The Powers That Be That Run The Boy Scouts Of America....

[global1]

that made the decision to have Trump as a speaker - should all resign. Embarrassing. There should be no politics in the BSA.

[TheMastersNemesis]

1. Boy Scouts Are A Right Win Organization. And Most Likely Racist At That.

[tecelote]

6. Painting with a broad brush.

There are Boy Scouts in all parts of our country. Right when they decide to allow gay and transgender boys in is not the time to demonize them.

[TheMastersNemesis]

7. When I Was A Kid Had Absolutely No Desire To Be A Boy Scout.

[hueymahl]

20. No one is surprised about that.

[atreides1]

27. I expect that policy to change

Give it time and the BSA will once again be openly anti-gay and anti-transgender! They will have the willing assistance of the DoJ, an organization that is no longer concerned with civil rights, and not interested in rights for gays, transgenders, women, and people of color!!!

[Laxman]

8. No They're Not....

I have two sons who are Eagle Scouts-both very liberal in their views. I've also gotten to know plenty of scout members and leaders over their time in scouting. The same applies-a wide range of political views and I live in a pretty conservative area. It's a diverse organization with a broad spectrum of membership and political orientation. That being said, the BSA has already heard from me about my disgust with this display. My two boys? They're pretty pissed off as well and I'm pretty sure they're going to weigh in. The president is always asked to speak at the Jamboree. They can't control what he says and no president has EVER made a speech like this at this event so they can't have expected it.(although "Be Prepared" probably should have meant expecting the worst from Trump) What they can control is their reaction to it. We'll see what happens when reaction from former members starts pouring in. Labeling them right wing and racist is just plain wrong.

[mreilly]

11. Thank you for this...

... I am an assistant Scoutmaster for my son's Boy Scout Troop in Massachusetts. The new Scoutmaster is very anti-Trump and so was the previous one. While we generally stay of politics, the three of us publicly talk to the boys about why Trump's behavior is atrocious and unfitting and I'm sure this incident will come up at the next Troop meeting.

We know that there are some parents who are Trump supporters but we don't hold back. Our job is to help the boys make right choices and supporting a dishonest, racist, misogynistic sexual assaulter is the wrong choice. Any parents unhappy with what we tell the boys are welcome to find another troop.

[FakeNoose]

15. They're making a big effort to include minority kids

... unfortunately all those efforts are wasted now, probably that's over with.

The Boy Scout Organization is not right wing OR left wing, it's completely non-partisan. However many of the local Boy Scout troops are sponsored by churches, and some of those are fundamental Christian churches which tend to be right-wing. So the assumption you've made about the Boy Scouts is untrue, but it may be true for certain sponsors.

If you live in an area where the Boy Scout troops are sponsored by a fundamentalist Christian church, try to find another sponsor who is more in keeping with the sentiments of the community. Perhaps a school or private corporation might become a sponsor, and less politics would be involved.

[Squinch]

2. And there should certainly not be booing of previous presidents and dedicated public servants.

That's against everything the BSA SAYS they stand for.

[tecelote]

3. It's tradition to have the President Speak. It was not a political decision.

But, after the Trump gave his speech, they should have condemned it.

Trump is the antithesis of what a Boy Scout represents.

[FakeNoose]

16. Cheeto made it political - that's the problem

The man has no judgment and can't be trusted.

He has no right to turn this Boy Scout Jamboree into a Trump Rally. These kids don't understand what they're cheering and booing about. Trump just used them, and that's why the parents are livid.

[d_r]

28. Unfortunately

As much as I don't like it, he is president of the united states. The president is always the symbolic head of Bsa and always invited to speak at National jamboree. He holds the office. It is his fault to make the politicized speech he did. Organizations like Bsa can't pick and choose we support this president and not that one, they support the office no matter, but who would think someone like this would be in the office and make a speech like that?

[jberryhill]

4. Why? They got what they wanted, and boy did he deliver

[longship]

5. The Mormon church is a huge BSA supporter.

Just saying.

[duncang]

9. The decision to allow him no. But the decision to allow him to continue yes.

Any of the BSA leadership there should resign today. They didn't even attempt to slow him down.

[global1]

12. Didn't Know It Was Tradition To Have The President Speak At Jamboree's.....

at the very least - those that run the BSA - today should issue a statement of apology. The behavior of both this president and the crowd reaction is unbecoming of what the BSA stands for. It was offensive to all those Boy Scout leaders and troops all around the country that are out their instilling the proper values in young men around the country.

If one examines the Scout Law in relation to Trump - he is the antithesis of it. That should have been recognized going into this.

I was a Boy Scout too over 50 years ago. Our leaders kept us focused on how to grow up to be model young men. Trump is not a role model that the BSA should embrace. He is the personification of everything that is wrong with this country today.

Somehow they need to issue an apology to those in scouting that still embrace these principles.

