UTMC

Good post. They taught me a lot and I hope that I can pass even half of it on to my kids.

I too have some decent memories of scouting...

Can it be saved from itself, now primarily a tool to proselytize for the mormon church?

I guess we'll have to hope for the best, as it stands were I to breed my kids would not be involved.

/RM

Two "Boy Scouts" came to my door November, 2008, selling popcorn for a fundraiser.

Still haven't gotten my popcorn. Thieves.

I was considering getting my son involved in the Boy Scouts, but was concerned about the religious aspect of it. Mormons you say?

And you're telling of

Rench wrote:bad press, idiot figureheads, and assholes with no foresight, top-to-bottom

Just not sure.

Fuck them. they kicked me out for drinking. True I was 12, but....

I heard on NPR last week, someone( I can't remember his name or his position) from the BSA speaking on its behalf. He was a great speaker, and made me think about my scouting experiences a lot. I feel kind of ripped off, since I joined a bad troop, whose scoutmaster had a fondness for the genitals of pubescent boys. I got the hell out of there with a low opinion of scouting, as you might guess, and have hardly given it a thought since then. When my son, now 17 mos, is of that age, I'll be supportive if he's interested in scouting, but I'll be paying pretty close attention.

What TV said.

Got "uninvited" to Scouts 'cause I was a brown- skinned hippy kid with long hair.

Boy Scouts of America have gotten their share of criticism, but one thing that has not gotten nearly enough press, is how much they have mucked searches for BSA shit on eBay.

Being in the Cub Scouts was one of the few social experiences I had growing up in suburban hell that wasn't terrible. It helped that my best friend was in it, and his father was the scoutmaster. Much like Brothah Drift, I was a bit too brown for most of suburbia, but in my case I didn't have too much trouble in the scouts.

At it's basics, I think it's a very good thing, even though it was founded by a nutty guy who wanted to toughen boys up for boot camp. There is a lot of good, so much more good that can come of this organization than bad. They've got some bad spots, but i do hope that once they get over the plagues of non-secularism, homophobia, deep foundations based on jingoism, etc. that it will prove it's true potential.

On a side note, I've always enjoyed referring to the average "rally biker" that has a patch, pin and flag of every event he's been to on his leathers as a Webelo.

Didn't like the cub scouts--I'm way too introverted/independent-minded to "obey the law of the pack."

And like what Danno said, never felt a need to collect patches to display my virtues. This explains why it all ended with the cub scouts for me.

One of my buddies, now a CHP officer, made eagle Scout, but sent back his badge and whatever certificates when tha BSA officiallly banned membership to homosexuals.

So for me, it's "meh." Whatever floats your boat. I highly doubt either of my sons will be interested in scouting, but we'll see.