What the heck is going on with Scouting? and other musings....Yes it is a rant....

Before I go on a tear, I need to show another present my brother gave me...

                                                            And the other side...

Notice the "bullet holes"

     A couple of things have happened recently and I have been dismayed by them. For those that don't know, I am a scout leader, I was a Cub scout Leader, now a Boy Scout Leader.  I was in the boy scouts in my youth and made it all the way to Life scout and working on my eagle project and ran out of time, you have to complete it by your 18th birthday.  My son is in the Boy Scouts, I want him to learn the timeless values that are taught in the Boy Scouts, I believe in the mission statement of the B.S.A. " To turn good boys into good men".
      First off..the national President Dr.  Robert Gates addressed the National annual meeting in 2015.  I have cut and pasted an exerpt of his speech in its entirety dealing with the membership issues.  I will first off post the exerpt then I will say my piece on the issue.  The entire speech link is Here

     Robert Gates Bio is Here

      
FINALLY, LET ME ADDRESS MEMBERSHIP POLICY.
I TOLD YOU A YEAR AGO THAT I WOULD OPPOSE REOPENING THIS ISSUE DURING MY TWO-YEAR TERM AS PRESIDENT OF THE BSA. I HAD HOPED THEN FOR A RESPITE DURING WHICH WE COULD FOCUS ON HEALING OUR DIVISIONS FROM THE 2013 DECISION, IMPROVING OUR PROGRAM, STRENGTHENING OUR FINANCES AND ENDING OUR DECLINE IN MEMBERSHIP.
HOWEVER, EVENTS DURING THE PAST YEAR HAVE CONFRONTED US WITH URGENT CHALLENGES I DID NOT FORESEE AND WHICH WE CANNOT IGNORE. WE CANNOT IGNORE GROWING INTERNAL CHALLENGES TO OUR CURRENT MEMBERSHIP POLICY, FROM SOME COUNCILS – LIKE THE GREATER NEW YORK COUNCIL, THE DENVER AREA COUNCIL, AND OTHERS – IN OPEN DEFIANCE OF THE POLICY, TO MORE AND MORE COUNCILS TAKING A POSITION IN THEIR MISSION STATEMENTS AND PUBLIC DOCUMENTS CONTRARY TO NATIONAL POLICY.
NOR CAN WE IGNORE THE SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND JURIDICIAL CHANGES TAKING PLACE IN OUR COUNTRY – CHANGES TAKING PLACE AT A PACE OVER THIS PAST YEAR NO ONE ANTICIPATED. I REMIND YOU OF THE RECENT DEBATES WE HAVE SEEN IN PLACES LIKE INDIANA AND ARKANSAS OVER DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION, NOT TO MENTION THE IMPENDING U.S. SUPREME COURT DECISION THIS SUMMER ON GAY MARRIAGE.
I AM NOT ASKING THE NATIONAL BOARD FOR ANY ACTION TO CHANGE OUR CURRENT POLICY AT THIS MEETING. BUT I MUST SPEAK AS PLAINLY AND BLUNTLY TO YOU AS I SPOKE TO PRESIDENTS WHEN I WAS DIRECTOR OF CIA AND SECRETARY OF DEFENSE. WE MUST DEAL WITH THE WORLD AS IT IS, NOT AS WE MIGHT WISH IT TO BE. THE STATUS QUO IN OUR MOVEMENT’S MEMBERSHIP STANDARDS CANNOT BE SUSTAINED.
WE CAN EXPECT MORE COUNCILS TO OPENLY CHALLENGE THE CURRENT POLICY. WHILE TECHNICALLY WE HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO REVOKE THEIR CHARTERS, SUCH AN ACTION WOULD DENY THE LIFELONG BENEFITS OF SCOUTING TO HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF BOYS AND YOUNG MEN TODAY AND VASTLY MORE IN THE FUTURE. I WILL NOT TAKE THAT PATH.
MOREOVER, DOZENS OF STATES – FROM NEW YORK TO UTAH – ARE PASSING LAWS THAT PROTECT EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS ON THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION. THUS, BETWEEN INTERNAL CHALLENGES AND POTENTIAL LEGAL CONFLICTS, THE BSA FINDS ITSELF IN AN UNSUSTAINABLE POSITION. A POSITION THAT MAKES US VULNERABLE TO THE POSSIBILITY THE COURTS SIMPLY WILL ORDER US AT SOME POINT TO CHANGE OUR MEMBERSHIP POLICY. WE MUST ALL UNDERSTAND THAT THIS PROBABLY WILL HAPPEN SOONER RATHER THAN LATER.
IN 2010, A FEDERAL DISTRICT JUDGE IN CALIFORNIA OVERTURNED THE MILITARY’S DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL LAW AND THE REVERSAL WAS APPLIED NATIONWIDE IMMEDIATELY. ONLY A STAY GRANTED BY THE APPEALS COURT – GRANTED, I BELIEVE, MAINLY BECAUSE WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGING THE LAW – PREVENTED DRAMATIC DISRUPTION IN THE ARMED FORCES.
