Any former Boy Scouts here?

[Red Flag Waver]

I was involved in scouting throughout my middle and high school years, and I look back upon it now with ambivalence. On the one hand, it allowed me to do lots of nice things that I might not have done otherwise, such as frequent camping and backpacking trips, learning first aid, and learning how to shoot. On the other hand, it probably contributed to me clinging to many reactionary beliefs well beyond the age when I should have known better.

The Boy Scouts of America are famously homophobic, and though the ban on gay scouts was recently lifted, gay scoutmasters are still barred. Atheists are not allowed. And of course, since it is the Boy Scouts, girls are excluded--no one seems to have a problem with that, for some reason. With lots of activities stressing "teamwork" and "leadership" skills, there's something vaguely corporate about the whole thing. Add to this a generous dose of flag-waving, and you've got a profoundly crappy organization. I suppose it is one of many institutions designed to inculcate young people with Murican values and render them non-threatening to the powers that be.

It's interesting that scouting emerged a century ago, during a time of expanding imperialism, to teach military-style techniques to children, and that it now exists in many different countries, not just in the Anglosphere (even the USSR had their own version). I wonder if Marxists have ever tackled this subject?

Mostly, however, I'm curious to know if there are other former (or current?) scouts here and what you think of the experience.

[The Feral Underclass]

I was a (UK) Cub Scout.

[Fourth Internationalist]

I was a cub scout (Weblo), but I never became a boy scout (I stopped in like 4th grade, I'm now in 9th) My parents wanted me to continue bu they were cool with it, but even if I wanted to I could not because I'm a bisexual communist atheist. :thumbup1:

[Skyhilist]

I was in Boy Scouts for a few weeks (I knew nothing about their homophobia, discrimination against atheists, etc. at the time) and stopped showing up to the meetings and the. Eventually quit because it was so fucking boring. Don't get me wrong I love hiking but the meeting would be the most mundane shit like "how to properly pack pots/pans and also you have to build a small wooden car."

[Geiseric]

Be prepared for "little guevara" summer camp post revolution. I have my merit badge in communist aggitating, my eagle project was planning a protest at school.

[#FF0000]

Scouts was so dumb and boring. I particularly disliked it because of what I thought was blatant hypocrisy. I thought the whole thing was about being, like, a good person and a responsible outdoorsman or something, but I remember the other kids would, like, seriously fuck up every campsite and start fires in the woods during the big outdoor meeting/party things ("Don't worry -- you guys are scouts!" I remember one drunk scoutmaster telling me as my friends poured lighter fluid on a fire during a drought)

Yo fuck'em.

But yeah there've been socialist scouting organizations. Aside from the Young Pioneers or whatever the USSR had, there was the Red Falcons organization, which I think still exists?

[slum]

i hate when i run into scout troupes in the woods, they're loud and leave messes and dont bury their toilet paper and have fires where they shouldn't

i was in girl scouts for about a month before they kicked me out :(

[Red Flag Waver]

I was a (UK) Cub Scout.
Do you know if scouting in the UK is associated with conservatism, as it is in the United States? I grew up in a liberal area and my troop reflected that to an extent, but I did once hear one of the adult leaders, a retired cop, talking about Hitler's positive achievements, and how our negative perception of the Nazis comes from a postwar campaign by the Jews to discredit them. :(

[The Feral Underclass]

I honestly don't remember the politics of it. I had quite a blast to be honest. Cub Scouts are younger than boy scouts, so all the politics and identity shit wasn't really relevant to me at the time, you know, being 11 and all. In any case, I was quite right wing when I was younger.

[Red Flag Waver]

[QUOTE=#FF0000;2629845]Scouts was so dumb and boring. I particularly disliked it because of what I thought was blatant hypocrisy. I thought the whole thing was about being, like, a good person and a responsible outdoorsman or something, but I remember the other kids would, like, seriously fuck up every campsite and start fires in the woods during the big outdoor meeting/party things ("Don't worry -- you guys are scouts!" I remember one drunk scoutmaster telling me as my friends poured lighter fluid on a fire during a drought)

Yo fuck'em.QUOTE]
This sounds familiar. My troop was about 80% pyromaniacs. The rest got by on torturing insects.

[Doflamingo]

I was... for about 2 weeks. Then I quit because it was boring and the guy in charge was annoying.

[Vanilla]

And of course, since it is the Boy Scouts, girls are excluded--no one seems to have a problem with that, for some reason.

To be fair there is a girl scouts. I was a Brownie and then a Girl Scout until 6th grade, but I quit because we never did anything. I always did think it was unfair that the Boy Scouts always went camping and hiking and stuff while we just sat around at a table and talked. One time we made beaded jewelry. Another time we made kites. Other than that it was a complete waste of my Thursday nights.

Do Boy Scouts have to recite any pledges at meetings? When I was in Girl Scouts we had to recite the Girl Scout Law and the Girl Scout Promise.

