My troop wasn't too bad. parents didn't have much say, and the boys led themselves as much as possible. Course the scoutmasters still had a say, but we were pretty cool.
As it should be, from my experience. This is roughly how I think the ideal troop should be structured, where the Senior Patrol Leader (SPL) and his assistants are in their own patrol, separate from every other one, and are responsible for trip planning and overall leadership. The SPL talks to the Scoutmaster for assistance and guidance, and to the Patrol Leaders(PL) to tell them what they need to for said trip. The PL's have their Patrols pony up cash for the trip and use that cash to pay the SPL for the trip, get food, and anything else the Patrol needs. The Scoutmaster makes sure that everything is legal and safe, but also lets the Scouts make mistakes (which is the hardest thing for Mom's, in my experience). You forgot bun's for you're hamburgers? Look's like you're having meat & pickles tonight! Forgot to bring a backpack? Sucks to be you!
The committee, to me, exists solely to handle the legal and technical stuff you don't the Scouts to do so they can focus on being Boys.
In case you haven't noticed, I love the Boy Scouts when it's ran properly.
That is not how mine was run. It had Scoutmaster at the top. The SPL under him. The patrol leaders under the SPL. But each PL had an adult as their supervisor. The SPL job was basicly to take the the kids on hikes when when went on camping weekends and to think up pranks to play on the younger kids.
The scout master at the top is how 90% of troops are run in my experience. This kinda makes the experience of the troop highly dependent on what kind of person the scoutmaster is. If the scoutmaster is way too into one aspect of scouts it makes it suck. The worst in my mind were the achievement hunters. The parents who got in pretty much to get their kid to eagle. Which when they stayed on tended to turn into micromanager types who want to know everything you're doing and if you're doing it right/their way. This get super annoying when you're 18 and have that shit down. Never minded the clingy parents too much, they never got in charge. Thankfully I did have good hands off scout masters for most of my time in the scouts. As a side note, the whole boy scouts hates gays and atheists thing annoys me. Not really because it's true and problematic but because the BSA is so non-monolithic that it's almost irrelevant to any discussion on BSA as a whole. In my experience out side of the super religious troops (who to some degree have the biggest voice to main BSA) if you're athiest or gay no one will care unless someone in the troop makes a stink
I was definitely in a boy-led troop. Strangely enough, we were associated with a Catholic Church, but they didn't influence us at all (other than asking us to volunteer for pancake breakfasts occasionally). I'd say a little over half of the (admittedly small) troop were actually churchgoers, and the rest included 2 Sikh brothers, a couple of Jewish kids from the temple down the road, and some varying degrees of non-religious families who just liked the vibe of the troop. No mandatory prayers, or gay bashing, or anything like that.
The dads really helped keep the crazy Mom level minimal. They stayed active, organized events that they (and the kids) wanted, and pretty much made it guy-time.
Also, the scoutmaster was definitely ahead of the SPL, and we were fine by that. By the time any of us (myself included) were put in that position, we were preoccupied by college applications, eagle scout projects, part time jobs, girls, etc., and really didn't have the time to be that kind of leader. Still, the scouts were able to say what kind of activities they wanted to plan out.
And I never thought of it this way, but drawing the anti-atheist/gay conclusion about a Boy Scout is sort of like drawing conclusions about Americans based on our national government. It is super-decentralized, and mostly doesn't impact the troop level at all.
So I actually had the dorito taco yesterday and the verdict is that it was quite good. The dorito flavor actually made the meat of the taco tastier and masked the over seasoning of the dorito. So if you do not like doritos but want to try this, ask for extra meat on the taco and you will be fine.
Yeah wasn't too bad, though the meat softened the bottom of the taco and didn't get that nice doritos crunch I like. Otherwise can't complain.
My Scout troop used to be awesome. It was Scoutmaster-led, but he was a pretty cool guy and the troop generally did awesome hikes. Then we had an invasion of dads who were basically clingy moms (and their un-athletic kids) who slowly stopped us from having fun because it was "too dangerous" or their kids couldn't keep up. My last year was pretty much the last year of the troop even having awesome kids. I'm glad I graduated when I did.
Man, Scouts in the US are in dire need of a little organizational shake up and re-think.
Welcome to the US, religion fucks up everything here.
Oh, don't worry. I've nearly been kicked out of the scouts a few times for being an Atheist, since we still have that rule on the books, unlike the rules about gay people in the scouts. It got real close when I was younger, more vocal, and more of an asshole about it - the only reason I escaped that one was because it made it to the state commissioner, who I've been mates with for years, and even then it was a case of - to quote the commissioner - "While he doesn't believe in God and openly admits it, but considering his long history of distinguished service and constant willingness to go above and beyond for the organization, I would need far more reason than a lack of personal belief in a deity to remove him from either Scouting Queensland or Scouts Australia."
Lately, I've been pushing for change, and mostly get away with it by borrowing from Sagan, and poetically describing the wonders of science and the universe. Being less of an asshole helps, too.
However, that said, it's mostly seen at the upper levels, in silly bullshit political power struggles. Anything outside of headquarters or things closely tied to it, like the top-end of larger events, it never makes a showing.
Man, I've got a love-hate relationship with that organization. As a kid, I was in Cub Scouts, Webelos, and Boy Scouts. Never made it to Eagle (which I do regret) but had a ton of fun and made a lot of good friends anyway.
