Comments on: Why I Don’t Like Scouting

By: Beagles

Beagles — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 04:13:21 +0000

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I would like to point out my admiration for your kind-heartedness for those people that have the need for assistance with that topic. Your special commitment to passing the solution up and down had been really powerful and have helped women like me to …

By: Zelophehad’s Daughters | Things to Like in the CHI

Zelophehad’s Daughters | Things to Like in the CHI — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:25:57 +0000

[...] encouraging. Yes, I know this is probably surprising coming from me, given I’m typically a complainer. I’m sure I’ll find things to complain about soon enough. For now, just the good [...]

By: Central Massachusetts

Central Massachusetts — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:04:22 +0000

My daughter joined Girl Scounts in 4th grade she is new a Sophmore in High School. She joined because we move across the US and she wanted to make friends and learn new things. What she has learned from her “leader” is to lie, cheat, and scam to reach goals…and from the girls in the troop she learned she is worthless. No one in that troop ever listened to her opinions and never did they consider doing anything she wanted to do. What I learned was the leader has no training and she signed up every mother as a co leader and told us all we didn’t have to take any training courses. The girls in the troop do as little as possible. They make the badges fit the things that are already doing. Because my daughter was new she was made to go out on her own and do the things this click of girls had alredy done. She feels the silver award she was given last year was not earned really. Now the troop is doing the gold award in the minimum time. This has been the leader only goal. To get her daughter the gold award so it can go on her college app. The leaders do nothing to support my daughter. When the forms came to sing up for next year she started crying. Her Girl Scouts experience has really damaged her self worth. She feels so negitively about this experience she is not going to even try for the gold award. She says the leader has been horrible to her and has been pushing her to do things that are not her choice. Scouting is supposed to be about nurturing girls to become well rounded individuals with a strong sense of self. Several years ago I called the local council and was told that leaders are supposed to take classes and that there is no one to over see the “leaders”. There are not enough volunteers. Seems like this should be a paid position. Somebody needs to be protecting the girls. Parents assume the leaders are screened and trained, Their NOT. Somebody in the Girl Scout organization needs to wake up.

By: Inviting Girls to Pinewood Derby « The Exponent

Inviting Girls to Pinewood Derby « The Exponent — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:37:34 +0000

[...] a Bear Den assistant. Although I think the scouting program has helped many boys for generations, I object to it being part of the LDS church. First, not all boys enjoy scouting. Second, girls don’t [...]

By: Alan

Alan — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:30:22 +0000

Wow! I think the relationship between your church and Scouting is twisted! I’ve been involved in scouting in some form most of my life. Scouting pushes a belief in God not a belief in a church. At pack meetings we have a “moment of prayer or meditation as is your custom”. But granted it is most often a church that is the sponsor of a pack or troop. (we used to have a troop that was sponsored by the Elks! Adults had to stay clear of the bar if in uniform or at least cover the uniform )
I’m just the opposite, I’m not the church type. I go on Scout Sunday and maybe six other times a year. Every troop I have been in has been pretty much hands off between the church and scouting and vice versa. Maybe things are just different in Florida.
Yeah, Friends of Scouting kinda torques me off too. They only hit up the scout families around here. After all the other monies we sink into fund raising like popcorn and Family Fest they ask for more. I almost blew my stack when I got an e-mail suggesting I donate part of my 2008 tax rebate to the council.
Scouting has its place but I am surprised by such a strong church affiliation. Or pack and troop recruit from the local schools not the churches. Only three or four of our 80 boys go to the sponsor church. I agree with you that church and scouting should not be put together as you describe. The scouts are supposed to be run by the parents with sponsor liaison not run by the church … unless the bulk of the boys are in that church I suppose.
If your pack / troop is like you describe you need to get away from both that scouting group and that church.

By: Ziff

Ziff — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:49:14 +0000

Yikes, A Guy. Your experience sounds way worse than anything I had to put up with. I was mocked by leaders, but never forced to hike naked! That’s insane.

I think it’s admirable that you’re still willing to serve in scouts at all. I’ve never yet been called, but if I ever am, I will have definite questions about just how inspired the calling is.

By: A Guy

A Guy — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:03:53 +0000

I never was into scouting as a youth, but was required to go to cub scouts by my parents. As I got older I thought boy scouts might be more interesting and I might enjoy the camp outs. And then, as was apparently the tradition in parts of Utah in the late 70s, I was initiated into scouting. It was my first camp out and I’m sure these fine upstanding leaders, who were also my priesthood leaders, thought it was a regular right of passage that would build character or some sort of whatever. When they stripped me and my friend (who was also a brand new scout) naked and made us hike 4 miles back to camp in a crowded canyon I suddenly lost my desire to ever attend another scouting event. Funny… neither me nor my friend got the coveted eagle. Maybe that’s what they were going for. Maybe they hated scouting as much as I do now and if they terrorized the new scouts they might have less work to do.
And, does that inspire confidence in your priesthood leaders? My guess is that if scouting were an inspired church program the chances of something like that happening would be much smaller. I sure hope nothing like that ever happens these days. But how many initiations into the young men’s organization have you ever heard of?
I’ve been called as a scout leader 3 different times in my adult life and that includes now. I find it very difficult to care. If a young man wants to pursue it then I’ll be there to help, but I will never push it on anyone.
Sure, I should been a stronger young man and not let it effect me and I should have gone on to get that eagle so it might help me on a resume down the road or something. But the reality was that I was a shy kid who didn’t have great role models. It would have been so easy for that single event, in a non-inspired program, to ruin my spiritual journey. But I always wanted to go on a mission and I went (and didn’t get initiated), got married in the temple (and didn’t get initiated) and I’ve served in various calling ever since.
I was so happy to get away from scouting as a youth and have always been uncomfortable with it as an adult. Again, I should be stronger and get over it.
So, in the future when I’m called to a position in scouting should I have this frank conversation with the bishop/counselor who calls me? “Sure bishop. I’ll do it, but just so you know…. I’ve always had a real issue with scouting based on the pervert leaders I had as a youth.”

