Context: I was a Boy Scout for a number of years, making Eagle in 2020 right as COVID was really kicking off.

It was right afterwards, however, that the CSA scandal started popping up everywhere (which thankfully I was never exposed to or involved in during my time), and lately it seems like the organization & movement as a whole has fallen by the sociocultural wayside.

I would say that my time as a Scout did me objective good; I learned a decent amount about first-aid & survival-craft, participated in a number of volunteer & civic projects, and it generally made me a more well-rounded person. However, there’s no denying the impact that something “bigger than the Catholic Church scandal”, as I’ve heard it described, has on an institution such as this.

I’d like to get the community’s opinion, however; were any of you Scouts? How was your experience? What is your opinion of the institution today?

  • lucullus@discuss.tchncs.de
    2·
    3 days ago

    Either you were really into nature (minority) or you were really into the wrong side of WWII (majority).

    BSA seemed to be far too much about performance, conformitiy and hierarchy for me. Once I stood at the side during a flag ceremony/pledge, that was done on every meeting. Felt awkward with that. For a typical german that stuff reeks like facism. In that meeting they did otherwise cool stuff, but my own scouting life seemed to be worlds away from theirs.