WE CANNOT PREDICT IF OR WHEN THIS MIGHT HAPPEN TO US, BUT I PERSONALLY BELIEVE OUR LEGAL DEFENSES HAVE WEAKENED SINCE THE DALE CASE. AND IF WE WAIT FOR THE COURTS TO ACT, WE COULD END UP WITH A BROAD RULING THAT COULD FORBID ANY KIND OF MEMBERSHIP STANDARD, INCLUDING OUR FOUNDATIONAL BELIEF IN OUR DUTY TO GOD AND OUR FOCUS ON SERVING THE SPECIFIC NEEDS OF BOYS. WAITING FOR THE COURTS IS A GAMBLE WITH HUGE STAKES.
ALTERNATIVELY, WE CAN MOVE AT SOME FUTURE DATE – BUT SOONER RATHER THAN LATER – TO SEIZE CONTROL OF OUR OWN FUTURE, SET OUR OWN COURSE AND CHANGE OUR POLICY IN ORDER TO ALLOW CHARTER PARTNERS – UNIT SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS – TO DETERMINE THE STANDARDS FOR THEIR SCOUT LEADERS. SUCH AN APPROACH WOULD ALLOW ALL CHURCHES, WHICH SPONSOR SOME 70% OF OUR SCOUT UNITS, TO ESTABLISH LEADERSHIP STANDARDS CONSISTENT WITH THEIR FAITH. WE MUST, AT ALL COSTS, PRESERVE THE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM OF OUR CHURCH PARTNERS TO DO THIS.
OUR OATH CALLS UPON US TO DO OUR DUTY TO GOD AND OUR COUNTRY. THE COUNTRY IS CHANGING AND WE ARE INCREASINGLY AT ODDS WITH THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE AT BOTH THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVELS. AND, AS A MOVEMENT, WE FIND OURSELVES WITH A POLICY MORE THAN A FEW OF OUR CHURCH SPONSORS REJECT – THUS PLACING SCOUTING BETWEEN A BOY AND HIS CHURCH.
THE CHALLENGES ARE BEFORE US NOW. THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD AND OUR LEGAL COUNSEL WILL WORK TO DETERMINE OUR RESPONSES AND OUR BEST STRATEGY. WE WANT AND VALUE YOUR THOUGHTS ON ALL THIS, RECOGNIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF PROTECTING OUR CORE VALUES.
THE ONE THING WE CANNOT DO IS PUT OUR HEADS IN THE SAND AND PRETEND THIS CHALLENGE WILL GO AWAY OR ABATE.
QUITE THE OPPOSITE IS HAPPENING. I KNOW MY REMARKS ON THIS SUBJECT UNSETTLE MANY OF YOU. SOME OF YOU MIGHT BE ANGRY THAT I RAISE THIS SUBJECT AND WITH WHAT I HAVE SAID. BUT THIS MOVEMENT SHAPED MY LIFE AND MY ONLY PURPOSE – MY ONLY REASON FOR ASSUMING THIS LEADERSHIP ROLE – IS TO PRESERVE THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA IN RECOGNITION OF ALL IT HAS DONE FOR THIS COUNTRY, AND ALL IT CAN AND MUST DO IN THE FUTURE. SCOUTING IS NEEDED IN THIS COUNTRY NOW MORE THAN EVER.
I ASSURE YOU THAT I HAVE NO HIDDEN AGENDA. I WANT ONLY TO APPRISE YOU OF THE NEW REALITY I SEE: THAT BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL EVENTS AND PRESSURES OVER THE PAST YEAR AND LOOKING TO THE FUTURE WILL REQUIRE ACTION AT SOME POINT.
FOR NOW, I ASK THAT, IN THE DAYS AND MONTHS AHEAD, EVERYONE HERE REFLECT AND PRAY ON OUR PATH FORWARD. WE CAN ACT ON OUR OWN OR WE CAN BE FORCED TO ACT BUT, EITHER WAY, I SUSPECT WE DON’T HAVE A LOT OF TIME.
FOR ME, I SUPPORT A POLICY THAT ACCEPTS AND RESPECTS OUR DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES AND BELIEFS, ALLOWS RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS – BASED ON FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM – TO ESTABLISH THEIR OWN STANDARDS FOR ADULT LEADERS, AND PRESERVES THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA NOW AND FOREVER. I TRULY FEAR THAT ANY OTHER ALTERNATIVE WILL BE THE END OF US AS A NATIONAL MOVEMENT.
EVERY DAY, IN EVERY COMMUNITY IN AMERICA, SCOUTING IS CHANGING THE LIVES OF BOYS AND YOUNG MEN – TEACHING THEM SKILLS AND LEADERSHIP, HELPING THEM BUILD CHARACTER AND INTEGRITY. EVERY DAY, IN EVERY COMMUNITY, SCOUTING MAKES THOSE COMMUNITIES BETTER PLACES TO LIVE. WE HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 105 YEARS. I AM CONFIDENT WE WILL DO SO FOR ANOTHER 105 YEARS AS LONG AS WE STAND TOGETHER, UNITED IN OUR SINGULAR MISSION TO SERVE AMERICAN YOUTH.
I AM HONORED TO WORK WITH ALL OF YOU TO GIVE OUR YOUNG PEOPLE THE WISDOM, DIRECTION AND CONFIDENCE TO BE THE BEST THEY CAN BE.
THANK YOU.

