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AP Exclusive: Boy Scouts chief expected a fiery Trump speech
- Thread starter KSweeley
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GoldenEye 007
Member
I certainly am.
I'm canadian the moment I set foot outside my house, breh.
Nydius
Member
Yes. Up until about the mid-1990s. Before modern technology allowed National Council to have near constant input with each of the individual regional and local councils. Back then, local councils were much more autonomous. They had a basic set of guidelines from National but there was very little fear of National Council swooping in and auditing adherence to the guidelines.
We had atheist and agnostic scouts not only in my troop but in several other troops and my council didn't give a shit. A lot of that changed in the mid-to-late 1990's as smaller councils merged, National Council started taking a more active approach in involvement with Regional and Local councils, and then took their hardline stance against atheist/agnostic and LGBTQ+ scouts/scouters.
I hate to see what's become of the organization because I'm proud of my accomplishments and credit my time in the program with helping to foster my left leaning beliefs of inclusion, critical thinking, and environmentalism. But that's not what the BSA of today gives a shit about anymore. I quit being a volunteer scouter in 2003 and never looked back. Too much hypocrisy, too much nepotism within troops and councils, too much focus on on the 12th point of the Scout Law ("Reverant"), not enough focus on the original core values of promoting citizenship, critical thought, and respect for the environment.
Laieon
Member
I'm not even sure if anyone I knew at the time is still involved with the Troop. It's been 9 years since I hit the age limit and haven't really kept in contact with anyone. I do know the guy who had been the troop master for 15+ years retired a few years ago, not sure what the status of the troop is now.
If I was still living at home I'd try to show up to a meeting, but living abroad makes that difficult.
Well yeah. Nobody wants to buy old popcorn or christmas wreaths. Thin Mints and Samoas all day baby.
jellies_two
Member
I have to think this was a gift to Trump to curry favour for the merger.
Even if it wasn't it will be PERCEIVED as a gift (given his situation) and therefore is just as bad a decision. Basically it doesn't matter what his internal though process was, the end result is the merger (and FCC deregulation) will get more WH approval due to this move and nobody should take the word of the CEO that it was unconnected.
Even if it wasn't it will be PERCEIVED as a gift (given his situation) and therefore is just as bad a decision. Basically it doesn't matter what his internal though process was, the end result is the merger (and FCC deregulation) will get more WH approval due to this move and nobody should take the word of the CEO that it was unconnected.
AlexFlame116
Member
This is an insult to me as a former Boy Scout. You can be part of the status quo if you wish, or you can be an example and tell the immature President that he's not welcome in a place that's supposed to help boys become adaptable to environments as well as being cheerful and courteous. This man is NOT and example of that. Then again there have been some blunders lately.
Maybe it's okay that I wasn't able to get my Eagle Scout badge because of my disease.
Maybe it's okay that I wasn't able to get my Eagle Scout badge because of my disease.
I've heard similar stories! Would you be Okay with me asking which church is it?
Imperfected
Member
I fought in two wars for this country and I'm embarrassed as fucking hell to be an American right now. Looking to expatriate when my work contract's up.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I have been to the National Jamboree and he is correct. When I went Clinton was there and gave a speech.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
This is really wrong. The Girl Scouts don't actually do anything, which is why it's dumb that they're segregated by gender. Because the Boy Scout apparatus is ridiculously more robust than the Girl Scouts organization.
For example, when I was a Scout we went on a tour of the east coast, did a 100 mile canoeing expedition into Canada from Minnesota and went to the Scouts' 200 square mile ranch in New Mexico, as well as events every month, like we would charter a deep sea fishing boat, etc. I've never met a Girl Scout who did much other than selling cookies and rarely camping at local places on weekends.
Definitely.
I don't think that's in question. That's not the issue here.
ElBoxyBrown
Banned
I'm pretty sure Girl Scouts do a lot more than sell cookies.
They most certainly do. Though what girls or boys scouts do can depend on the location, how big it is, who runs it, etc.
girl scouts are better because they are progressive and not run by shitty people at the top.
Evil Monkey DTT
Banned
Boy Scouts: "I mean we knew he would do it but..... I mean the crowd loved him right"
Basically seems like the only apology we are getting, although I'm not surprised. The boy scouts were founded from religion and they have a history of discrimination themselves.
Basically seems like the only apology we are getting, although I'm not surprised. The boy scouts were founded from religion and they have a history of discrimination themselves.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
They don't do nearly the number of things Boy Scout troops do because they don't have the funding to keep open huge camps - BSA straight up owns large campgrounds running summer camp for months at a time in almost every council. It's not really comparable.