[The_jackalope]

10. BSA: Brown Shirts of America

After I moved up from Cubs, I dropped out of the Boy Scouts in Canada after two meetings because I realized they were a Rhodesian paramilitary organization.

[duncang]

14. Not all troops are like that. But my son and I left one that seemed like that fast.

The adult leaders thought they ran the troop. No meeting with the kids to work out schedules, camp outs, or any other things related to the troop program.

[Baconator]

29. Most troops are indeed garbage...

Especially in and around Utah.

I was lucky enough to find a large group that discarded most of the bad and kept/emphasized the good.

They were the exception though.

I still struggle with putting my son into BSA in the future.

[The_jackalope]

30. I've had responses on FB saying "not all troops are bad."

To an extent I sympathize with the argument that "my troop wasn't militaristic" - but the simple fact that the Scout groups are called "troops" disqualifies them for me. Language matters, and I am nobody's trooper.

I also think that if the roots of an organization are corrupt, its leaves will necessarily bear the taint. For me, the fact that scouting's roots are in the racist Rhodesian military, with the explicit goal of augmenting the ability of the colonialists to track and kill black freedom fighters, means that the entire organization carries a stain of moral failure which cannot be whitewashed away.

Also, large numbers of impressionable young people in uniforms of any kind standing in ordered ranks make me distinctly uncomfortable.

We all know that one's personality and life circumstances frame one's reactions.

Even as a child I was a deeply introverted, hyper-individualistic, anti-authoritarian loner. I despised being thrust into groups of people with whom I had little in common. I was deeply atheistic, pacifist, socialist, anti-military, and vastly preferred reading to any form of physical activity, even though I grew up in the country.

This clearly made me an extremely poor fit for scouting, and even my minimal exposure left me with an abiding antipathy for the organization.

I own the fact that this harsh view is mine alone. It's not my place to speak for anyone but myself.

[Baconator]

31. If you don't like military stuff then it certainly wasn't for you...

That's where I was heading anyways so it was a good fit.

[procon]

13. Where were the Boy Scout leaders when Trump was onstage?

They were obligated to protect all those boys, but they failed to do their duty and evidently just stood there while Trump exploited the kids and filled their minds with hate. Why didn't they step up and intervene?

It would have only taken one person to step up and do his job, put his hand over Trump's microphone and politely, but firmly, remind him that he was speaking to children and not at a campaign rally. Trump's message should have been positive and reaffirming of scouting principles, not another opportunity to publicly air his list of personal grievances.

[csziggy]

17. YES! They should have stopped Dolt45 from spewing that crap to the boys

A minister in Flint, Michigan, stopped him during the campaign. The Boy Scout leaders should have done the same.

If the BSA leadership does not come forward today and disown what was said, I will NEVER donate to the BSA again. I usually purchase from them when they are doing fund raising but NEVER AGAIN unless there is a very strong repudiation of the statements made and supported by the Scouts yesterday.

[Achilleaze]

19. You couldn't really stop him, but

since the republican Draft-Dodger-in-Chief, Comrade Casino, had just publicly PISSED all over "The Scout Law," one of the adult Scout leaders could have sucked up some courage and integrity - and gone to the mic to state and affirm what those laws are, and to identify why the "previous speaker" was guilty of breaking all of those laws.

[csziggy]

22. So far they have not repudiated one word that was said yesterday

I wonder how many parents will pull their boys out of the BSA by the end of this month?

Maybe this is an opportunity - the Girl Scouts could change their name to just Scouts and accept all kids. That would get the kids away from segregated groups and hopefully provide a more complete life experience for them all.

[global1]

25. Does Trump Live The Scout Law?....

Posted Elsewhere On DU

Let's explore how he practices the Scout Law:

Trustworthy - we know that answer. most everything he says is a lie
Loyal - he demands loyalty - but doesn't reciprocate
Helpful - he sure helps himself
Friendly - to Putin & the Russians
Courteous - man, what a handshake
Kind - more like vengeful
Obedient - to Putin & the Russians
Cheerful - when he talks about himself
Thrifty - with his own money he's thrifty; he's spendthrifty with our taxpayer money
Brave - how did he get out of the military?
Clean - if you can call a serial sexual assaulter clean
Reverent - only when the camera's are on him at a religious service

[brooklynite]

18. Not quite...

...The decision to have the President as a speaker is a long-held tradition. Their mistake was not challenging his statement afterwards.

[lindysalsagal]

21. Scout leaders should have expected the slob to puke up more bile.

It's all he knows.

[Baconator]

23. Politics have been in the BSA for a long time...

Especially since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took the lion's share.

[G_j]

24. They should resign because they did not strongly disown

the specific content of his horrific speech. Thus, they own it.

[The_Casual_Observer]

26. A pre recorded and edited message was all that was needed to stop this shit.

But they didn't do it.