adults that are the block.

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