As a former Boy Scout...

[orangecrush]

I am stunned, horrified and nauseated by Trump's behavior at a Boy Scout event.

I was a Scout 1967 to 1969. Made Star Scout. My troop was in an integrated neighborhood, in the time of some of the greatest racial tensions America ever experienced.

Never once did I see any racist behavior or attitudes displayed.

Our Scoutmaster was a black gentleman, a Buffalo Soldier in WW2.

Our assistant Scoutmaster was a white Marine who had just returned from Vietnam.

There was no black or white, just brother Scouts.

Someone should have had the foresight to prevent this stain on the honor of the Scouts from happening.

This is beyond the pale.

God help us.

[Eko]

1. Scouts have been taken over

by the evangelicals. No hope whatsoever for them.

[orangecrush]

2. Judging from the outrage

I saw in another thread from parents of Scouts, I would have to disagree.

[Eko]

3. Disagree then.

Sure, some parents are just there for their kids to have a great time, but to ignore their ties to religion is ignorance. My nephews are boy scouts and their leader is an Evangelical. Its not like this is new.
https://www.google.com/search?q=boy+scouts+ties+to+evangilisdm&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=boy+scouts+ties+to+religon

[BigmanPigman]

4. Yup, that is how many of them have been for years now.

As a teacher I observed this trend in recent years.

[orangecrush]

5. ...

https://mobile.twitter.com/LeeRberger/status/889475358533308421

[Eko]

9. Ah yes,

a couple of people really really proves your point. Not.

[uppityperson]

18. Didn't you just use a couple people (nephews) to try to prove your point?

[Eko]

20. Ha ha!

but, if you notice he was the troop leader, so it wouldn't just be my nephews but the whole troop. Ya still got me though.

[Brother Buzz]

6. One could make a reasonable argument the Mormons have taken over scouting....

at least from my observations. YMMV

[orangecrush]

7. You might be thinking

Of the C.I.A..

[Eko]

8. The mormons

took over in the eighties and nineties, since then they have declined. This from a former scout out west during that time.

[Eko]

10. Our scout meeting was in

the local Mormon church, now they meet in Evangelical churches.

[Brother Buzz]

12. I observed they took over in the sixties and seventies in California's Central Valley...

and still have a strong influence. If any community is large enough to support two Scout troops, there is a great probability one will be hosted by a Mormon church.

[regnaD kciN]

14. I heard the same thing...

...from a friend whose four sons all were Eagle Scouts.

[lunasun]

11. I was feeling empathy for any minority scouts there esp. any older ones who saw the reaction

Or of any color from democratic households

[regnaD kciN]

13. In much the same boat

I was a Scout during roughly the same time period (1967/8-1970). Troop Scribe and Quartermaster. Order of the Arrow. My grandfather, who died before I was born, was instrumental is establishing the Boy Scouts in Southern California, a long-time Scoutmaster, and recipient of the Silver Beaver award -- ask adults in Scouting about what an honor that is (I have his award; it's the only thing of his I own, aside from all the memories passed on to me by my late mother about what a huge role the organization played in his life).

Right now, I'm wishing there was a way for me to retroactively resign from the BSA, nearly half-a-century later. And, although my grandfather was a Republican, from what I know of him, I'm virtually certain he'd share my reaction.

[elmac]

15. I'm afraid this country will be beyond hope in 4 years

I feel pain for great organizations like the BSA as this putrid monster tRump mocks, destroys everything that is good.

Though I was never a scout I spend several summers at the site of the oldest BSA camp in the country metal detecting before is was leveled for new housing. Found many artifacts, silver coins, the rarer finds like tokens I donated to their museum. That was way back in the 80's.

[MFM008]

16. His goal

Defy tradition. Divide. Mock. Destroy.
Why do good men die and creatures like him prosper.

[bluestateboomer]

17. This Eagle Scout is angry.

Allowing this disrespect for a former president is unacceptable.

[yuiyoshida]

19. If you think this is bad , wait until you see what

Republicans have plans for the Veterans Administration. We may soon see more vets out on the street begging like they do in poorer nations.

[NightWatcher]

21. He tried to turn the Jamboree into a Hitler Youth rally

I'd yank my kid outta there so fast.

