I never would have guessed, but I guess I should have known. Now I do.
What brought me this knowledge? This Tongue Tied post. Here's the full story from the Cincinnati Enquirer.
I wonder if they have a "Brainwashed" Badge. Oh yeah, it's the same badge.
*Sigh*
ReplyDeleteI was a Girl Scout. We learned to bake cookies, do dances from other countries and build a campfire. I became a Girl Scout leader when my daughter reached elementary school. Things were fine until around fifth grade. First of all, there were some seriously questionable leaders in some troops. And then there were the troops that ignored who was in the same school and turned the troops into sororities based on who was "nice enough" to belong. Then there was the whole issue with a somewhat questionable campaign in which the phrase "In Scouting the Girl Comes First" pretty much made it clear that these people weren't really thinking with a clear head. My daughter, not being the outdoorsy type, quit in sixth grade. Sadly, what used to be a fun and wholesome activity for girls has bought into some sort of sordid feminism intent on inflicting its political might on girls not old enough to understand the implications. For example, in the Dallas area councils, mothers were outraged to find out that during an activity for many troops regarding growing up, very provocative and explicit materials were available. Now as a parent, I was very much one of those moms who believed in telling the facts as early as a kid can comprehend them. But at age 10, girls do NOT need a How To Manual for sexual activity. Unlike the Boy Scouts, which have been pilloried in the press for a wide range of things from not allowing gay troop leaders and scouts to the various perverts that have sneaked in, Girl Scouts have knuckled under to the political pressures and in the end, it's hurt their numbers. And that's because like it or not, little girls often want to be little girls. They want to play games, and eat cookies and have kool-aid with their friends. What they don't want is a political meeting. And as a leader, I can tell you, that it is nearly impossible to take troops anywhere or do anything without a ream of paperwork. It just isn't worth it. And that is the saddest thing of all.
Well, a popular late-60s slogan was "the personal is political." The descendents of this movement have now succeeded in politicizing just about *everything*...even cookouts & camping.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad...and what makes it especially sad is that the politicization isn't usually about working on campaigns, or studying the history of political thought...more typically, it's about the inculation of a general attitude of resentment.
The Boy Scouts just recently got rid of an optioinal requirement for the leather working merit badge in which The young man had to kill an animal, skin it, and tan the leather......someone got upset that boys were killing nature's speedbumps....
ReplyDelete~Austin