By: Jonathan Blake

Jonathan Blake — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:20:53 +0000

Ahem. Well, that trackback from my blog certainly looks like spam, and considering the sensibilities of some here it probably is spam. I won’t be offended if the admins decide to delete that trackback.

Those not wishing to view scantily clad scouts shouldn’t follow that link.

By: Green Oasis » Sieg Heil!

Green Oasis » Sieg Heil! — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 23:26:55 +0000

[...] bet fewer people would be complaining about the Boy Scout uniform if more girls like Kate had been in their troop. (There’s more of Kate in her uniform, if you [...]

By: wingnut

wingnut — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 06:07:57 +0000

Thank you soo much for this topic!!!

Out of sheer protest to the B.S. of America, I resigned from my year-long position as the Varsity Coach in my ward. I told the bishop over the phone, “My heart is not in scouting now, it never has been, and now I know it never will be.” The bishop was very gracious about letting me go. I advised he find someone who had their heart in the program. I immediately felt so relieved, a little guilty, but I should have said no to the calling in the first place.

My disillusion began at a young age. As a young enthusiastic scout I remember having mixed feeling about going out and selling those stupid coupon books. My tiny heart would race as I poured over the rewards for multiple sales: stickers, mugs, t-shirts, mountain bikes, paint guns, etc. However, I was a terribly shy kid. It was traumatic for me to knock on a strangers door and try to talk to a grumpy adult. Nevertheless, everyone else was doing it, and I would daydream about receiving that bike in the mail after selling hundreds of coupons. I swear I still have a little PTSD anxiety from some of the mean people I encountered. After a long day, with only a few sales, I would come home devastated. My dad says he began to hate scouting the moment he saw me in my little blue uniform choking with tears because things hadn’t gone the way I had expected. I still feel like the B.S. of America abused and exploited my innocence and enthusiasm to satisfy their hierarchal financial hunger.

I loved the camping, the fellowship among adults and boys, etc. but I hated the uniform, the merit badges, the stupid games and jokes, skits and songs—and the BYU Pow Wow, don’t get me started! I remember wandering aimlessly across the campus in my cute little uniform next to cool college guys and pretty girls. I may as well have been naked! And I’ll never forget how boring the classes and teachers were. My friends and I were absolute hellions at any official scout camp or activity; we were kicking and screaming rebels because there was no other way to resist the pressure to conform to the scouting way.

On the other hand, when we were just hanging out, camping in the woods or hiking in the mountains as a group of young people and a few adults—no scout crap to deal with—we were a team, we would even get spiritual, and sometimes cry! Yes much of this had to do with the outdoors, but official scout camps are in the outdoors also. I suspect our behavior at scout functions was a natural response to the fakeness of it all, and our behavior at nonscout functions was different because it felt more natural and spontaneous.

As Varsity Coach, I loved being with and mentoring the boys about the gospel and life, but the ridiculous amount of regulations, paper work, sillyness, and pressure to push the boys through the eagle scout hoops drove me to becoming totally disenchanted with the B.S. of America.

No gays? No atheists? Excuse me, but some of my best friends fall into these groups. Not only are scouts being trained to be beaurocrats, but bigots also. If I were in charge, I would exclude the latter two.

Subsidized by the department of defense until 2006? Hmmm, I wonder why.

Can they get any more creative on how to create more pointless positions so the church will pay more charter fees each year?

I’ve heard the CEO makes over 1 million each year. How much of that is our tithing money?

I’ve heard three talks in my ward equating the gospel and scouting. So does that mean there are two true churches? Where does the one begin and the other end?

Please, President Monson, drop the B.S. of America. Continue with Duty to God, and create a program preferably coed with activities similar to scouting, but without the paperwork, complexities, and silliness. Each stake could have a group of specialists in the arts, sports, science, history, etc. And activities would be led by these individuals in conjuction with the young mens and young womens leaders. Something like this would be much more productive. The good things that scouting offers can so easily be duplicated in the church. Many of them are already duplicated in the Duty to God program.

Many believe the missionary program is supported by the B.S. of America. I think it gets in the way. So many boys don’t care about getting an eagle so they don’t come to YM. They would come if this basically pointless award and the program behind it were forever removed from the church and replaced with something more engaging and authentic.