Honestly, after Trump’s reception at that Boy Scout rally, I couldn’t imagine wanting a daughter to be part of it.
Girl Scouts rock. Seriously. And Campfire (the old Bluebirds) has been co-ed for decades, as is the YMCA Guides program. The BSA is still in turmoil about gay scouts and leaders and in spite of a recent, tentative rapprochement with the Unitarians, the controversy over requiring belief in God has been going on for over 15 years.
Sounds like they’re still going to have gendered dens - which besides seeming to be pointless for 2nd graders, wouldn’t be any more convenient for families than having their girls be Brownies.
Will the Boy Scouts allow girl members to pay their dues from fake philanthropic foundations?
Normally I would applaud this opening, but it smacks of Hitler Youth nowadays…
I have mixed feelings about this, since the Girl Scouts has long been a much better organization in its social and implicitly political views. The BSA, while teaching many useful skills, is essentially a conservative organization, having to look over its shoulder all the time at the views of right wing churches and civic organizations.
Boy Scouts are too connected to conservative Christianity and Mormons for my taste. Girl Scouts did not have to be shamed and coerced into accepting LBGTQ folks. I was a Girl Scout, my sister was a Girl Scout, my daughter was a Girl Scout, my granddaughters will probably be Girl Scouts, too. Or Campfire - but I would discourage them from joining the Boy Scouts.
If Girl Scouts allowed boys my son would have joined in a heartbeat. They did lots of Lego robotics competitions, lol.
It’s about time. When I was really little I told my parents that I wanted to be a “scub scout” cause I knew all these boys who were scouts and it looked like fun. And I liked the uniform. I was a brownie scout for one year - that was the maximum amount of time we were ever able to talk anybody’s mother into being in charge. Mine did it for one year and I’m still amazed that she did that. hahahaha
After seeing Trump address the Boy Scout Jamboree this year, I don’t know why any girl much less boy would want to join this organization. The leadership is obviously as deranged as Donald.
I was a Boy Scout volunteer for nearly ten years acting as a den mother and fundraiser. I wouldn’t allow my children to participate today unless I saw a complete change in attitude.
Well, this is a change in attitude and maybe it will start a whole bunch more if girls are allowed to play too.
It usually has a good affect.
Oh, I loved scouting. Not Brownies. But as soon as we were old enough to camp, boy we did a lot of that - more than my brother. Junior and High school was even better; we did nothing but camp and hike and travel. We also discovered that we could make tons of money picking up aluminum beer cans from the parking lots behind seedy bars.
Separate but equal, not coed, so I dunno.
I don’t see what girls have to gain by joining an organization that has always treated the Girl Scouts as second banana. It’s obvious that the Boy Scouts want to introduce new blood into their tarnish organization. The leadership has alienated so many of its volunteers with that Trump appearance, I bet they are having problems with fundraising and meeting membership goals.
The Girl Scout tradition is as important if not more important to women who participated in their youth. Thanks but no thanks. Girls don’t need to be elevated to a male standard. We set our own.
O shoot.
Well it’s a rhetorical exercise anyway - I don’t care if the organization disappears or doesn’t. It just took me back to when I was about 4 and wanted to be a cub scout so badly.
Oh, I did too. The Girl Scout Manual had all this sewing and housekeeping crap and boys had directions for building shelters and all sorts of cool stuff.
A friend of mine was a boy scout briefly and said the main thing the boys in his troop did was smoke pot behind the Lions Club before the meeting started.
Yeah. My best friend’s big brother was a cub scout and their mother was den mother and they did great stuff.
We made picture frames out of popsicle sticks.
I hope the girls stick with the Girl Scouts and stay away from this garbage. Girl Scouts is an organization worthy of being proud of. BSA, not so much.
A couple of weeks after Trumps Boy Scoutkulturkampf I was on a flight back home to NYC from Denver. There was a troop of Boy Scouts on the plane. Well mannered young lads of various backgrounds who were coming home from a trip. About 3/4 of the way into the flight the pilot announced their presence, mentioned their troop number and where they were hiking and camping.
The entire plane erupted in spontaneous applause. You could tell it was just a simple polite way to respect the institution of scouting, honor the young men and subtlety stick it to Trump.
What about the Girl Scouts? Will they be admitting boys?
Asking for a friend.
Any article about the inclusivity of the boy scouts should mention that they still ban Atheists.