get off my porch, you little bastard

[MrCoffee]

the neighbor's kid (the chicken neighbors) came over last night to sell me some stuff for his cub scout fundraiser. i don't want to support the Boy Scouts of America because of their discriminatory membership practices.

but, he's a 10 year old kid standing in the doorway with his cub scout uniform on. sheesh.


what's a liberal to do?

[_testify_]

1. Well, what's fundraiser raising funds for?

If it's something that benefits the local troop and that kid directly, you should do it if you're feeling inclined. If it's literally raising funds for the parent organization, then I wouldn't do it either.

on edit: I was in Scouts from when I was 6 til 18, Tiger Cub to Eagle Scout. Our troop's biggest problem was our leaders thought our camping trips were their chance to drink and play cards for 48 hours.

[MrCoffee]

2. i think it's for his local troop, but i'm not sure

how does one explain to the 10 year old kid that he belongs to a discriminatory organization?

[_testify_]

3. I guess you don't...

Maybe you could make up some literature, or a pamphlet of some sort :)

[MrCoffee]

5. heh...my own little Chick tract!

i like it!

[Deep13]

4. The discriminatory policies were not implemented until the 1980s...

...when Mormon church officials took over the BSA leadership.

[Jokerman]

8. Maybe not officially, but the seeds were already there.

I was pushed out of a troop in the 70's because I'm not a christian.

I don't recall hearing about the homosexual issues until the 80's but religious discrimination was already practiced by at least some of the local organizations.

[Deep13]

6. "I'm sorry kiddo, but I really can't." nt

[NewWaveChick1981]

7. Good liberals like me ignore the doorbell.

:rofl: :hi: I have done that to Jehovah's Witnesses, salespeople, neighborhood kids who are trying to sell stuff (they have more stuff to sell than I ever imagined possible), and generally people I don't know. I'm not a heartless person, but I don't have endless time and/or money. Besides, all we have to do is let the dogs snarl and yap at the front door, and they go away. :P Too bad you don't like dogs. Mine are very effective. :rofl: (They're really sweet, lovable wusses, but you'd never know that by the way they "greet" people.)

[Midlodemocrat]

9. I never donate when the kids come to my door like that.

I don't allow my own children to solicit funds. I strongly feel that if the parent wants a child to participate in an activity, they need to cough up the dough.

Soccer here has huge fundraisers all the time and it pisses me off. Cheapskates. If you can't afford the $50 or so for your own kid, you can't afford for the kid to participate.


:rant:

[Beer Snob-50]

10. I am currently a scout leader

Is this a popcorn fundraiser? If so, part of the money goes to the local orgainization and part goes to the pack. the local then give some to the national.

any oher fundraiser probably goes 100% to the pack. Our group is selling christmas wreaths and giving 50% of all proceeds to the local survival center.

btw, i wouldn't tell the kid that this group is discriminatory. he thinks (and if his leader is any good) and it is a great place to go, meet other kids, occasionally go camping, and be able to play with fire and knives.

[MrCoffee]

11. thanks for the info...

the baby was screaming in the background, and dinner was literally going on the table, so i told him it was a bad time. i think he was selling coffee(?) and maybe some tins of nuts (?)

i know the kid loves the camping. over the summer he and his brother practically lived in a tent in the backyard. i don't want to piss on his parade, and i'd have very little problem supporting his troop/pack directly, but at the same time i don't want to support the national organization.

thanks for the help, i really appreciate it.

[Beer Snob-50]

12. no problem

just to let you know, i think most troops/packs do not follow the edict concerning those discriminatory practices. my troop has one kid who came out this past year (ourlocal high school has a coming out day every year)and this is not even something that is or was ever mentioned.

[_testify_]

13. Thanks for being a Scout leader!

[pnutbutr]

14. Eagle

Scout here. I loved the Boy Scouts and continue to support it fully. I may not like some of the national organizations practices but what the boys get from being a scout in my opinion trumps anything a codgy old coot at the top could say to try and ruin it. We had a gay member in our troop, nobody cared so it was not an issue. There are usually numerous troops available to join in any area you may live. Don't like one, try another. They are all run differently. The local troops can be run pretty much any way they want, there is no national interference to enforce the stupid ideals of the codgy coot mentioned earlier. My troop was made up of some of the biggest screwups you will ever meet and if it were not for the Boy Scouts I can guarantee that most of us would be nothing today. We took scouting seriously and were anything but the screwups we normally were when we put on that uniform. It was really amazing to see so many kids who could have easily fallen into a destructive lifestyle make Eagle and go on to be successes in life.

The Boy Scouts is a great organization for boys and I'm looking forward to the day my son is old enough to join as a Cub Scout.