Saw this article in the NY Times today--appalling--teaching the next generation how to be tools for the military-industrial complex.
The two creepiest quotations, in my opinion:
*****
"This is about being a true-blooded American guy and girl," said A. J. Lowenthal, a sheriff's deputy here in Imperial County, whose life clock, he says, is set around the Explorers events he helps run.
*****
"Cathy Noriego, also 16, said she was attracted by the guns. The group uses compressed-air guns - known as airsoft guns, which fire tiny plastic pellets - in the training exercises, and sometimes they shoot real guns on a closed range. "I like shooting them," Cathy said. "I like the sound they make. It gets me excited."
*****
When I was a boy, my father took over the assistant scout leader position for the troop I was in--he and another ex-air force guy created a rifle drill team (with wooden rifles they made themselves) in our troop--I quit within two months. Not the last time that I saw the parenting decisions of my father as not really in my best interests...
I never made it past Webelos ( what a name).
FRIENDLY
A Scout is a friend to all. He is a brother to other Scouts. He seeks to understand others. He respects those with ideas and customs other than his own.
COURTEOUS
A Scout is polite to everyone regardless of age or position. He knows good manners make it easier for people to get along together.
KIND
A Scout understands there is strength in being gentle. He treats others as he wants to be treated. He does not hurt or kill harmless things without reason.
I'm sure they still do lots of good things despite what this article describes.
I was involved in the scouts when my father was in school in Denver. It is true that the scouts do alot of good in the community but it is also true that the Scouts are a paramilitary group. They always have been and always will be.
I believe the line "He does not hurt or kill harmless things without reason" sums it up.
Peace
Todd
This is just one aspect of the scouts. I'm an Eagle Scout and have never done anything like what is mentioned in that article.
Sure the army and marines take interest in the scouting programs, but they don't control any of it.
Scouts are taught manners, respect, courage, teamwork, survival, and many many other things. Going through scouts an experience that I would encourage any boy to be a part of.
This is freaked up on so many levels I don't know where to begin. From the freaked up social construction of "masculinity" to the creation of fascist responses to non-threats. Yikes.
I usually don't say "freaked up" but my neighbors read this blog!
Is this really any worse than violent video games? I'd much rather kids be involved in fake law enforcement missions under the guidance of parents and professionals than sitting at home shooting characters on a TV screen. When I was in Boy Scouts the Explorer Scouts that came to our summer camp were basically the same, except they were generally older and Explorer Scouts is co-ed. Granted I don't remember them ever shooting airsoft guns or paint guns, but we shot plenty of rifles and shotguns on the shooting range. I quit Boy Scouts when I was 16 in protest to the national organization's ban on gay scoutmasters, but I can tell you that individual troops, as the article says, are fairly decentralized from the national organization and ultimately the experience you have is almost entirely dependent on the individual scouts and parents involved in a particular troop. If you have kids and don't like the organization, then change it or create an alternative. The bottom line is that Boy Scouts is a positive experience for the vast majority of those involved. Though I have reservations about Explorer Scouts acting like para military troops, they are either adults or have the permission of their parents so I can't really hold the Boy Scouts responsible.
I was in Cub Scouts. The first "den" asked my Mom to have me reassigned because I didn't fit in. Actually, I was the poor kid in the group. Mom found another one for me that was much farther away. I stuck with it for a couple of years. Then, a few years later, a friend invited me to check out his Boy Scout group. The scout master I think recognized me from back in the Cub Scout days (he was moving through the ranks with his son) and told me I was not welcome. Imagine if I had been gay!
I realize the Explorers are co-ed, but the pose is really, as Bret points out above, a pose of masculinity tied to power through violence. Jackson Katz (http://www.jacksonkatz.com/) made a movie about this. While it's a bit dated, it's well thought and presented and seems to be relevant to this topic.
The video is called Tough Guise: Violence, the Media and the Crisis in Masculinity. Here's a Google video link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9632437500432634
Being taught to knee real people in the back to keep them quiet while they're face-down on the ground might not be worse than violent video games--seems arguable to me--but violent video games are part of the tool-making process, too. How else to explain the success of Air Force ROTC recruiting using "flight simulations" to draw in young people, who can then be trained to fly unstaffed drones to attack "targets" (which usually means people, including civilians who are in the way) from a distance?
My six year old son has a hard enough time figuring out the consequences of carrying a wooden sword and being fascinated with knights--you can keep the paramilitary, anti-gay scout training and video games.
I went to a rally when I was 9 after a friend asked me if I'd like to join his troupe. All I really wanted to join for was camping. My Dad dropped me off at a huge rally at my school's gym.
It was ok until all the parents left. Then it was like someone dropped a freakin bomb. Kids were running everywhere, yelling, screaming at the top of their lungs, and just being little shits in general. All my school friends were having the times of their lives and I felt really awkward, which made me feel even more awkward and horrible, like something was wrong with me. I just wanted to go camping. I walked outside, sat on the ground and waited for my Dad to show up which made me feel much, much better. He seemed really put off when I told him I didn't like it, didn't want to join, and never wanted to go back. I told my brothers the rally was the dumbest thing I'd ever been to and they were equally aghast.
I think that was the first experience in a lifelong string of experiences in realizing I was never going to be like everyone else. So, for that, I thank the Boy Scouts of America.
I was in Explorers when I was a teen, we went hiking, camping, canoeing...we never played army or any thing likes whats going on with this group-the closes thing to it we did was co-ed jello wrestling ;)
I could rant here but I will just Ditto @ndy.
Oh and maybe add that from where I sit, work and play, it seems that America's greatest social problem is a crisis in mature, authentic masculinity. Seriously, connect the dots.
I'm heavily involved with Boy Scouts. Looks like the kids are just horsing around to me. I'm not military - never was - and I don't see the Boy Scouts as a prep ground for the military. It is more just a place to have fun. The gay issue is way overdone. The constitution guarantees freedom of association. That the national group decided this is their right. The local troops, however, do not bash gays. On the contrary, we wish them well and would hope to be friends. Boy Scouts is a great place for any boy - boys who are/aren't jocks, bookworms, misfits, etc - they all are accepted and cliques are not tolerated nor wanted. Everyone gets along. It is a great place for boys to learn things (like First Aid, Home Repair, Art, etc), develop a love/respect for the outdoors and other people, and to have fun. To the gays, I am sorry that you feel discriminated but many parents just want a place for their boys to go where there isn't a strong gay influence. There is on TV and in schools - but, private clubs and religions are protected under our consitition. We all don't have to imbrace every way of life or thinking and we teach our kids accordingly, but never to hate, discriminate or think poorly of. Hope that this helps some of you understand scouting.
That, uh... That post is really creepy to me. I'm sorry. It's creepy. It is a creepy post.
Also the homophobia apparent in the subtext of like half of that post makes me want to wretch.
16 Comments
davids
about 16 years agoDave Sorensen
about 16 years agoTodd Gremmels
about 16 years agoBen
about 16 years agoBret
about 16 years ago@ndy
about 16 years agoTim K
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