[Flying Purple People Eater]

I was once a scout - they don't have boy or girl scouts where I live.

Massive waste of time.

[Brosa Luxemburg]

I was involved in scouting throughout my middle and high school years, and I look back upon it now with ambivalence. On the one hand, it allowed me to do lots of nice things that I might not have done otherwise, such as frequent camping and backpacking trips, learning first aid, and learning how to shoot. On the other hand, it probably contributed to me clinging to many reactionary beliefs well beyond the age when I should have known better.

The Boy Scouts of America are famously homophobic, and though the ban on gay scouts was recently lifted, gay scoutmasters are still barred. Atheists are not allowed. And of course, since it is the Boy Scouts, girls are excluded--no one seems to have a problem with that, for some reason. With lots of activities stressing "teamwork" and "leadership" skills, there's something vaguely corporate about the whole thing. Add to this a generous dose of flag-waving, and you've got a profoundly crappy organization. I suppose it is one of many institutions designed to inculcate young people with Murican values and render them non-threatening to the powers that be.

I am an Eagle Scout, not involved in scouting at all anymore (I didn't even have an Eagle ceremony I was so sick of it) and you have basically summed up my experience and thoughts about scouts above.

[Sasha]

I wasn't allowed to join paramilitary organizations from my pacifist parents, esp ones started by enoch powell who liked fascism just a tat to much...

[The Douche]

To expose some nerdiness from my childhood, I was not involved in scouts because I thought it was boring and didn't focus on the sort of stuff I was into, so I joined the Civil Air Patrol, which is a cadet program that is an actual part of the air force, and which performs search and rescue missions for downed aircraft/lost hikers and stuff like that. They also have a heavy focus on aviation, but I was more involved in the search and rescue stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Air_Patrol

I also attended this program two years in a row, earning a ranger and ranger medic qualification:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawk_Mountain_Ranger_School

The course was pretty hard considering most participants were young teenagers. Certainly more intensive than the boy scouts.

[Red Flag Waver]

i hate when i run into scout troupes in the woods, they're loud and leave messes and dont bury their toilet paper and have fires where they shouldn't

i was in girl scouts for about a month before they kicked me out :(
What got you kicked out, if you don't mind me asking?

[Red Flag Waver]

To be fair there is a girl scouts. I was a Brownie and then a Girl Scout until 6th grade, but I quit because we never did anything. I always did think it was unfair that the Boy Scouts always went camping and hiking and stuff while we just sat around at a table and talked. One time we made beaded jewelry. Another time we made kites. Other than that it was a complete waste of my Thursday nights.

Do Boy Scouts have to recite any pledges at meetings? When I was in Girl Scouts we had to recite the Girl Scout Law and the Girl Scout Promise.
The BSA is not affiliated with the Girl Scouts in any way, but the two organizations are complimentary; one doing "manly" things and the other doing "ladylike things." It's a way of reinforcing outmoded gender roles, and I think it encourages boys to think of girls as inferior. The Girl Scouts, at least (I think), don't have a history of discriminating against homosexuals, and they make good cookies.

In the Boy Scouts we had to memorize and recite frequently the Scout Law: "A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent," and also the Scout Oath: "On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty to God and my country, to obey the Scout Law, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight." I have this shit memorized even now. Most of it is stuff you can't argue with, but they just had to slip "obedient" and "reverent" in there. And I don't think doing "my duty" to my country is supposed to include turning it into an anarchist federation.

[Geiseric]

Helping people at all times to me means socialist revolution. At least the homophobia and pedos involved is kind of starting to be dealt with. There was a woman in charge of my pack even, but I guess it's because we're in california.

[Red Flag Waver]

I am an Eagle Scout, not involved in scouting at all anymore (I didn't even have an Eagle ceremony I was so sick of it) and you have basically summed up my experience and thoughts about scouts above.
I'm also an Eagle Scout. It's kind of embarrassing, and I've found that it gives people a distorted notion of who I am. But I guess if we're both leftist Eagles, there must be more?

[Red Flag Waver]

Helping people at all times to me means socialist revolution.
I agree. When you look at lists of former Scouts, it's always CEOs and politicians saying "Scouting gave me the values I needed to succeed blah blah blah." It would be pretty cool to see a revolutionary cite the Scout Oath as an inspiration.

[Aurora]

I was never a scout and at the time probably would have hated it, however i think that a young pioneer type organisation could be great at providing recreational, educational, occupational and social activities for children and young adults, if you strip out all the obviously bourgeois crap you could really have a great way to develop a socialist human.

[Landsharks eat metal]

The BSA is not affiliated with the Girl Scouts in any way, but the two organizations are complimentary; one doing "manly" things and the other doing "ladylike things." It's a way of reinforcing outmoded gender roles, and I think it encourages boys to think of girls as inferior. The Girl Scouts, at least (I think), don't have a history of discriminating against homosexuals, and they make good cookies.
True, and there have even been at least one girl scout troop that accepted a transgender girl.