Then I got a bit older and was able to understand the power struggles going on in the organization and how political it got. As a kid, I was a bit isolated from it because I was focused on having a good time in the woods, making fires and tying knots.
To this day, I'm torn on my support of the Boy Scouts of America. I know that most of the stuff I disagree with is more prevalent at the higher levels of leadership and generally doesn't trickle down to the troop level, but it's still there and can be enforced if the scoutmaster finds jesus or whatever.
I'd love it to be an organization I can wholeheartedly support, but I just can't do it. Instead, I'll support the Civil Air Patrol. The cadet program there is pretty solid.
Man, Scouts in the US are in dire need of a little organizational shake up and re-think.
Welcome to the US, religion fucks up everything here.
Oh, don't worry. I've nearly been kicked out of the scouts a few times for being an Atheist, since we still have that rule on the books, unlike the rules about gay people in the scouts. It got real close when I was younger, more vocal, and more of an asshole about it - the only reason I escaped that one was because it made it to the state commissioner, who I've been mates with for years, and even then it was a case of - to quote the commissioner - "While he doesn't believe in God and openly admits it, but considering his long history of distinguished service and constant willingness to go above and beyond for the organization, I would need far more reason than a lack of personal belief in a deity to remove him from either Scouting Queensland or Scouts Australia."
Lately, I've been pushing for change, and mostly get away with it by borrowing from Sagan, and poetically describing the wonders of science and the universe. Being less of an asshole helps, too.
However, that said, it's mostly seen at the upper levels, in silly bullshit political power struggles. Anything outside of headquarters or things closely tied to it, like the top-end of larger events, it never makes a showing.
Yeah main problem is the last point of the scout law, a scout is Reverent. I lost my faith during my teens, but I still participated in prayers and services (non denominational, and they actually have a lot of religions mentioned in the services). But yes I do agree they need to make allowances for someone who is openly Atheistic.
I like the idea of scouts, I just never wanted to wear those dorky uniforms, even before I knew about all the religion and homophobic BS. Though, I've also always kind of had the opinion of "Motherfucker I live in the woods! Why do I need to be a boyscout when I'm already here?"
My uniform has always been pretty decent. The first ones I had were reminiscent of old Army Khakis - no shorts, either, unless you wanted them, which I didn't - and the new uniform is pretty boss - A navy button down shirt with red shoulder and sleeve panels, along with simplified awards, and we've always had simple scarves, unlike the US. Whatever pants and shoes you like, so I tend to just go with boots and jeans, except for formal occasions, where I wear black pants.
I really want to try the Dorito taco, but I think I might fall over dead if I do. I've already suffered through 2 happy meals this past week for the sake of ponies. x_X
I really want to try the Dorito taco, but I think I might fall over dead if I do. I've already suffered through 2 happy meals this past week for the sake of ponies. x_X
Comments
As a side note, the whole boy scouts hates gays and atheists thing annoys me. Not really because it's true and problematic but because the BSA is so non-monolithic that it's almost irrelevant to any discussion on BSA as a whole. In my experience out side of the super religious troops (who to some degree have the biggest voice to main BSA) if you're athiest or gay no one will care unless someone in the troop makes a stink
I hated Boy Scouts.
Life didn't really have any semblance of normalcy for me till I went to college.
The dads really helped keep the crazy Mom level minimal. They stayed active, organized events that they (and the kids) wanted, and pretty much made it guy-time.
Also, the scoutmaster was definitely ahead of the SPL, and we were fine by that. By the time any of us (myself included) were put in that position, we were preoccupied by college applications, eagle scout projects, part time jobs, girls, etc., and really didn't have the time to be that kind of leader. Still, the scouts were able to say what kind of activities they wanted to plan out.
And I never thought of it this way, but drawing the anti-atheist/gay conclusion about a Boy Scout is sort of like drawing conclusions about Americans based on our national government. It is super-decentralized, and mostly doesn't impact the troop level at all.
Lately, I've been pushing for change, and mostly get away with it by borrowing from Sagan, and poetically describing the wonders of science and the universe. Being less of an asshole helps, too.
However, that said, it's mostly seen at the upper levels, in silly bullshit political power struggles. Anything outside of headquarters or things closely tied to it, like the top-end of larger events, it never makes a showing.
Man, I've got a love-hate relationship with that organization. As a kid, I was in Cub Scouts, Webelos, and Boy Scouts. Never made it to Eagle (which I do regret) but had a ton of fun and made a lot of good friends anyway.
Then I got a bit older and was able to understand the power struggles going on in the organization and how political it got. As a kid, I was a bit isolated from it because I was focused on having a good time in the woods, making fires and tying knots.
To this day, I'm torn on my support of the Boy Scouts of America. I know that most of the stuff I disagree with is more prevalent at the higher levels of leadership and generally doesn't trickle down to the troop level, but it's still there and can be enforced if the scoutmaster finds jesus or whatever.
I'd love it to be an organization I can wholeheartedly support, but I just can't do it. Instead, I'll support the Civil Air Patrol. The cadet program there is pretty solid.
Deep fry the Dorito Taco.
Dorito Chimichanga, the people have SPOKEN.
George: scott is scott
we love scott for scott
we hate scott for scott