I Blame Donald Trump Alone for the Boy Scout Fiasco

[MineralMan]

When a President addresses the BSA National Jamboree, the appropriate thing is to speak in a way that inspires the young attendees to aspire to a strong ethical belief and a life of service. That is the stated goal of the BSA. For a President to turn such an address to young people into a political diatribe and self-congratulatory speech is inexcusable. It exposes Trump for what he is, an egotistical megalomaniac.

Yes, the boys who were in attendance displayed poor judgment in their response to Trump's nonsense. I hope their adult leaders will explain why that was inappropriate, but I do not expect youngsters to behave appropriately at all times. They have to learn to do that, which is part of the stated goal of the organization.

It is Donald Trump, however, who is to blame for this fiasco. He is the one who presented nothing more than a partisan campaign speech to children who won't even be able to vote for years, in most cases. He is the one who attacked a former President and a former candidate for that office. He is the one who spoke in a way that encouraged the poor behavior of those boys.

Rather than give an inspiring speech to them, Trump decided to puff himself up and deliver a Fascist-like polemic that did exactly the opposite of providing inspiration. He took an opportunity to promote the stated goals of scouting and turned it into an ugly political blamefest against everyone who believes differently than himself.

Blame Trump. Forgive the boys. That's my advice.

Thanks for reading.

[JenniferJuniper]

1. But what did those who exposed these boys

to this pig think would happen?

Longstanding tradition, my arse.

[MineralMan]

3. Having the President of the United States address the

jamboree is traditional. Normally, that works out fine. I doubt that the invitation went out knowing what Trump would pull. While you and I know that Trump always uses such opportunities to rail about something, the BSA leaders most likely expected the usual inspirational speech to the boys.

Trump is at fault here. I'm just putting the blame where it belongs. He is too stupid to realize that such a speech should have nothing to do with politics or personal aggrandizement. He doesn't know that, which isn't all that surprising to me, really.

There will be backlash against this. That's a good thing. There will be discussions about appropriate behavior in Boy Scout troops. That's a good thing. What Trump did was most definitely not a good thing.

[jberryhill]

2. Your post suggests it is "Trump" or the "scouts", but the organization and its leadership is absent

"Blame Trump. Forgive the boys."

As if there is not an entire layer of ADULT leaders involved.

Those leaders were present. They cheered him on.

"I hope their adult leaders will explain why that was inappropriate"

Quite obviously they are not going to. Your implicit belief that the so-called "adult leaders" would think it was at all inappropriate is a fantasy. The "adult leaders" were cheering it on, and those are the persons the scouts will model.

It is bleedingly obvious that the BSA has nothing to criticize here in anything Trump did or said.

No one is going after "the boys" here. I can't see where you got that impression. The adult leadership knows which way the wind is blowing, and they certainly aren't going to criticize anything Trump did or said.

They support it, endorse it, and stand by it.

[MineralMan]

4. I'm not entirely sure how this will be handled

by the BSA, either nationally or locally. I do know that there wasn't a lot that could be done during the speech itself.

I still put the blame on Trump. He should have known better. Obviously, he does not know better. He is a moron. We have an self-promoting narcissist as President.

[jberryhill]

10. It will not be "handled" in any way at all

The craven "leadership" of the BSA will not criticize the President of the United States.

You have seen how they have "handled" it. They said "we invited him as we do, and he came" and that's that.

[Girard442]

9. Absolutely.

These are kids. They probably zoned out and weren't even listening to the speech. They were probably thinking about hot dogs and the next camping trip. It would have been the adult leaders (and I use the term loosely) who initiated the booing.

[Gothmog]

5. This is very upsetting to me

My son is an Eagle and attended a national Jamboree. This is so wrong

Here is the BSA policy on politics at BSA events

Link to tweet

[MineralMan]

7. It's upsetting to me, as well.

I was never involved in scouting. It didn't appeal to me at all as a youngster. As you say, though, the organization, officially at least, claims to be apolitical. Of course that's not true, and it has a decidedly right-facing attitude toward politics.

However, the boys who join the Boy Scouts are not a uniform, right-wing bunch of kids. Trump screwed the pooch badly by making a speech that was not at all appropriate for the audience. He churned up his usual self-promotion and blaming of others and spewed it out to those boys.

Clearly, his speech was shockingly inappropriate. He's too stupid to realize that, of course.

[Gothmog]

43. I helped found by temple's troop and my son is an Eagle

Scouting was great for my son but he phased out after making Eagle and attending the Jamboree in 2001

[jberryhill]

12. No, it is not against the rules of "political" participation

That applies to candidates, campaigns, etc..

Inviting the President of the United States to speak at their event is not a "political" event.

Of course the one we have in office would of course politicize it, but it is what it is.