I wanted to join Girl Scouts as a kid but was told the waiting list for the local troop was too long. I later talked to some of my friends who had participated in it and they said that was bullshit so I guess Girl Scouts just didn't want me for some reason or something. I don't mind it so much now because that would be a little weird seeing what I have since discovered about my gender.

[Vanilla]

The BSA is not affiliated with the Girl Scouts in any way, but the two organizations are complimentary; one doing "manly" things and the other doing "ladylike things." It's a way of reinforcing outmoded gender roles, and I think it encourages boys to think of girls as inferior. The Girl Scouts, at least (I think), don't have a history of discriminating against homosexuals, and they make good cookies.

In the Boy Scouts we had to memorize and recite frequently the Scout Law: "A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent," and also the Scout Oath: "On my honor, I will do my best, to do my duty to God and my country, to obey the Scout Law, to help other people at all times, to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight." I have this shit memorized even now. Most of it is stuff you can't argue with, but they just had to slip "obedient" and "reverent" in there. And I don't think doing "my duty" to my country is supposed to include turning it into an anarchist federation.

I still have the Girl Scout Promise and Girl Scout Law memorized too. It's pretty much the same thing. It's pretty normal stuff except there's something in there about serving God and respecting authority. I don't do that.

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

Yeah, that shit is pretty sketch.
I definitely did the whole Beavers-Cubs-Scouts (Canada, eh?) thing, but went from being an emotionally messed-up weakling kid who couldn't really function in the environment to being a rebellious pre-teen who couldn't really function in the environment. There were two other boys in my troop who I sort of got along with (before I got too "weird") - they're both engineers now, and we don't talk.
In any case, it was a terrible, terrible environment for a kid who wasn't really into acting out gross fantasies of heteropatriarchal masculinity. In particular, our troop was pretty tight with the Catholic Church - though all members weren't necessarily Catholic, it was a de facto Catholic troop, several of us were alter servers, there were prayers at meetings, etc.
In retrospect, my fallings out with both (the church and scouting) were probably crucial elements in a general falling out of my social life as it had been up to that point - though I left the whole business with baggage that I'm still unpacking/figuring out (eg how to have emotionally close relationships with other men that aren't underwritten by awful power dynamics).
On the bright side, I learned some useful camping skills, or at least confidence. It served me well when I was a chronically houseless alcoholic punk.

[Rugged Collectivist]

I was in the cub/boy scouts on and off for a few years. They are pretty terrible, the fucking motto/oath/whatever started off with "I promise to do my best to god and my country" so that should basically tell you all you need to know. Like VMC, my troop was heavily involved with the catholic church, as most of the members were students/parents/teachers from the catholic school I attended.

I didn't really learn much about survival but the two trips I went on were pretty fun. One was to a merchant marine ship from world war II which was fucking awesome. The other was to Gettysburg which was slightly less awesome because it actually involved camping and I hate nature.

[Brosa Luxemburg]

I will say this though. Boy Scouts did teach me to put the group before myself, to sacrifice and help to those that need help. I had great scoutmasters who really tried to help the kids along a good path while letting the kids decide whats best for them and merely guiding them along and supporting them. They instilled values in me that I will never forget. I agree with everyone's critique of the organization completely, but I did have great scoutmasters.

[The Douche]

Yeah, that shit is pretty sketch.
I definitely did the whole Beavers-Cubs-Scouts (Canada, eh?) thing, but went from being an emotionally messed-up weakling kid who couldn't really function in the environment to being a rebellious pre-teen who couldn't really function in the environment. There were two other boys in my troop who I sort of got along with (before I got too "weird") - they're both engineers now, and we don't talk.
In any case, it was a terrible, terrible environment for a kid who wasn't really into acting out gross fantasies of heteropatriarchal masculinity. In particular, our troop was pretty tight with the Catholic Church - though all members weren't necessarily Catholic, it was a de facto Catholic troop, several of us were alter servers, there were prayers at meetings, etc.
In retrospect, my fallings out with both (the church and scouting) were probably crucial elements in a general falling out of my social life as it had been up to that point - though I left the whole business with baggage that I'm still unpacking/figuring out (eg how to have emotionally close relationships with other men that aren't underwritten by awful power dynamics).
On the bright side, I learned some useful camping skills, or at least confidence. It served me well when I was a chronically houseless alcoholic punk.

Doesn't that happen every time we put a bunch of men or boys together?

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

Doesn't that happen every time we put a bunch of men or boys together?


To be fair, heteropatriarchy is operative in all social relations, not just groups of men.

Sincerely though, I feel like I have experienced relations with groups of men that at least approached something human, even if they fell far short.

Fail better!