Tuesday, July 25, 2017

All That They Killed Were the Song They Couldn't Sing





Old story: I got kicked out of the Boy Scouts, Troop 1097. I was in Pink Panther Patrol before graduating to Senior Patrol. I made it to Life. I would never have made it to Eagle - Lifesaving is a gold Merit Badge, required, and I am a weak swimmer. Which isn't why I was kicked out.

1097 wasn't political or paramilitary. One adult wanted it to be, but he was mocked by us and ignored by the other adults. I probably would have discovered how much I love hiking, love deep woods, without the Boy Scouts, but I discovered I love hiking, love deep woods, while in the Boy Scouts.

Most fun Trump has had as POTUS, nuremberging Boy Scouts yesterday. What he imagines a Boy Scouts to be is the citizen authoritarians want you to be.














Les Murray


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4 comments:

  1. Yes —>Octopus
    No—>Chapo
    Ugh—>Boy Scouts: Boy Scouts is a masculinist org. where alpha boys sort out betas. Bullies victims. It's militarist prep. Trump was simply being on point.
    As much as I love hiking now, I hated it in Scouts.

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    1. Having never heard a Chapo podcast - my interaction is solely via their twuuter accounts - I don't want to hazard an opinion on what they do. I *do* however distrust the opinions of many of Chapo's detractors and haters, which makes me wonder if Chapo has value in that alone.

      I was in a relatively benign Boy Scout troop, and alpha bullying was not allowed, but we had enough interaction with other troops that I was aware that shit is the rule and 1097 the exception. The militarist prep was also minimalized in 1097. Was still creepy of course, but it could have been much worse.

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  2. Thanks for the Link. At the Place O' Witless Labor, trying to remember my old BSA days (not the motorcycle ones) and why the Scouts never used animal-based titles like, 'Octopus Troop', or 'Pangolin Troop' or 'Komodo Dragon Troop'. Would have been much cooler, or at least less lame.

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  3. speaking of washington, dc, as the linked story about the arizona st. trestle does, i learned five minutes ago (from the daily mail) that former dc mayor adrian fenty is now steve jobs' widow's boyfriend - how 'bout that?

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