[Gothmog]

44. No what trump did was in violation of BSA guidelines

W spoke to my son's group by video conference when he was at the Jamboree in 2001. It was a non-political speech which is traditional for these events.

[Sugar Smack]

6. And I blame trump's handlers.

They encouraged & enabled this to happen. They knew what they were doing. Trump's a historical aberration.

[MineralMan]

8. Trump really has no handlers. He handles himself,

frequently and poorly. That's a large part of his problem. He listens to nobody and tells everybody just how smart and important he is. He's wrong on both counts.

[Sugar Smack]

11. That's true, but trump doesn't make his own schedule

unless he's on one of his many vacations. To me, there's no other motivation for him to rally the Boy Scouts but for the only things he values: power and adoration. To his immediate periphery, he's a loose cannon. They have a better perception of what moves him; they're in a position to nudge him here and there according to their own motives. And their own motives probably had nothing to do with trump or the Boy Scouts. They all understand the guy is off his nut. That's why I blame them.

[cwydro]

13. The leadership of the BSA need to make a further statement.

This was an inexcusable event.

[MineralMan]

16. I agree, and think they should do that right away.

However, the fault for what happened still belongs to Trump. The BSA leadership certainly did not anticipate the content of his speech. It might be argued that they should have, but they did not.

[Docreed2003]

14. As an Eagle Scout myself, I found yesterday's speech to be disgusting.

I had the privilege during my time in scouting to attend the Jamboree and hear our President speak, at the time it was Bill Clinton. I realize that many here are just as outraged as I am, but there's something that's incredibly disturbing about this whole incident. First, yesterday's speech was nothing more than Trumps usual rally bullshit, but it had no place in that venue. Why would it be so hard for Trump to put aside all of his bloviating about the election and the healthcare vote, even just for a short address, and make a short address to actually speak to and inspire these boys? I understand fully that he's not capable, but how is it acceptable that there is no one within his orbit that has the ability to point out when something is inappropriate? Secondly, this type of ongoing boorishness is providing inspiration in its own way and maybe that's the point and it should scare the shit out of all of us. He's showing the example that boorishness and bullying is completely fine and acceptable and entirely appropriate if you want to "succeed" in life. They wouldn't be cheering along if that message didn't resonate in some way, and I fear that it speaks to the selfishness and self-centeredness that has infected our society.

I agree MM that yesterday was all on Trump. Today, I'm looking to BSA for leadership over this issue. Either they reject the message or they side with what Trump said. Maybe I'm being overly simplistic but that's how I see it. Here's hoping for the former.

[MineralMan]

18. Yes. I hope the BSA national leadership says something soon

about this. If they don't, then I will add them to those I blame. The content of Trump's speech was completely inappropriate, and the BSA should acknowledge that fact.

They can't do anything about Trump. He is what he is. They can, however, make a statement about what happened.

[tblue37]

24. They made their statement. It was, "Don't blame us." They did not even

suggest that they found the speech offensive .

[MineralMan]

25. There may be further clarification, I think.

Negative blowback from the hinterlands is strong.

[tblue37]

29. Yeah, and an apology or clarification that occurs only because they are getting burned

by bad publicity is not worth much. It is PR, not real concern.

[Not Ruth]

36. I would also hope that organizations inthe same space like the Cub Scouts and the Girls Scouts speak

Time for them to stand up and against the Boy Scouts

[Docreed2003]

41. Agree 100%

[Gothmog]

45. My son is an Eagle and he joins you

[ecstatic]

15. Trump brings out the worst in everyone

That should be clear by now. He's toxic waste!

[tblue37]

17. The official BSA statement today is a Pontius Pilate like attempt to

claim they have no responsibility for allowing a wrong. They need to make a much stronger statement against what he did, or else the organization and its leadership deserve to be blamed, too.

Most people are not going after tge kids for their booing, but after the adults who have not stepped up to advocate for decency.

Remember when Trump tried to go political during an appearance at a church, but the pastor approached him at the podium and politely reminded him that he was not supposed to do that? Well, one of the BSA adult leaders on the stage with him should have stepped up like that and told him to behave. And the organization needs to put out a stronger statement!

[MineralMan]

19. I hope an additional statement is forthcoming.

If it is not, then I will add the BSA leadership to those I am blaming for this. I won't blame the kids, though. They're just kids.

[tblue37]

26. The fact is that they didn't put out an appropriate statement, and if they finally do so,

it will be only a PR response to intense public pressure. I think you can safely start blaming them already.

[MineralMan]

31. Look, I'm not fond of the BSA in the first place.

It's not an organization I have ever supported. My comments are about the kids who are scouts, not the organization's leadership. Did they show poor judgment? Yes, they did, but they're kids. I had poor judgment when I was their age, too, sometimes. Kids have to learn. I'll cut them some slack.