     I have a lot of respect for Robert Gates, to broach this issue takes Guts...but I also am pissed, we are having 3% of the population(According to the CDC) totally drive the issues, we have been soo cowed into silence by the outrage machine that is the "LGBT" community.  For many years they have asked for "Tolerance" for different beliefs than the mainstream...now they are forcing their beliefs and anybody that disagreees with the issues are immediately flattened so to speak by the outrage machine that I call the "Gay Mafia"
       

They have totally cowed all opposition to their agenda.....What the hell happened to "tolerance"? 
     Now if you disagree with their assertions, they will try to destroy you, get you fired from your job...ask the former head of Mozilla and a Vermont State trooper about the outrage campaign that was launched against them by the SJW's out there.  Where is the vaunted tolerance of the left?   They are only tolerant if you agree with them, then you are "en-lighted".  If you disagree with them, then you are a homophobic knuckle draggin Neanderthal that deserves to be destroyed publicly and financially.     The same people that is driving this issue if they had any kids...they would never be in the boy scouts.  This is purely agenda driven.  the GayMafia has brought enormous social pressure on the Boy Scouts to change their policy on openly gay leaders.  I use an alias here, I try with varying success to keep my real identity under cover so there are no no splash-back with my risk adverse employer who would can me in a new york minute if somebody was to complain.  It is a shame that a persons beliefs can get him canned.  I keep wondering what happened to freedom here in America.  
    

     I am aggravated, sexuality has no business in the Boy Scouts.  I am not advocating a don't ask, Don't tell policy...it is nobody's business what the orientation of the leaders are.   The membership of the boy scouts have been dropping, for several years.  People put their kids into boy scouts to help instill in the boys a moral code that has stood the test of time.  The scout oath and law if you follow it, will help guide you through life and if you fall off the path, the knowledge of the Oath and law will help you find your way again.  Now like I said, the last few years, the membership has been falling and secular and faith based groups are getting the people moving over.  They are capitalizing on the turmoil surrounding the B.S.A.   
     Also there is another issue....The B.S.A. is reiterating a policy of No "Water-gun fights".   Really?    Watergun fights have been a B.S.A tradition since I was a boy scouts....but back then, we  also used BB guns.....Now those things hurt.....But now they are forbidding watergun fights?   What is going on?   Are we turning into a nation of pansies? The B.S.A. is soo afraid of "liability"
     We are turning into a "nerf" or a bubblewrap society, have we lost out spine?  the greatness that is America?   We were once portrayed as a nation of Individualist and rough and ready frontiersman.  We would fight anybody else if the cause was just.   Our heroes used to be John Wayne......Now they are Justin Bieber...