Concluding Girl Scouts are better because they're more liberal is something someone who has absolutely no context would say. Whether a troop is super conservative or not is a decision generally made at a Troop level, not as a mandate on high.
I don't really expect someone who was never into the organization to understand though. It's pretty common that people who have never had anything to do with the organization think they know everything about what it's like. Trust me, none of the adult shit you guys are arguing about matters to the kids in scouting.
I think anyone with half a brain knew Trump was going to embarrass himself in front of those kids. It's fucking Trump for fucks sake. He's managed like 3 speeches where he wasn't an embarrassment to our nation, so the odds were definitely not in the boy scouts favor.
I find it hard to put most the blame on the boy scouts. They've made a habit of inviting every president for a long ass while to give a speech, so to try to preserve some kind of normalcy, I understood why they invited Trump. But at the same time, they fucking knew he was going to be an embarrassment, and went through with it anyways. At the very least they could've given him a speech, or asked that he bring one that they could've read through so that if he deviated, they could've claimed no responsibility.
All in all, this whole debacle is 25% their fault, 75% Trump's. He's the fucking president, you'd figure he'd have some god damn decency, but NOPE.
I find it hard to put most the blame on the boy scouts. They've made a habit of inviting every president for a long ass while to give a speech, so to try to preserve some kind of normalcy, I understood why they invited Trump. But at the same time, they fucking knew he was going to be an embarrassment, and went through with it anyways. At the very least they could've given him a speech, or asked that he bring one that they could've read through so that if he deviated, they could've claimed no responsibility.
All in all, this whole debacle is 25% their fault, 75% Trump's. He's the fucking president, you'd figure he'd have some god damn decency, but NOPE.
Nydius
Member
That's not really fair. My troop was insanely active like the one you were a part of. Went to Philmont as well. Reguarly went white water rafting, attended National Jamborees, campouts at least once a month, high adventure summer camps, merit badge camps, service projects on the intracoastal waterway, Appalachian Trail hiking, and so on. But then there were a number of Boy Scout troops in my council that did VERY little. They'd have a couple campouts a year (mostly the "fun" campouts like the ones at amusement parks [Water Country USA and Kings Dominion]), sell Trail's End popcorn, and participate in the annual food drive. If kids in troops like those wanted to go to summer camp, they were often "loaned" (for lack of a better term) to more active troops for a week so they could go.
Girl Scouts are the same way. You're going to have troops that do the bare minimum, troops that turn up the experience to 11, and troops in between.
I don't necessarily believe the GSA is less robust than the BSA simply because they don't have large, Philmont-esque camping areas. Most Boy Scouts will never get to see Philmont, let alone take a trek, so that's not really a great benchmark for comparison, IMO.
Meanwhile, my former local council's leadership is so inept that they had to turn over the deeds to both their official council offices AND summer camp grounds (which had only been operational for 8 years) or face foreclosure. If not for a good Samaritan, the council wouldn't have an office right now.
Same. Quite disappointed in the organization. The "friendly, courteous, and kind" response would have been to sit in utter silence while he rants instead of giving him the responses he wanted.
I would've encouraged my troop to shout in opposition, honestly, even if it got me in trouble. I feel terrible for any scouts in the LGBT community too. Disgraceful.
Like, I get they're in a bind because the president is their honorary head or whatever, but it seems like you could at least give some half-assed answer about how while the president is always welcome to speak to the organization, this most recent speech was not a good reflection of scouting values or whatever. Something to say we're stuck with the guy, but that wasn't cool
You gotta have to respect that he has no respect for you! Simple
Imperfected
Member
I regret asking the question because it's really hurtful!
It's a completely fair question, I'm just a little surprised you even have to ask at this point.
Shame that they let that talking garbage can up there. Currently have a boy in cub scouts and he loves it. It has really been a great time for him and as someone who didn't know much about scouts before he went I was pleasantly surprised by how much we are enjoying it and the cub scouts in general. Along with the camping trips they've done a lot of very interesting stuff and he's had a ton of fun. Cub scouts at least is very much what the parents put into it.
Our pack is fairly active and it's just basically a bunch of parents trying to do good things for their kids. Interestingly I've found that - at least around here - the cub scouts have a very strong minority presence. I have been very pleased that in the large cub scout gatherings to see a very diverse group of people.
Pretty much everything about scouts that I've encountered is the opposite of what Trump is and represents.
Why are they pulling out?
Most of the conflict I've heard of comes from churches being unhappy with the scouting organization in allowing and including gay scout leaders/scouts.
There's even a 'christian' version of scouts trying to gain traction, and it was formed pretty much as a rejection of the BSA's decisions in that regard.
