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Boy Scouts of America changing name to more inclusive Scouting America after years of woes (apnews.com)

submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

226 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/20749204

Another positive step in the right direction for an organization rife with brokenness. There's a lot I don't like about the organization, but this is something a love--a scouting organization open to young women and the lgbtq community. The next step is being inclusive of nonreligious agnostic and atheist youth and leaders. As well as ending the cultural appropriation of Native American peoples.

May this organization continue to build up youth, never allow further violence against youth, and make amends for all the wrongs. There's a lot of good that comes out of organizations like this and I won't discount it even though it's riddled with a dark history.

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[–] [email protected] 138 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (29 children)

Please do atheism and agnostics next. I finished all the way up to doing my eagle project, all I had left was to finish some paper work and I would have gotten my eagle. I quit right about then, because what was the point? They were just going to take it away from me later for not believing in some magic book, I wouldn't be the first they did it too. Absolutely ridiculous.

Edit: Any magic book** they don't even discriminate against other religions is the part that drives me even crazier. You just NEED to believe in one.

[–] [email protected] 56 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (20 children)

What? As a complete outsider (I'm from Sweden, ~~scouts isn't a thing here~~) what does scouting have to do with religion? Why would they discriminate against atheists?

I thought scouting was about natural sciences, and helping out in the local community? Which to me sounds pretty nice!

Edit: Scouts are a thing here in Sweden. Thank you for the corrections, I'm quite baffled I've managed to miss that.

[–] [email protected] 56 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (4 children)

The Boy Scouts of America is a Christian organization.

Although, as I was a scout myself that shit never came into play other than the occasional group prayer at big, national events. The individual stuff in our troop was agnostic af and my troop leader was Jewish.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago

This exactly. When going up ranks, it was the smallest topic. "Yeah, god, great guy", the leaders chuckled, we moved on.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It's not exclusively Christian though, a scout can get recognition from what looks like most popular religions:

https://www.scouting.org/awards/religious-awards/chart/

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

BSA has everything to do with religion. It’s a part of their oath, and advancement requirements (duty to God).

[–] [email protected] 26 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (6 children)

The Scout Law - "A scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and REVERANT."

Also the scout oath: "On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law;....."

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

In Canada they added a second option. Old: "On my honour; I promise that I will do my best; To do my duty to God and the King;...." New: "On my honour; I promise that I will do my best; To respect my country and my beliefs;...."

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

At my eagle interview, they asked me which point I would take out of the scout oath, and I said, Reverent

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago (2 children)

You should have tried to sneak in "revenant" to see if it gave you the ability to raise the dead.

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

In the US they never dropped the mandatory overtures to religiosity. In fact, there was a period in the 90s-early 2000s where one sizable religious group who had replaced their prior youth organization with the BSA got pretty involved at the national level to the detriment of the program as a whole. While it’s not really required in any real sense at the troop level, you do have to affirm a belief in some “higher power” as an adult volunteer. (I’m an Eagle Scout and now atheist)

In Sweden, the Svenska Scoutförbundet was an outgrowth from the original UK scouting movement, but I don’t know how big it was/is.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Oh, the Mormons were deep into Scouting well before the 90s, they just starting throwing their weight around as it became less popular to the general public and outside social pressures (i.e. not being dickbags) starting being voiced alongside the churchy bullshit.

What I don't know is when they started directly paying a negotiated rate in dues straight to BSA. I do recall when I was a little LDS kid bringing my dollar a meeting or whatever for Cub Scouts, but by the time in was in Boy Scouts in junior High they'd stopped asking for that and someone told me the church handled it.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 5 months ago

I was in a similar boat. Luckily they didn't ask me if I believed in god during the actual board of review, so I got my eagle in the end.

Still a super shitty aspect of scouts.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (8 children)

I'm really sorry to hear this. One shouldn't have to lie about this, but should be allowed to not practice any particular faith. It's honestly one of the most frustrating elements for myself among the scouts.

This is one of the reasons why I have embraced my own magical book about my own magical being of my own making. When conversations inevitably go towards religion, I sometimes like to express my lack of faith by describing my mystical faith in the Cabra Cosmica. Yep, I've got mythos down and everything. Ironically, I really enjoy this form of make-believe faith. 😁

Please allow me to introduce you with a fantastic stained glass depiction: Stained glass depicting the face of the Cabra Cosmica.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 5 months ago (5 children)

if you dont want to DIY it the Satanic Temple, Discordianism, Secular Paganism and The Flying Spaghetti monster all "exist."