  
      

The Difusion of Responsibility....in the modern era...

Before I get started, I will be camping with the Boy Scouts, and internet will be sporadic.  I will post stuff in the scheduler and hope things pop up as it is supposed to.

           I had saved this cartoon from a while back, it was drawn when the Boko Haram a Nigerian Islamist kidnapped 276 girls mostly Christian girls from a boarding school.   Everybody can remember Michelle Obama Standing holding a sign

“My husband and I are outraged and heartbroken,” said First Lady Michelle Obama, subbing for the president in his weekly radio address May 10. “In these girls, Barack and I see our own daughters.”
     

     I am going to touch on 2 different subjects on this post.....Yay go Touretts!!  Well anyway,

     The cartoon touched upon the "hashtag activism" that the left and liberals seem to favor, and is based upon a real event that happened in March 13 1964 where Kitty Genovese was raped and stabbed to death and the investigations had uncovered that 38 people heard her cries(that number has changed to less and more since then but I will go with the official police report of the time.)  People outside the urban areas were amazed that all those people did nothing to stop the attack.  The effect is called "The diffusion of responsibility", the more people that know or hear something, the less people will step forward and do or say nothing.   The people in the city call it "the golden rule"  You mind your own business or they will come and do the same to you.  The incident in New York had already shown the effects of large groups of people living together.  there have been several case studies involving Mice and the resulting breakdown of society due to overcrowding. you can read of it here.  

      Two weeks later, a newspaper article reported the circumstances of Genovese's murder and the lack of reaction from numerous neighbors. The common portrayal of her neighbors as being fully aware of what was transpiring but completely unresponsive has since been criticized as inaccurate. Nonetheless, that portrayal prompted investigation into the social psychological phenomenon that has become known as the bystander effect or "Genovese syndrome", especially diffusion of responsibility.

    
Diffusion of responsibility can manifest itself:

• In a group of people who, through action or inaction, allow events to occur which they would never allow if they were alone. This is referred to as groupthink and groupshift.
• In a group of people working on a task who lose motivation, feel less responsibility for achievement of group goals, and hide their lack of effort in the group (social loafing).
• In hierarchical organizations, when subordinates claim to simply be following orders and supervisors claim that they merely issue directives and do not perform the actions under question. The difficulty of identifying the culpable party is often seen in trials regarding crimes against humanity. 

Diffusion of responsibility is also called " more people see, the less will get done, many people will stand in the background and will see who will step up and then act.  It is pack dynamics, people are afraid to step outside the shelter and anonymity of the group and be noticed, especially if there is pressure or adverse reaction if you step forward.   I liken it to the military term " Don't volunteer"   this was endemic in basic training because the one that stepped forward usually got extra punishment.  I saw it and did my best to hide in the background and avoid notice from the Drill Sergeants. 
     I will then touch on my second topic and will then try to link them together,

Squirrel...

    The liberals and others from the left love to use hashtag to denote what pet causes they are interested in,  You have seen it on many things from #can't breath, #Ferguson#,#don't shoot#, #meat is murder# and many other social causes.  I disparage hashtag activism, for it does nothing, it is immediate, then fades away.  Like the attention span of the average liberal.  All it does is show how pious you are in embracing the latest social cause to your liberal friends, it shows that you have embraced the latest group think that is prevalent at the time and does nothing.

       Left leaning People don't know how to use independent reasoning and logic in their decision process. The average liberal runs on pure emotions, they are the followers in group activities, they provide the "foot soldiers" for the latest cause.  The ones that use logic and reasoning and do what they do anyway, are the leaders, they know logic and reasoning but decide to continue anyway for the sake of power, they tell the followers what to do.  Those are the dangerous ones....those are the ones that do this for pure personal power and self gratification.

     How this ties together are 2 fold, when people get in groups, they submerge their individuality for the group dynamics, even if something is wrong, they will not step up.  Also it ties in with the immediate gratification, if they don't do anything, the problem goes away.  If they get involved, then the problem stays with them and people in groups don't want that.  The average liberal believes in immediate gratification, "do something now" and "if it feels good".  Doing hashtags feels good, but does nothing, because unless you are in a western based society, where social media is very strong, the effect is lost everywhere else but to a liberal, being "active on emotion" is better than actually doing something...because if they focus on one cause too long and it falls out of favor because the next cause has arrived, then they are no longer on the forefront of "social Justice" and they lose standings with their friends and peer groups.