Our pack is fairly active and it's just basically a bunch of parents trying to do good things for their kids. Interestingly I've found that - at least around here - the cub scouts have a very strong minority presence. I have been very pleased that in the large cub scout gatherings to see a very diverse group of people.
Pretty much everything about scouts that I've encountered is the opposite of what Trump is and represents.
Why are they pulling out?
Most of the conflict I've heard of comes from churches being unhappy with the scouting organization in allowing and including gay scout leaders/scouts.
There's even a 'christian' version of scouts trying to gain traction, and it was formed pretty much as a rejection of the BSA's decisions in that regard.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
I see what you're saying, I just think the organization gets a bad rap when from the perspective of the boys in it, none of these adult concerns actually matter. The idea it's a conservative indoctrination service is absurd.
Weird. My hometown boy scout troop did literally nothing except a yearly pine-wood derby. We went to some local campgrounds once, but just for an afternoon. It was all just run by parents, none of whom really had time or desire to do it. There was no other option or troop in town that I know of. Until I got older and met some people with serious troops, I always just assumed the whole thing was some remnant of the 1950's that was slowly dying off.
The girl scout troops in my home town did "more". i.e. regular meetings. Badges. Arts & crafts. bake sales. trips. etc.
Because the scout head who was CEO of an Oil company stepped down (the last couple BSA presidents were Robert Gates, former SecDef, and Rex Tillerson, former Exxon CEO and current SecState)
The current head of the BSA would have let Trump shoot an eagle scout in the face with a bow an arrow live on TV if he asked. AT&T is trying to merge with Time-Warner, which must be approved by the government. So basically expect him to completely go to bat for the president no matter what.
Edit: correction - merger is with Time Warner, not comcast
Why are all the scout heads ludicrously rich people?
SoulUnison
Banned
Somehow I double posted rather than editing.
SoulUnison
Banned
So his idea of a response is basically: "We'll be blindly loyal to the President, no matter who it is?"
That's not the Boy Scouts I attended.
And where was that "respect for the office" when Obama spoke to the Scouts?
That's not the Boy Scouts I attended.
Although it is the one I eventually feared for my safety and sanity with, because gay. You can only have your stuff stolen and found in a toilet full of feces so many times.
And where was that "respect for the office" when Obama spoke to the Scouts?
djplaeskool
Member
lol
So the official BSA response is, "Welp. Figured that would happen."
45 completely lacks the ability to be inspirational, but eh, let's roll the dice and see what fires we need to put out afterwards.
So the official BSA response is, "Welp. Figured that would happen."
45 completely lacks the ability to be inspirational, but eh, let's roll the dice and see what fires we need to put out afterwards.
Lazy vs Crazy
Member
Note that AT&T is currently seeking government approval to merge with Time Warner.
This is a total conflict of interest.
This is a total conflict of interest.
As the leader of an organization booking a speaker, its your responsibility to make sure the speaker is appropriate for the audience and the values of your organization. It has nothing to do with the politics, Trump is inappropriate for frankly any audience let alone minors. He lacks any sort of moral character and filter and, given precedent, it would be surprising if he didn't insult at least part of the audience.
He should resign or be kicked out for his failure to handle that situation.
He should resign or be kicked out for his failure to handle that situation.
LucidMomentum
Member
I think it's time for me to switch cell phone providers.
TheRagnCajun
Member
He won't even admit fault for it. He needs to be removed from that position.
Trump is just an entity everyone is going to have to tolerate for (at least) the next 4 years. We knew who he was well before the election and despite all of that, he was still allowed on the ballot, the transition was still initiated (despite potentially being compromised by a foreign government), and he was still inaugurated. Basically, the point at which to uniformly reject Trump has come and gone. He's going to be considered as an invitee for several more functions in the future, the organization is going to have to weigh the traditions of their invite with the flack that they will inevitably receive, Trump will say something crazy, controversy will ensue....rinse and repeat.
This is the guy we elected*. I don't completely blame the Boy Scouts. We're a country of rich tradition (for better or for worse), and if we still invoked tradition to hand over the keys to the country to a crazy man, I can sorta see why the Boy Scouts can invoke tradition to let the crazy man speak.
It is what it is.
*"we" as a country; I didn't vote for this clown 🤡
This is the guy we elected*. I don't completely blame the Boy Scouts. We're a country of rich tradition (for better or for worse), and if we still invoked tradition to hand over the keys to the country to a crazy man, I can sorta see why the Boy Scouts can invoke tradition to let the crazy man speak.
It is what it is.
*"we" as a country; I didn't vote for this clown 🤡
The Last Wizard
Member
The man doesn't exhibit nor promote the principles of the Boy Scouts and y'all see no damn problem about him giving speeches and shit. Just like certain people with religion, does anyone practice what they preach-_-
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