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The Boy Scouts are considering bankruptcy


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43 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

And this.  I was in scouting when I was young, but the outdoor activities were weak as shit compared to the open desert hunting trips I'd been going on with my dad since I was 2.  I wondered when we were going to shoot stuff and eat it, when we were going to build fires from scratch, when we were going to build deadfall traps.  Those weren't in the offiing for our urban scout troop in the mid-70s.  We tied some knots and shit.  Great.  When do I get a knife and a gun, so I can go full-on Grizzly Adams, bitches?

This post is below your standard. Scouting offers an experience for those kids whose parent(s) aren't intrepid outdoorsmen. 

Furthermore, the outdoors is just a milieu for the kids to learn some self-sufficiency, leadership, and organizational dynamics. 

Despite its foibles at being tradition-bound, it is a good organization that offers a lot of benefits for kids of all kinds and backgrounds. 

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15 minutes ago, Pig Bellmont said:

I think the threat of bankruptcy is that the .org knows there was a ton more molesting that hasn’t yet come to light. Just scratching the surface 

Doubtful as it's dubious whether a Chapter 11 would discharge such claims. The BSA isn't exactly a cash cow without its insurance. 

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8 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

This post is below your standard. Scouting offers an experience for those kids whose parent(s) aren't intrepid outdoorsmen. 

Furthermore, the outdoors is just a milieu for the kids to learn some self-sufficiency, leadership, and organizational dynamics. 

Despite its foibles at being tradition-bound, it is a good organization that offers a lot of benefits for kids of all kinds and backgrounds. 

Oh, I don't and didn't doubt that it served that purpose.  I don't hate the scouts -- it just wasn't for me.

Kind of like how I didn't get it when we went to the livestock show and there were (urban Houston) kids who were freaking afraid of cattle.  I already grew up around that stuff, so the "introductory" path bored me.

Nobody ever molested me, though.  So I got that going for me, which is nice.

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24 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

What does this even mean. Are you mad that the scouts hate gays less now?

Do you ever stop to read what is actually being posted or just respond based on what you think you hear in your head ? 

Pussification of scouts is what Brisket was referring to. It's not the hard core backwoods hunter camper shit you can get with your family or friends.  Maybe that means gay to you, but that's your issue.

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5 hours ago, Aqua Buddha said:

Learning how to talk to a girl is a far more valuable skill than being able to build a campfire.

Why not both ?  I mean hell, if they're gonna let girls in you can build a fire as you chat up the lay-dees...  I see a merit badge for consummation.

Edited by Onboard 2.0
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51 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Oh, I don't and didn't doubt that it served that purpose.  I don't hate the scouts -- it just wasn't for me.

Kind of like how I didn't get it when we went to the livestock show and there were (urban Houston) kids who were freaking afraid of cattle.  I already grew up around that stuff, so the "introductory" path bored me.

Nobody ever molested me, though.  So I got that going for me, which is nice.

CSB: growing up in a small town in the middle of nowhere, we didn't really have access to scouts, but didn't need it either.  However, being Catholic I was an altar boy for a couple of years which was mandatory.  And every year we'd have an "altar boys camp out".  Seriously.  The priest and other church dads would take 20 or so 12-year-old boys and we'd camp and fish on a big sand bar on the Colorado.  As far as I know, nobody got molested.  Judging from the flasks and beer cans I'd imagine the adults would have been too drunk anyway.  We did get a lesson in butchering and cooking soft-shell turtles, and how not to take a shit on the trail because other people go barefoot.  But can you imagine in this day and age?  A Catholic altar boy camp out?  

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1 hour ago, Chad Fuck said:

At the unit level, BSA is basically about getting kids outside and learning how to do shit.  Like any volunteer org, it's basically what the parents make it. It's just another way to keep kids occupied in positive pursuits and out of trouble.  

If the National level BSA files for bankruptcy protection, I highly doubt it will have any significant meaningful affect at the Council or Pack/Troop level.  

 

Este.

There are great scouting groups, and crappy scouting groups.  I'm involved in Cub Scouts as a parent, and my older son's now in a Boy Scout troop.  We're lucky in that we're a big pack with a lot of parent involvement (though we still have our share of hanger-on-ers who are content to sit in the back of a meeting on their phone rather than actually be involved with their kid).  

Scouting does teach great life skills and team-building in ways that a lot of parents couldn't handle on their own (some can, for sure, but others just aren't wired for it).  For the half-decade I've been involved as a parent and leader, they've had stringent guidelines in place designed to avoid repeats of the past abuses that led to these current issues - 2+ adults present at all times anywhere kids are present, etc.  

Our council is one of the better ones these days in terms of financial position, and money is still tight, so I can imagine the idea of bankruptcy at the national level is just a protection given their small cash reserves.  The last thing they want to do is have to sell off the camp properties (like Philmont or Summit Bechtel Reserve) that really define the scouting experience.

