Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts

[madurobob]

It might seem odd to say so since I'm the one who brought up the popcorn - but my troop never sold it. Basically when a troop sells the popcorn, a cut of the proceeds goes to the regional or national council (I forget which - maybe even both - or exactly how much). The troop gets the remainder. My troop's leadership did not like the idea of us doing all the work for only part of the money, so we fundraised by holding car washes instead and the troop kept all of the proceeds.

Yeah, its just another tool in the kit. One boy scout troop around here has run a Christmas tree lot every winter for at least 40 years.

 

[Craig4]

I went to Boy Scout summer camp three times and I honestly can't imagine a girl having the slightest interest in being anywhere near us. Maybe I was with a particularly obnoxious group but I doubt it. Possibly this will have a civilizing influence. I'm not sure the BSA appreciates what a significant change this is going to be (unless summer camp is a lot less rowdy these days than when I went in the 1980s).

 

[Trebuchet]

I went to Boy Scout summer camp three times and I honestly can't imagine a girl having the slightest interest in being anywhere near us. Maybe I was with a particularly obnoxious group but I doubt it. Possibly this will have a civilizing influence. I'm not sure the BSA appreciates what a significant change this is going to be (unless summer camp is a lot less rowdy these days than when I went in the 1980s).

I too am having a hard time imagining girls wanting to participate in the BSA method of extinguishing the evening campfire.

 

[Darat]

I'm confused. Surely the popcorn and biscuits are made by the kids? Isn't that the whole purpose of selling it, teaching the kids and so on? When did commercial companies get involved and when did it become primarily a commercial operation?

 

[Babbylonian]

There's nothing more inclusive than a dick joke.

 

[Craig4]

I too am having a hard time imagining girls wanting to participate in the BSA method of extinguishing the evening campfire.

At one of the camps, our "shower" was a concrete slab, mostly surrounded by wood panels full of knot holes or just missing bits with pipes overhead. The panels were about a foot off the ground and there was no roof. One hopes that's been fixed in the 30 years since I was a Scout.

 

[Meadmaker]

At one of the camps, our "shower" was a concrete slab, mostly surrounded by wood panels full of knot holes or just missing bits with pipes overhead. The panels were about a foot off the ground and there was no roof. One hopes that's been fixed in the 30 years since I was a Scout.

I go camping every year where those are the only showers. Men and women, boys and girls of all ages. That won't deter the girls.

As for boy behavior, it won't be as bad, because there will be girls around. Duh.

 

[Arisia]

At one of the camps, our "shower" was a concrete slab, mostly surrounded by wood panels full of knot holes or just missing bits with pipes overhead. The panels were about a foot off the ground and there was no roof. One hopes that's been fixed in the 30 years since I was a Scout.

That's what the shower is like at a camp owned by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire (Camp Menotomy, 95 acres with 1 mile of shoreline, probably the most valuable property GSEM owns). We went up for family camping weekends a couple of times, they would have set times for girls/moms to use them and other times for the brothers/dads to use them.

 

[Emily's Cat]

I look forward to the hypothetical days when the US moves beyond our Puritanical foundation and quits treating human bodies as verboten.

 

[TheGoldcountry]

Yeah, sometimes it's annoying to be hit up for cash when all you really want is to get some oven cleaner at the hardware store, but it's a civic duty. One of life's little annoyances necessary to build a community.
And.....Thin Mints are awesome.

Perhaps I expressed myself poorly- I fully support a community contributing to school/youth activities.

What I dislike is a great deal of money raised being skimmed by outside business.

 

[TheGoldcountry]

I'm confused. Surely the popcorn and biscuits are made by the kids? Isn't that the whole purpose of selling it, teaching the kids and so on? When did commercial companies get involved and when did it become primarily a commercial operation?

When I was in school (30-40 years ago) all of these activities (selling magazines, candy, etc.) was managed by outside companies, which took money off the top.

I can't speak for the Boy or Girl Scouts, but I doubt they are much different.

 

[cullennz]

I look forward to the hypothetical days when the US moves beyond our Puritanical foundation and quits treating human bodies as verboten.

So you are all for dudes like Weinstein wanting women to watch him wandering round naked and "relieving" his tension then?

 

[Emily's Cat]

So you are all for dudes like Weinstein wanting women to watch him wandering round naked and "relieving" his tension then?

I'm all for Weinstein wanting whatever makes him happy. And I'm all for any person willing to watch him watching for as long as makes them happy. But there's a huge difference between Weinstein abusing his position and his implied power over his employees... and the whole US losing their minds because OMG Janet Jackson's boob came out on TV!!!!!!

The two aren't even really comparable. There's a whole lot of possibilities in between the coercive sexual aggression and the potential for some young people to see naked bodies of the opposite gender.

 

[cullennz]

I'm all for Weinstein wanting whatever makes him happy. And I'm all for any person willing to watch him watching for as long as makes them happy.

And as you say

You look forward to the day no one minds watching

 

[Emily's Cat]

And as you say

You look forward to the day no one minds watching

This seems like some egregiously creative re-engineering of my actual point.

 

[cullennz]

This seems like some egregiously creative re-engineering of my actual point.

I apologise

I thought you meant by "quits treating human bodies as verboten", as that you look forward to the day no one cared about the naked human body on display

I was obviously wrong

You mean something totally different

Do you mind clarifying?

 

[Dr. Keith]

This seems like some egregiously creative re-engineering of my actual point.

I'm just chiming in to say that we have to assume your actual point is that you support rape. Or something. I've really lost may ability to make these leaps of logic.

 

[Emily's Cat]

I apologise

I thought you meant by "quits treating human bodies as verboten", as that you look forward to the day no one cared about the naked human body on display

I was obviously wrong

You mean something totally different

Do you mind clarifying?

Half of this page was concerned about scout camps, and the possibility that boys and girls might cop a feel or see each other naked.

If US society didn't view nudity as taboo and shameful, this would be a lot less of a concern. In my view, there should be nothing taboo about nudity or sexuality provided it is consenting.

You took this all the way to the other extreme though, and seemed to be trying to spin this as somehow I'm perfectly sanguine about Weinstein using his position of power and influence to coerce people into situations they didn't want to be in.

 

[Emily's Cat]

I'm just chiming in to say that we have to assume your actual point is that you support rape. Or something. I've really lost may ability to make these leaps of logic.

I need a longer pole for that vault, myself.

 

[Meadmaker]

Perhaps I expressed myself poorly- I fully support a community contributing to school/youth activities.

What I dislike is a great deal of money raised being skimmed by outside business.

Ah....makes sense. Yeah, fundraising gets complicated. Exactly who is getting the funds in these cases. Sometimes, it is not easy to tell.