Until the Boy Scouts of America issues an apology and an admission that what they did was wrong:

[Chasstev365]

Mass resignations of troop leaders and scouts should begin now!

[The_Casual_Observer]

1. Unfortunately a lot of the leaders are trump cultists

So that won't work. I long ago severed ties to the BSA due to the stench of RW bulshitt, intolerance and unethical use of donations by the local council.
Its very sad, there really isn't an good solid alternative program for kids.

[Atman]

2. I disagree.

They ALWAYS invite the sitting president. It's tradition, and apolitical (Trump's politicizing of it notwithstanding). Trump just happened to accept. Sad for the scouts. Here is the perspective of one of the BSA's executives...

http://scoutexecutive.blogspot.com/2017/07/lets-pause-for-this-brief-commentary-on.html#more

[Orrex]

6. Not the invite, but the de facto sieg heil they shouted in support of Herr Trump

[LanternWaste]

8. Is booing the both the past president and the past Democratic primary winner a Boy Scout tradition?

Is booing both the past president and the past Democratic primary winner a Boy Scout tradition as well? Perspective, indeed...

[Atman]

11. THEY boo'd, not Trump.

The Scout leadership should have some words with the members. Maybe this is a teaching moment about "respect." But the fact that the scouts boo'd has nothing to do with why Trump was invited in the first place.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Is it really the Boy Scouts' fault, though? Presidents have always been invited

to the jamboree, and if they hadn't invited him there would have been a whole buttload of complaints. I suppose they should have anticipated that he'd do a political speech and insult his rivals because that's what he always does, but maybe they naively thought he wouldn't because he was speaking to kids. What I think they should do is get the word out to all of the troop leaders, especially those who attended the jamboree, instructing them that they are not a political organization, they do not take sides, and that it was inappropriate and against the principles of the organization for the boys themselves to boo when Trump mentioned Obama and Clinton. And maybe talk about free speech and dissent and how it's OK to disagree with leaders.

Teenage boys tend to be authoritarian followers when in groups. BSA needs to talk to them about what was wrong with Trump's speech and especially what was wrong with their response. Maybe a little discussion about the Hitler Youth would be appropriate.

[Paladin]

4. They booed the presidential candidate I supported. Fuck 'em. (nt)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. That's my point. Somebody needs to talk to those kids

about how wrong it was to bring partisan politics to that event. Teenage boys are easily influenced by leaders, and they readily go along with the groupthink that leaders encourage. They see their buddies cheering when SCROTUS says something bad about Obama and Clinton so they cheer, too. The Hitler Youth was extremely successful at indoctrinating its members, and served as the main recruiting source for Germany's military forces. It became the only legal youth organization in Germany (the Boy Scouts were abolished). I'm not saying the Boy Scouts are going to turn into something like the Hitlerjugend, but the tendency of kids to be authoritarian followers makes for a tempting target for a demagogue like Trump.

By December 1936, Hitler Youth membership had reached over five-million... This legal obligation was reaffirmed in March 1939 with the Jugenddienstpflicht (Youth Service Duty), which conscripted all German youths into the Hitler Youth—even if the parents objected. Parents who refused to allow their children to join were subject to an investigation by the authorities. From then on, the vast majority of Germany's teenagers belonged to the Hitler Youth. By 1940, it had eight million members.

Students who did not join were frequently assigned essays with titles such as "Why am I not in the Hitler Youth?" They were also the subject of frequent taunts from teachers and fellow students, and could even be refused their diploma—which made it impossible to be admitted to university. A number of employers refused to offer apprenticeships to anyone who was not a member of the Hitler Youth. By 1936, the Hitler Youth had a monopoly on all youth sports facilities in Germany, effectively locking out non-members.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Youth

[global1]

9. I'm Curious Now - How Did Or How Was Hitler First Introduced To The German Youth....

Did it in anyway resemble what we experienced yesterday with Trump's deplorable speech to the Boy Scouts?

If so, we need to stop him now before we wind up like Hitler's Germany.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

12. The Hitler Youth were formed as an adjunct to the Nazi Party.

Last edited Tue Jul 25, 2017, 01:09 PM - Edit history (1)

A forerunner of the group was formed in 1922, soon after Hitler had become the leader of the Nazi Party. Once Hitler became Chancellor in 1933, all other youth groups were abolished.

One reason the Hitler Youth so easily came into existence stems from the fact that numerous youth movements existed across Germany prior to and especially after World War I. These youth organisations were created for varying purposes; some were religious in disposition and others were ideological, but the more important among them were those formed for political reasons, like the "Young Conservatives" or the "Young Protestants". Once Hitler came onto the revolutionary scene, the transition from seemingly innocuous youth movements to political entities focused on Hitler was swift.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Youth

Following this model, for the Boy Scouts to become or be taken over by the Trumpenjugend or something like it, the GOP would have to create its own youth organization (the Young Republicans already exists, but it's for college students); then Trump would have to become so powerful that the GOP could get away with abolishing all other youth groups so the Trumpenjugend would be the only one. Since Trump's actual popularity nationwide is hovering around 36%, this is not likely to happen. And even a very conservative Supreme Court would not disregard the First Amendment's right of free association to permit the abolition of all other youth groups. So I don't foresee anything that extreme happening.

Still, I hope there is a huge backlash against the BSA to the extent they seem to condone Trump's disgusting speech.

[Paladin]

10. Griping about trump's degeneracy gets us nowhere. He'll never change.

Coming down hard on the BSA for the kids' behavior at that rally might actually have some social and political impact. Contact the BSA with a protest message (I already have), convey your displeasure to acquaintances who are active in local scout leadership (I'm going to do that), refrain from giving the organization any further financial support, and dissuade young family members from joining.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

5. There's a lot of local control in the BSA -- it's easy for troop leaders to run a politics-free

troop if they're committed to it. I can see a lot of leaders who will continue to do good work on the ground while the national leadership tries to squirm its way out of this. The BSA is problematic in many ways and it does a lot of good in many ways. If Scouts or leaders feel they can get some good out of it, I'm not going to condemn them.