 

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Every scout leader had a moustache, was a super cm Cristian faggot and raped little boys.

Meanwhile, the cool kids like me ripped off our shirt sleeves, got a switchblade and lived the Porky's Meatballs Foxes life of the late 70s.

I am Over The Edge. 

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1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

Doubtful as it's dubious whether a Chapter 11 would discharge such claims. The BSA isn't exactly a cash cow without its insurance. 

🙄

Sexual abuse claims against the Boy Scouts of America has the organization considering filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The reason - to protect the Texas-based non-profit from financial settlements related to those abuse claims. Bill Zeeble of member station KERA in Dallas reports.

https://www.npr.org/2018/12/14/676901146/facing-allegations-of-child-abuse-the-boy-scouts-of-america-considers-bankruptcy

But sure, let’s debate the nuances of dischargeability in the bankruptcy code

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Also what Chad Fuck said.

 

But part of the pussification of scouts is the domination by parents.  We had a great troop on Ft. Hood in the late 60's, and the only role the parents played was providing transportation to campouts/events, and meeting the minimum chaperone standards, like one or two adults on a campout, who were unseen and unheard during the campout.

Point is, everything was done by the scouts.  All the rank advancement coaching, all the campout and camporee planning, all the training, all the playing, all the supervision, running the meetings, organizing the courts of honor, everything was done by the scouts.  A few merit badge counselors were adults, most were explorer level scouts from other units.  This type of life preparation, this indepence, initiative, and organization, was incredibly valuable, in retrospect, and had disappeared from the scene by time my own son went thru scouts in the 90's.  

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1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

This post is below your standard. Scouting offers an experience for those kids whose parent(s) aren't intrepid outdoorsmen. 

Furthermore, the outdoors is just a milieu for the kids to learn some self-sufficiency, leadership, and organizational dynamics. 

Despite its foibles at being tradition-bound, it is a good organization that offers a lot of benefits for kids of all kinds and backgrounds. 

This.  

I belonged in a Pack in the city, where the Cub Scouts got kids who didn't have access (or means) to get out in the woods a way to do so.  

Then I moved to the country, and joined a Boy Scout troop that got a bunch of country boys to not only realize there was a bigger world out there, but to be better woodsmen.

Right now, the school Chad Jr. attends is a bunch of rich kids and poor kids mixed together in the middle of the city.  Just getting them out and about would be great, especially when so many have parents that are just working to survive, much less have time to get their kids out in the woods.  Not everyone has a family ranch to go weekending/hunting/hiking.

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1 hour ago, Onboard 2.0 said:

Do you ever stop to read what is actually being posted or just respond based on what you think you hear in your head ? 

Pussification of scouts is what Brisket was referring to. It's not the hard core backwoods hunter camper shit you can get with your family or friends.  Maybe that means gay to you, but that's your issue.

I see. I never learned any real "hardcore backwoods hunter camper shit" in the Boy Scouts. I learned almost everything I know from my dad. I'm not sure it was ever the ideal place to learn anything. It might have been before my time though, or I might have just joined a shitty pack. I have no idea.

1 hour ago, Sbbruin said:

No, but they are letting girls into our troop this year.  

And?

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3 hours ago, RDCanecutter said:

"Step it oot, lads, ye'll get more tired if ye stop and rest."

What?

My god, was that guy retarded? I would have had a difficult time not laughing in his face and asking if he went to a&m.

Did he honestly believe that or was it just some motivational tool? 

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1 minute ago, Newy25 said:

Hunting is not part of BSA. You would know that if you were not an ignorant piece of shit. 

But good citizenship, being kind, reverent and all, that other scout shit is, and your post kind of illustrates a lack of those scout traits.  Having fg said that this is Surly, so carry on my man.

His post was incorrect about the scouts and hunting, but not about parents stepping up and being teachers to their kids.

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4 hours ago, RDCanecutter said:

So say BSA goes belly-up. What would stop a group of parents from buying a few old scout manuals, and working through the projects with the kids, taking them on a hike or camp-out?

 I camp out, hike, mountain bike, and all that shit with my kids on my own and with also with the scouts. It’s far more of a beating with the scouts. We show up to a  park with this big ass trailer full of equipment, stove, cast-iron skillet, massive tents, crates full of plastic dishes, etc.  it’s the shittiest camping experience ever. I’ve only been on one of the high-adventure camps so far and it was awesome but then again it was Sea Base on a sailboat in the Keys for five days.  For every day average camping it’s far more fun when my kids and I go out by ourselves without the troop.  We’re going to Philmont with the troop this summer for the first time and I’m looking forward to that because it’s a little bit more what my kids are used to on a camp out.  

