Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Personal story about boy scouts changing someones life?

I'm doing a speech on the BSA and for the opener I'd like to have a story about how the organization can change lives around. I google'd it, but apparently my googling skills are sub par because I couldn't find anything. If anyone has a personal story that they would like to share, or links to any web sites, that'd be great.

Thanks!Personal story about boy scouts changing someones life?
As far as I know they are a private organization. I've done a search as to if they accept any government money. So far, I'm not finding that they are doing so. If that is the case, as a private organization they can do whatever they please. That is what private is all about. We don't have to like it, but that is part of the right of privacy, to do what you want, as a private individual or organization.



Considering the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that they don't have to accept gays or atheists as leaders, probably means they don't accept government monies.



As a gay person, I wouldn't want to be forced to have an anti-gay person in any gay organization. It does go both ways.Personal story about boy scouts changing someones life?
I had sex with the scout master.
the bsa showed me that i was gay. before that i was scared to death that i was strate.
I'm sure it was all innocent back in the day? But if someone came up with the idea of ';Scouting for Boys'; now they would get a call from the police and ';Girl Guides'; would be a top shelf best seller !

How times change ?
this is not MY story but my late husbands story.

He came from an alcoholic home, the only son of an abusive father and repressed quiet mother. The whole deal was a bad story all around and he was eventually removed from the home and put into foster care. this was back in the 50's.

Through foster care he was introduced to Boy Scouts and it was his saving. He loved the challenge, the learning, the loyalty, all of it. So instead of becoming a criminal, which he easily could have, he earned and learned his way up to being an Eagle scout and assistant scout master.

Fast forward a few years and now we were married with 4 kids and not much money and that scout training, the way it was back then, gave him a skill he never forgot, how to improvise, how to deal with any issues that came up, how to make do with what you had. It also taught him how to be gentle with his children, how to treat them and he never perpetuated the abuse he suffered as is the case so many times.

I asked him about it once and he told me all about going camping in the middle of North Dakota winters and how to survive and keep warm and he knew all kinds of stuff like animal tracks and how to make a steak grilling utensil from a green branch and how to build an efficient fire and the science behind it. It was fascinating to watch him when he got into that mode.

He also was the first to go help someone, never mind the danger or if he liked the person or not.

His life could have been so different but the scouts gave him a base to lean back on when things got tough, and a focus, and a positive in his life when there was so little.



There is an old Disney movie out about the beginning of Boy Scouts called Follow me Boys with a young Kurt Russel in it playing a child much like my husband was. You might want to see if you can find it and watch it.

Judging from what my grand kids have learned in scouts, my husbands era of scouting was much different. It is interesting to see the differences.

Good luck with your speech.



EDIT: I was sad to see your additions to your questions. I agree with you to a point but remember, the institution did not do those bad things, some nasty people in them did the bad things.

Throwing out the whole thing won't fix it. Those kinds of repressed, deviant, idiots just find a new home to torture, demoralize and otherwise harm other innocents.

It does NOT hurt me to be around bisexual, atheist people, even though I am Christian and straight. I don't care about others sex life or worship preferences. To each his own.

These differences shouldn't make a wit of difference to anyone.

If Christians can cope with not mentioning God, atheists should be able to cope with mentioning God.

Tolerance all around, my friend.

No comments:

Post a Comment