The "Sefie" heard around the world.......

By now y'all have seen the "Selfie" posted by the PFC whom wouldn't salute the flag.   Here is some more information on it.
     
A soldier who hid in her car to avoid saluting the flag — and then flaunted it on Instagram — is the latest service member to come under attack via social media and be accused of dishonoring her service.
Pfc. Tariqka Sheffey, whose Instagram handle is “sheffeynation,” posted a selfie with a caption that reads:
“This is me laying back in my car hiding so I don’t have to salute the 1700 flag, KEEP ALL YOUR ‘THATS SO DISRESPECTFUL/HOWRUDE/ETC.’ COMMENTS TO YOURSELF cuz, right now, IDGAFFFF.”
The image was distributed via Facebook and also sent to Army Times. Angry service members, Gold Star mothers and spouses have called for the soldier’s removal from service.
“Any soldier who refuses to salute the flag is in the military for the wrong reason, and should be removed by dishonorable discharge with loss of all benefits,” one Facebook commenter said. “If they won’t salute it, they damn sure won’t fight for it.”
Sheffey is a member of the 59th Quartermaster Company, 43rd Sustainment Brigade, at Fort Carson, Colo., post spokesman Dee McNutt confirmed Tuesday.

This article came from The Army Times

I spent a lot of time on Thursday night reading on this and then reading on the many comments posted, most were the "Dishonorable Discharge" comments and boot her out.  A few people advocated lesser punishment.  I finally posted this on the Army Times Comments:

Have her chain of command handle it.  Her Colonel on down will have some imaginative ways for attitude correction,  she has brought her unit and her command into it, and people take that stuff seriously.  Before anybody piles on me, I am a Gulf War veteran so I have some background on this.  She is a young private, and privates can and do dumb things.  Let her chain of command deal with it.  I have a few times made a run for the doorway, not the brightest thing I have done and in my "older" years I have a more appreciation than I did back then.  Could I go back in time and would I serve, Yes I would.  My 6 years of service, 5 of it overseas have taught me much and to have a real appreciation for being an American.  What she did was stupid, her posting and bragging about it compounded the error in judgment.  Have her chain of command deal with it.  Article 15 for with suspension or reduction of rank and some forfeiture of pay and some hard duty or some variation of the same.  Dishonorable Discharge will mark her as a felon for the rest of her life, kinda extreme for dodging the flag.  Now if she was involved in seditious activity I can see some of the other punishments applying.  What she did I find personally "tacky" and showing a lack of moral fiber, but rising to the level of a BCD...Nope don't see it.    Again let her chain of command handle it.


     There have been other incidents lately of soldiers running afoul with social media.  From the incident involving a Wisconsin Honors Team being investigated for posing in front of a flag draped casket that was empty to another incident involving an airman pretending to french kiss the POW/MIA emblem has sparked outrage.   What is the cause of all of this...is it the era o self gratification when we have the President doing it at a funeral for Nelson Mandela?

What is with this stuff...?  Is it a need for instant fame where social decorum is thrown out the window for instant gratification?   Is it something that is endemic for our society, the immediate search for fame?
     I don't know....Perhaps I am an older person and something I flat out wouldn't do.  The Spousal unit calls me "Mr Manners" because I am soo polite in public especially from my speech pattern which has been harkens to "Old Southern" as I was told one time.   I honestly believes that manners is what separates us from the primates...that and food utensils.
      It seems like everybody is in a rush to throw out what is "acceptable" in society.  I used to have a book written by Robert Heinlein that used phrases from his long living character called "Lazarus Long" one of the phrases was "Manners are the lubricant of social interaction."   Pretty much self explanatory.  He also was the person that had the comment that a "Well armed society is a polite society, you may have to pay with your lack of manners with your life."
     I wonder if all this stuff is a new belief that tomorrow may never come so live for the now.  This is the attitude of a lot of the urban denizens because they truly believe that tomorrow may never get here, so it is that fatalism that drives a lot of what they do.   I am trying to reach for a reason for all of this but  maybe I am too old and have lived too long to understand what drives all of this.  Is it the breakdown of a moral code in society?    I don't know.

        *Fixed grammer error*