 But the flipside to  just doing this stuff on your own, without the organization, is that it’s not just a camping experience and all the outdoorsiness and leadership that your kid is getting, it’s the title of Eagle Scout on a college application. It’s the long term goal setting that appeals to me in the scouts. I like the fact that it’s going to take my kids six years of steady progress to achieve one goal. And the fact that he will have that title to prove it.

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3 minutes ago, Your Mom said:

 I camp out, hike, mountain bike, and all that shit with my kids on my own and with also with the scouts. It’s far more of a beating with the scouts. We show up to a  park with this big ass trailer full of equipment, stove, cast-iron skillet, massive tents, crates full of plastic dishes, etc.  it’s the shittiest camping experience ever. I’ve only been on one of the high-adventure camps so far and it was awesome but then again it was Sea Base on a sailboat in the Keys for five days.  For every day average camping it’s far more fun when my kids and I go out by ourselves without the troop.  We’re going to Philmont with the troop this summer for the first time and I’m looking forward to that because it’s a little bit more what my kids are used to on a camp out.  

 But the flipside to  just doing this stuff on your own, without the organization, is that it’s not just a camping experience and all the outdoorsiness and leadership that your kid is getting, it’s the title of Eagle Scout on a college application. It’s the long term goal setting that appeals to me in the scouts. I like the fact that it’s going to take my kids six years of steady progress to achieve one goal. And the fact that he will have that title to prove it.

Eagle is nice to have on your applications, all the original astronauts were Eagle Scouts I think. 

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29 minutes ago, ADHD said:

The girl scouts sell awesome cookies. 

This plus the boy scout bankruptcy proves that women are better than men at running a business. And a country. 

 They run the business differently. When the Girl Scouts sell cookies, a very large portion of that money goes back to the organization and then whatever is leftover stays with the troop. My kids Boy Scout troop sells mulch and I guarantee they exceed the dollar figure of most Girl Scout troop cookie sales by thousands of dollars every year. But that money mostly stays within our troop and pays for our camp outs, trailer, equipment, fees to use all the Boy Scout ranches, etc...  I think some gets sent back to BSA, but not the majority of it. 

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1 hour ago, NBMisha said:

Also what Chad Fuck said.

 

But part of the pussification of scouts is the domination by parents.  We had a great troop on Ft. Hood in the late 60's, and the only role the parents played was providing transportation to campouts/events, and meeting the minimum chaperone standards, like one or two adults on a campout, who were unseen and unheard during the campout.

Point is, everything was done by the scouts.  All the rank advancement coaching, all the campout and camporee planning, all the training, all the playing, all the supervision, running the meetings, organizing the courts of honor, everything was done by the scouts.  A few merit badge counselors were adults, most were explorer level scouts from other units.  This type of life preparation, this indepence, initiative, and organization, was incredibly valuable, in retrospect, and had disappeared from the scene by time my own son went thru scouts in the 90's.  

 I don’t know about the other troops because I’ve only been part of one Boy Scout troop ever. But ours today is very much what you just described. Completely boy-led.  

Prior to attending any camp out every dad is given a speech by our scoutmaster about keeping it boy-led, not answering questions or trying to teach your kids anything on the campout, but to let the older scouts do it all. If your little new scout comes to you asking for help your only answer is to go tell him to ask his patrol leader.   I’m sure not every troop operates at that level, but your experience from the 60s has not disappeared by any means. 

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1 hour ago, Asithappens said:

What?

My god, was that guy retarded? I would have had a difficult time not laughing in his face and asking if he went to a&m.

Did he honestly believe that or was it just some motivational tool? 

He was from a different world. Probably played with lumps of coal during the Blitz, and here he is shepherding a pack of whiny little Yanks down a perfectly good road in nice weather, and they're complaining, again.

I doubt he literally believed any of it. Looking back on some of the routes we hiked, he most likely wanted us to finish the last quarter mile so he could turn us back over to our parents, go home, and slam a beer.

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4 minutes ago, OatmealRaisinCookie said:

lol logged in to 13 negs by you, as you are the one following me around being a creepy weirdo troll. But I guess all your accusations are always confessions.

You negged me first dipshit. All I did was respond to a neg with a neg and then you started spam negging my posts so I exhausted my daily rep negging your bullshit. Nobody buys your retarded victim complex.

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12 minutes ago, Brian Fantana said:

You negged me first dipshit. All I did was respond to a neg with a neg and then you started spam negging my posts so I exhausted my daily rep negging your bullshit. Nobody buys your retarded victim complex.

Yes he does this. If you neg him he throws an immediate neg fit w you.

