If you have a son in scouting please take the survey

[bodean87]

I'm not great with words but here it goes. Would it be a good idea to send a boy camping with the girl scouts, or send a girl with the boy scouts? Its the same basic premise with gays and boy scouts. You say that a gay boy wont hit on a straight boy because the gay boy knows he has no chance, however I bet when you were that age you hit on girls you knew you had no chance with. Even if ou didn't try, I bet she caught you starring. It may just be in my mind but I believe its the same concept. 

[JoeG]

The last I heard National BSA will be making a decision in May during the national meeting. In the mean time they have committees representing each faith to help make the decision .

The proposal on the table is to allow each chartering organization (troops are sponsored by a local church or equivalent) to decide what best serves their community. This is in fact formalizing what already occurs as most troops on CA have a don't ask don't tell practice. They took this to the national board at the beginning of the year and the board members asked for a better understanding of what the sponsors, leaders and scouts actually wanted. Thus the survey was created.

It is my understanding that while the bad press is an issue and funding has suffered some (not as much as some outsiders would wish) this is more driven by a desire to make the policy more consistent with the diversity of opinion within scouting and respect individual troops rights to make the best decision for themselves.

Child molesting is serious issue and I can tell you that there is not an organization that has a better program to stop it than BSA. Good training for the leaders, very good training for the scouts. A 2 deep leadership policy that REQUIRES at ALL TIMES that no adult is alone with a scout EVER (except your own son). And I mean EVER! If you think this is easy, then yo need to get out more. No other youth group I know of is this thorough, certainly not sports! They even have separate shower facilities for men and boys at the bigger camps! Not something I imagined when I was a scout!

BSA was tracking abuse issues before most of society was even willing to talk about it. Google the media circus around the old (1970-80s)  suspected abusers files that BSA released last year. The media could not really find a way to paint the BSA in a bad light for being so much more proactive about tracking and stopping it than the rest of society so mostly just reported it and moved on.

How about we turn down the flamethrowers and appreciate that they are a very good group trying to address a very complex issue in the best way they can within the limits of their control within a totally screwed up society. Kind of like choosing to take personal responsibility for your family's safety and carry a CCW. 

[JdePietro]

JoeG,

I spent four wonderful years in the BSA. I joined when I was 14 and still managed to earn my Eagle award and serve as Senior Patrol Leader as well as a host of other positions. My time was great! The BSA is a great organization and I don't think I or anyone ever spoke an ill word towards them. As far as Child Abuse goes, I don't think it has anything to do with the issue at hand other than the BSA handled that issue brilliantly and I am pretty sure they are going to move in favor of a good decision on this.

Because the BSA is such a great organization I think it makes it that more appealing for a child who may have confidence issues to join and learn skills and develop friendships that can help him through those rough years as a teenager.

The comment about gay boys making passes at other boys is actually really revealing. If you had/have a daughter than you should know that she is well aware that no matter where she goes, somebody will make a passing comment, stare or even approach her with the intent to flirt and or secure a date. Women deal with this issue on a constant and daily basis, they have learned to ignore the advances and deal with the gawking. Its funny that you worry about how boys will react, is that to say that men shouldn't have to parry off such attacks, that men so weak of mind won't be able to put up with feeling like a teenage girl for a change?

Oh society, we see not the board in or own eye but so easily does the smallest of spec show up in our neighbors. 

[Solus]

Lead a Coed Explorer post for several years.

Kids from the same High School ranging in age from 14 to 18.

We did a weekend camp out once a month while school was in session and a two week canoe trip to Canada each summer.

What I saw was a positive change in each sex's view of the opposite.

These girls were tough, didn't shirk and pulled their share as much they were able.  The guys learned a respect, and not a grudging one, for them and I expect, looked at them more so as equals than before.

The girls, while initially concerned, in pre-trip planning, about how the guys would behave out in the woods for two weeks, found instead that they were treated as part of the "team" and got help when needed, as did any member of that team.

From what I saw, there was just positive results from all of this.

[bodean87]

JoeG,

I spent four wonderful years in the BSA. I joined when I was 14 and still managed to earn my Eagle award and serve as Senior Patrol Leader as well as a host of other positions. My time was great! The BSA is a great organization and I don't think I or anyone ever spoke an ill word towards them. As far as Child Abuse goes, I don't think it has anything to do with the issue at hand other than the BSA handled that issue brilliantly and I am pretty sure they are going to move in favor of a good decision on this.

Because the BSA is such a great organization I think it makes it that more appealing for a child who may have confidence issues to join and learn skills and develop friendships that can help him through those rough years as a teenager.

The comment about gay boys making passes at other boys is actually really revealing. If you had/have a daughter than you should know that she is well aware that no matter where she goes, somebody will make a passing comment, stare or even approach her with the intent to flirt and or secure a date. Women deal with this issue on a constant and daily basis, they have learned to ignore the advances and deal with the gawking. Its funny that you worry about how boys will react, is that to say that men shouldn't have to parry off such attacks, that men so weak of mind won't be able to put up with feeling like a teenage girl for a change?

Oh society, we see not the board in or own eye but so easily does the smallest of spec show up in our neighbors. 

I'm just going off of where I'm from. Around here if a gay guy hit on a straight guy here, there would probably be an ass whoopin. You'r in Pennsylvania and I'm in west Texas. What works up there, may not work here and what works here may not work up there. I'm not saying we're closed minded but beliefs are alot different depending on where you are. The best thing I have heard is to let each chapter decide how to handle it.

[Sponsor]

[fightingquaker13]

Lead a Coed Explorer post for several years.

Kids from the same High School ranging in age from 14 to 18.

We did a weekend camp out once a month while school was in session and a two week canoe trip to Canada each summer.

What I saw was a positive change in each sex's view of the opposite.

These girls were tough, didn't shirk and pulled their share as much they were able.  The guys learned a respect, and not a grudging one, for them and I expect, looked at them more so as equals than before.

The girls, while initially concerned, in pre-trip planning, about how the guys would behave out in the woods for two weeks, found instead that they were treated as part of the "team" and got help when needed, as did any member of that team.

From what I saw, there was just positive results from all of this.

Yeah. I I was an explorer and it was coed, no problems. Likewise I went to Outward Bound when I was 15, again co-ed and no trouble at all.

[bodean87]

Yeah. I I was an explorer and it was coed, no problems. Likewise I went to Outward Bound when I was 15, again co-ed and no trouble at all.

It must be different there then it is here, because when I was that age and the adults turned their backs alot of stuff happened.

[fightingquaker13]

It must be different there then it is here, because when I was that age and the adults turned their backs alot of stuff happened.

I was in the police explorers. We were all well mannered geeks. As to Outward Bound? They made sure we were too damn tired at the end of the day to try anything. It was like boot camp without the yelling.

[bodean87]

I was in the police explorers. We were all well mannered geeks. As to Outward Bound? They made sure we were too damn tired at the end of the day to try anything. It was like boot camp without the yelling.

Maybe that was the problem, we weren't too tired.