[trof]

22. My troop met in a Presbyterian church in the 50s.

I guess churches just offered a place to meet. I sure didn't feel that we were proselytized. (and I can't believe I just spelled 'proselytized' without spellcheck)

Things I learned in scouts:
1. You can boil water in a paper cup.
2. A sleeping bag cover stuffed full of pine needles makes a pretty comfortable mattress when you are 11.
3. Beanie Weenie is one of the BEST things to bring on a camping trip.
4. There's no such thing as a snipe. At least not in the dark, out in the woods alone, holding a duffel bag open, waiting for fellow troop members to drive the snipes into your bag.
5. You can make a pretty OK cigar out of pine straw wrapped in toilet paper.
And you can share one with your scoutmaster.

[orangecrush]

23. We had

WW2 surplus canvas 10 man tents, that we split up and carried on our backs for a 10 mile hike.

Taught the value of teamwork, and sharing the burden!

I remember all the things you mentioned as well, except here in Pa. we have these things called "Toby trees" that have ready made cigars hanging right on them! (Binonia Catalpa trees - it's a Pittsbugh thing.)

http://ctague.pairserver.com/Natureobserver/Nature_Observers_Journal/Entries/2011/9/19_Tobies_The_Cigar_Tree.html

[misanthrope]

24. I, too, was a scout

Both Cub Scout and Boy Scout. In retrospect, there were good things passed on about service, community, civic responsibility and some environmental awareness. However it was also laced with the kind of nationalism and religiosity that can be easily exploited by right-wingers.

And our troops were all-white, completely indicative of life in 1970s Birmingham, Alabama.

I perfectly understand the reservations many have to the BSA.

[orangecrush]

25. Pretty much same here

Except for the race part.

I was in Pittsburgh.

[Act_of_Reparation]

26. I've seen a number of these threads so far, and frankly I'm baffled.

I understand why everyone is so upset. What I don't get is why, before this week, anyone here would still be supporting the BSA.

I made Eagle in 2001. At the time, gay scouts and gay leaders were prohibited from membership. Atheists and agnostics are still not allowed. I would not be allowed to participate in Scouts with my child (if I had one) despite being a Scout of the highest attainable rank and a citizen in good standing because, no longer believing in god, I am not an appropriate role model for children.

These are policies instituted by the BSA on an organizational level. They are official. They are codified. They are the explicit positions of the Boy Scouts of America. Is this less offensive than a handful of scouts and leaders, who do not represent the BSA in an official capacity, heckling a public figure? I should think not. The Scouts have been engaged in a systemic pattern of discrimination, bigotry, and slander towards sexual and religious minorities for decades. This Jambo fiasco is fickle by comparison, and those who have declared it the last straw for the BSA need to take a long, carefully considered look in the mirror.

[Hoyt]

27. Excellent post. While not as bad as the NRA, BSA have a lot to answer for, even before Trump.

[Lordquinton]

28. This

People are remembering times long past through rose tinted glasses, and forgetting the bits that didn't affect them. It's no one's fault, as it happens all the time. If it doesn't affect you then it's hard to notice it. Most of the bad stuff and discrimination happened behind the scenes with the parents and leaders, the kids just existed in a controlled environment and didn't know why Timmy stopped showing up except that he "lost interest" one day.

They are slowly being dragged, kicking and screaming into the 20th century, but we can't let anyone forget the real past.

[Act_of_Reparation]

30. I came up during a volatile period.

The ACLU and United Way had already gone on the offensive against the BSA, and these topics were on the tips of everyone's tongues. Many of the scouts were aware of the criticisms, and being completely honest many thought these criticisms were fair. My fourteen-year-old self argued with an Assistant Scoutmaster when she asserted gay men might try to fuck the scouts if permitted to join the BSA as leaders (straight women, I guess, would never try to fuck the scouts).

I should have quit, in retrospect. But I'd invested a lot into that organization, made good friends, and was under a lot of pressure from my family to see it through to Eagle. It was a period of weakness in my life that I am not proud of.

[Lordquinton]

31. I left and came back to the scouts

for reasons. never made it to eagle, but learned a lot. Respect is something that they taught us, taught all boy scouts, but there's a distinct lack of it when people share their stories, and it's invalidated by people who felt things were fine back in the day.

[Gothmog]

29. My son is an Eagle Scout and attended 2001 Jamboree

He is appalled

[orangecrush]

32. We are both appalled

And it just is getting worse every day.

[Gothmog]

33. Agreed

Trump will be out of office for the next jamboree