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Couple of years ago, the family packed it all up and drove to Carlsbad to see the caves. We get to carlsbad and drive into the visitors center. I knew it would be a tourist hell of a clusterfuck, so we used the first day to plan our attack. The next morning, we were literally the first in line at the doors to walk down into the caves (fuck that pussy ass elevator shit). At opening time, they let the first 50 people in line or so go down near the cave entrance, where the ranger gives you the five minute spiel about rules and shit. Then he says, "We are going to hold you guys here for a few minutes while we let a Boy Scout Troop go first".

So the entire way down into the cave, the trail would be periodically blocked by a group of Boy Scout dorks with huge packs stopping to rest in the middle of the fucking path while I guy digs in his pack for a fucking flash light or something. Goddamn insufferable idiots. My five year old daughter asked me why they had all that crap, because they "were just walking into a cave."

Also, anybody remember this:

http://articles.latimes.com/2014/feb/01/nation/la-na-nn-boy-scout-rock-vandalism-20140201

 

Former Scout leaders charged in destruction of Utah rock formation

February 01, 2014|By Paresh Dave
   
 
   
 
  • A Utah man was charged with felony criminal mischief for toppling one of the unique rock formations in Utah's Goblin Valley State Park.
A Utah man was charged with felony criminal mischief for toppling one of… (Dan Blackburn )

It took 20 million years of wind and water erosion to form an eye-catching, mushroom-shaped boulder in a Utah state park. Heaving the stone off its perch took a man just 10 seconds, and the action sparked international disgust.

A pair of former Boy Scout leaders who said they destroyed the rock formation to protect people from being crushed by it were charged with felony mischief this week, Utah state parks officials announced.

In October, David Benjamin Hall, 42, taped Glenn Tuck Taylor, 45, pushing the stone to the ground. They posted the video on Facebook and quickly drew outrage, and even death threats.

“We have now modified Goblin Valley,” Hall says in the video, referring to the name of the state park, after Hall heaves the large, wind-eroded sandstone off its pedestal. “A new Goblin Valley now exists with this boulder down here.”

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The Utah National Parks Council of Boy Scouts America expelled both men from scouting, citing violation of the organization’s “Leave no trace” principle.

Hall was charged with one count of felony aiding and assisting in criminal mischief and Taylor with one count of felony criminal mischief. They both face up to five years in prison, though the Emery County district attorney told reporters that he would seek a plea deal.

In the video, Glenn Taylor flexes and grunts as Hall appears to explain their rationale.

“Some little kid was about ready to walk down here and die, and Glenn saved his life by getting the boulder out of the way, so it’s all about saving lives here in Goblin Valley,” Hall says.

No child is depicted in the video, but the men told media after the incident that a family had walked by a few minutes before. Hall told the Salt Lake Tribune in November that when he was 10, his uncle was killed by a falling boulder.

Parks officials and geology experts responded that every rock could eventually fall, but tourists had no right to topple them before their time. The mushroom-like formations that fill the state park are variously known as hoodoos, goblins and fairy chimneys.

The charges filed are the lowest of three degrees of felonies in Utah, meaning the rock formation was valued at $1,500 to $5,000. In the immediate wake of the incident, prosecutors had said charges could range anywhere from a simple misdemeanor to a second-degree felony.

The valuation seemed low to Marjorie Chan, a geology and geophysics professor at the University of Utah. She said Saturday that state parks officials consulted with geological engineers to determine the value.

 

 

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1 hour ago, Your Mom said:

 I camp out, hike, mountain bike, and all that shit with my kids on my own and with also with the scouts. It’s far more of a beating with the scouts. We show up to a  park with this big ass trailer full of equipment, stove, cast-iron skillet, massive tents, crates full of plastic dishes, etc.  it’s the shittiest camping experience ever. I’ve only been on one of the high-adventure camps so far and it was awesome but then again it was Sea Base on a sailboat in the Keys for five days.  For every day average camping it’s far more fun when my kids and I go out by ourselves without the troop.  We’re going to Philmont with the troop this summer for the first time and I’m looking forward to that because it’s a little bit more what my kids are used to on a camp out.  

 But the flipside to  just doing this stuff on your own, without the organization, is that it’s not just a camping experience and all the outdoorsiness and leadership that your kid is getting, it’s the title of Eagle Scout on a college application. It’s the long term goal setting that appeals to me in the scouts. I like the fact that it’s going to take my kids six years of steady progress to achieve one goal. And the fact that he will have that title to prove it.

But you actually, really do learn something pursuing those merit badges and getting a bunch of shithead 11-13 year olds setting up a camp with that old school equipment and cooking for a group on a campfire. 

The title is not just a title. It represents an accomplishment. 

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Just now, Chad Fuck said:

^That guy was a total asshole who deserves everything he has coming to him.

He no more represents BSA than Charles Whitman represents Longhorns.

 

Exactly. Let's paint an organization made up of hundreds of units and thousands of individuals based in two anecdotes. 

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