[Foamfollower]

20. The Twitler Youth leadership SUPPORTED the political speech

So FUCK the Twitler Youth.

I blame every last person there.

[MineralMan]

22. I see.

Well, that's your opinion. It differs from mine in this situation.

[Foamfollower]

30. This is not opinion. IT IS FACT!

Watch the Boy Scout leader behind Trump during the speech.

[MineralMan]

32. Yah, OK. Your broadbrush attack on the entire

organization and everyone in it, though, is your opinion. I disagree with that opinion. I'm done with this subthread, by the way.

[Foamfollower]

33. No, it is also fact.

The entire organization is now a partisan political organization for participating in a partisan political event.

THEY OWN IT NOW!

They had the chance to denounce turning the event into a political event, and they chose not to. By making that choice, they have become a partisan political organization.

[Old Vet]

40. Agree with you Mineralman, As mentioned before, trump is just toxic-----

Don't blame the thousands of young boys or the BSA.

[duncang]

48. The guy in the uniform behind him was Ryan Zinke

Dipshit's secretary of the interior. In full trumpster mode.

[BannonsLiver]

39. I'm not sure about "every last person there"

But there were clearly a high number of young, proud deplorables in the crowd. To pretend otherwise is patently naive.

[NastyRiffraff]

21. I agree that this is all on Trump

HE chose to make a Scouting event into a Trump rally. The Scout leaders did warn the boys:

Ahead of President Trump’s appearance Monday at the National Scout Jamboree in West Virginia, the troops were offered some advice on the gathering’s official blog: Fully hydrate. Be “courteous” and “kind.” And avoid the kind of divisive chants heard during the 2016 campaign such as “build the wall” and “lock her up.”
Washington Post

That said, the BSA should issue a strong statement condemning Trump's insane remarks, and making the point to the boys that their behavior was unacceptable. It's a teachable moment; even when someone powerful urges to you do something wrong, take an honorable stand.

[MineralMan]

23. Interesting. I was not aware of that advice.

It appears that some of this was anticipated. Hmm...

[Gothmog]

46. This is the type of advise that I would have expected to be given to the scouts at a Jamboree

My son attended the 2001 Jamboree

[Johonny]

27. I blame the boy scouts completely for this fiasco

Trump did what Trump does. Expecting anything but a grunt from a pig is silly. At this point everyone should know who Trump is, what Trump does, and how totally unappropriated it is to expect Trump to be able to act like a normal functioning head of state or decent human being.

Yes, it's not unheard of for presidents to address the boy scouts, but Trump isn't a normal president, he's not a normal human being and frankly you have to live with your head up your * not to see this speech coming from a million miles away.

[PunkinPi]

42. +1

Exactly, BSA leadership should've known what they were getting.

[Not Ruth]

28. Those who booed own it

Their voice, their choice

[GeorgeGist]

34. Their adult leader is in hiding.

[gademocrat7]

35. This was an ugly breach of decorum.

What kind of example was he setting for those scouts? The BSA needs to make a statement that trump's speech was very inappropriate.

[PJMcK]

37. Far too many Scout Leaders bring their politics to the Troops

When my son was growing up, I was a Den Leader, Cub Master and then Assistant Scoutmaster in a Troop on Long Island, NY. Scouting is a profound program, in many ways, that can teach boys lots of skills. It's also a very patriotic organization. It's not perfect, of course, and BSA's homophobia is despicable. In many ways, though, it's a good program if implemented properly.

(Their program against child abuse is very stringent and it's designed to prevent even the appearance of any untoward behavior. In brief, an adult leader should never be alone with a Scout (other than their own child) and there should always be another adult present.)

A great many of the adults Leaders that I encountered from around the country were what I call ignorant Republicans. They often expressed their political views in front of the boys. They would make bad jokes about Democratic politicians and encourage the boys to do the same. I usually kept my mouth shut to avoid embarrassing my son but sometimes I'd say that I thought something was inappropriate. Many times, I was told to lighten up, "It's just a joke!"

In spite of his accomplishments in Scouting, my son and I decided to quit the program when the local Council decided to honor Bill O'Reilly at their annual Leaders' Dinner. The hypocrisy was just too stark.

[WinkyDink]

38. You conveniently omit those truly responsible: the adult men in charge.

[TheBlackAdder]

47. It's not like the BSA didn't know what they were getting. Invite a reprobate, get a reprobate.

.

That's one tiger who won't be changing his stripes anytime soon.

.

[duncang]

49. Agree to a point.

It was dipshit's stupid ass whiny ego that got him there. But the national leadership that was there should have talked at least to his aides prior to him speaking. Also when he went off on his shit talk someone there from national should have stepped in. To me there needs to be some resignations turned in. As to the kids that cheered they learned that from their parents. I heard reports that some turned their backs to him. I hope some left also.