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago

Ramen to all.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

ANY religion will do? As a ordained dudeist priest, I say you should give it a go. Just be chill about it.

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[–] [email protected] 69 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Can't wait for the "the scouts are failing due to being woke" crowd instead of the real reason, all the sexual abuse cases.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

I mean I had, and have met plenty of others who also had, the opposite experience.

I say this as a pretty vanilla person, not gay, not trans… not even vegetarian.

The Boy Scouts absolutely failed me as child interested in the outdoors because the troop was led by a bunch of adult men pretending their goal was to train a small military unit out of a Lutheran church on Thursdays.

I have met so many Eagle Scouts who were encouraged and taught outdoor skills… actually taught survival skills! Not verbally threatened by some 55 year old polish dude suffering narcissistic injuries…

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 months ago (2 children)

They've been letting girls join for a while, but that won't stop the reactionary crowd from freaking out. Also, they put a huge emphasis these days on preventing bad touch, for obvious reasons.

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 5 months ago (1 children)

As a former boy scout, hell yeah.

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 5 months ago (4 children)

I have the Scouts to thank for turning me into first an atheist, then through their example of militant protheism, I became a militant antitheist and a secular prohumanist.

I didn’t find my spirituality because of them, I found it in spite of them.

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[–] [email protected] 31 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (4 children)

Why "Scouting America" and not "Scouts of America" without the gender prefix? 🤨

[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (8 children)

Why “Scouting America” and not “Scouts of America” without the gender prefix?

I'd guess it's because "Girl Scouts" still exists so if the BSA renamed to "Scouts of America" it would look like they were in charge of everything. That would surely confuse the hell out of people, piss off the Girl Scouts and up creating a serious fuss.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Imagine if they merged

We'd be getting the cookies and the popcorn buckets from the same smarmy little shit who set their table up in front of a dispensary like we don't know they know exactly what they're doing.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

"More Inclusive Scouting America" is a bit wordy but I guess has a nice ring to it.

"M'ISA like it." - Jar-Jar

[–] [email protected] 27 points 5 months ago (4 children)

This is great, as I understand it from my GS friends girl scouts was basically a glorified cookie sales rep position

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 months ago

This is good. Scouting (in developed countries) in Europe is one and same for boys, nonbinaries and girls, mainly non-theistic (apart from the obvious theistic groups) and focused on making sure health, hygiene, happiness and life skills are taught and practiced. Girls, nonbinaries and boys coexist, do the same tasks, chores and sleep in the same tents.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 5 months ago (18 children)

So does the girl scouts have to accept boys now? Is there gonna be a merger? When they go camping, do they separate the girls and boys? Also why? This is probably good for parents who have multiple kids so they can bring them all to the same place.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 5 months ago (4 children)

They're two completely separate organizations. The girl scouts can do what they want.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Oh, also, the Boy Scouts have been letting in girls for a while now. I would assume they get separate tents but I don't actually know because I'm not actually involved with the organization. But, girl members have been fairly common and this is really just a name change.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (4 children)

This post is a cesspool of hateful comments from anti-establishment people with zero actual experience with scouting. Scouts is a wonderful organization, full of volunteers who give children - especially disadvantaged children - knowledge, life experience, and a general sense of accomplishment and competence. My involvement with scouting was the best thing about my entire childhood.

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Rolls off the tongue a lot better than "traditionally masculine hobbies gang".

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah, sewing and cooking are traditionally masculine hobbies. /s

A lot of the stuff they do are male focused, but they teach a lot of skills that are useful to life that aren't masculine. That's why I much prefer the BSA to the Girl Scouts. Girl Scouts seems to be purely feminine. It's all about baking and crap. BSA (or the new acronym) is about developing a wide variety of skills, and it covers damn near everything. You won't learn all of them, but you are required to earn cooking at least.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Uhm... Why not just Souts of America?

[–] [email protected] 30 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Not all of us live in the Sout. Many youts live in duh Nort, too.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago

Did you say Nort?

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago (18 children)

It's a pity that I'm still ineligible to work with the Scouts. I have a lot of happy memories from my decade in Scouting, and still have a significant interest in many of the things that I did while I was in the organization. Unfortunately, my religion is, shall we say, disfavored within Scouting, and is not permitted for either youth or leaders.

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