Opinion: Holy cow, Boy Scouts of America! Is nothing sacred anymore?
May 2, 2018, 12:21 PM
(Facebook Photo/Boy Scouts of America)
As we wait to find out what in the heck is going to happen with our kids’ schools, I thought I’d bring up another thing that touches the lives of many of our of kids: scouting.
There’s a lot of uncertainty in scouting, as well.
And a lot of weirdness.
The Boy Scouts of America just announced they are changing the name of their program that serves 11- to 17-year-olds.
Instead of being known as Boy Scouts, the program will be known as Scouts BSA.
The name change comes about because they say girls will now be able to join the ranks of the Boy Scouts — uh — Scouts.
I’m so confused.
I guess boys will be boys — unless they’re Boy Scouts.
BSA must be glad that at least the Cub Scouts (the program for 7- to 10-year-olds) have a gender-neutral name. And it’s a good thing: BSA said that, nationwide, 3,000 girls have already joined the Cub Scouts.
So is this Boy Scouts name change (and new-found inclusivity) born of the thinking that says “there’s no such thing as gender” or “there are 10 different genders” or “gender is determined by society, not your sex, and bathrooms need to be neutral”?
Maybe. But, honestly, I believe it’s mostly about raw numbers.
At their peak, Boy Scouts of America had about 4 million participants. That number is now 2.3 million.
Meanwhile, the (actual) Girl Scouts have a membership that’s close to 2 million. So I’m sure BSA thought, “Hmmm, let’s change our name and the rest will take care of itself!” This was followed by an evil cackle whilst wringing their hands.
Girl Scout leadership ain’t happy. And they plan to fight back with an aggressive recruitment campaign.
You go, Girl(s).
Holy cow, Boy Scouts of America! Is nothing sacred anymore? What’s next? Do you plan to also steal their cookie recipes and start selling Thin Mints? Why don’t you raid the membership of the Campfire Girls while you’re at it?
While I’m not a fan of what BSA is doing, I do have an idea about how they can be even more inclusive. They shouldn’t just limit their membership to boys and girls. Let grownups join in the fun! And I don’t mean den mothers and scout masters. Actual grownup scouts who get to go for merit badges and shoot archery at summer camp!
I know I’d love to get another shot at the ol’ Pinewood Derby. I think I came in 59th in that race (in a field of 58 competitors) during my only year of scouting: the year I was Webelo.
Honestly, BSA, if you need to change the name of any of your programs, that should be the one. I can still hear the taunts from the older scouts: “Webelos wobble but they don’t fall down!”