this post was submitted on 25 Nov 2025
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This is like your boss finding shit to do when there's nothing to do.

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[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Wait until he finds out our old pack burned flags!

Back when patriotism was “normal”, Scouts along with veterans helped organize and run a regional event to properly and respectfully retire worn flags. It was a huge deal

[–] derpgon@programming.dev 2 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Czech here, glad Scouts hold the flag to the same standard everywhere. We used to burn the flag if it touched the ground or was "desecrated" in a different way.

[–] khepri@lemmy.world 8 points 12 hours ago

I was in cub/boy scouts from ages maybe 10 all the way up aging out at 18. It was mostly about being homophobic, knives, and fire aka the three pillars of young white boys in the 90's. I couldn't be happier at how they've been trying to turn things around these past 10 years.

Also, Fed involvement with the Scouts is minimal. Apparently they provide logistical support at Nat'l Jamboree (not that I ever saw) and give tours of bases and stuff (not that I ever saw). So this seems, at best, performative.

[–] mayorchid@lemmy.world 7 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

I feel a bit of schadenfreude for this one. I was bullied harder in Boy Scouts than I ever was at school or church. None of the leaders ever noticed or did jack shit about it. There was an expectation of physical strength and ability that I was never able to meet. The uniforms were ridiculously expensive. And the higher levels of the local org were deeply cultish under the surface and intertwined with the Mormon church in bizarre ways (this was before the Mormon church stopped being an official sponsor of scouting).

I know things have gotten better lately, and the current administration is incapable of doing good things, but if Scouting goes bankrupt I will not shed a tear.

[–] khepri@lemmy.world 5 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

yeah man those Mormon-only troops were another flavor for sure lol. Mormonism + nationalism + being 14 + a uniform is a helluva drug it turns out.

[–] Itdidnttrickledown@lemmy.world 7 points 17 hours ago

Making way for the Red Rangers. Where they teach you about how to torture anyone you don't like.

[–] panda_abyss@lemmy.ca 35 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (6 children)

Was scouts supposed to ge about fostering “masculine” values ever?

I never did it, but I always thought it was about learning useful skills and confidence, appreciating nature (leave the camp cleaner than you found it) and learning how to work towards your goals.

Those things are not inherently masculine. They’re for everyone.

[–] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 6 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Yes. And growing up in NY my experience with them was a lot less toxic than what some people here are describing, so it really was pretty much just about that.

[–] Dozzi92@lemmy.world 7 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, I'm from Jersey, and similar to you it was just a thing for boys to do. There was no homophobia, we accepted from the weird kid to the sporty kid, and eveyone in between, and sometimes there were cliques and sometimes we whittled soap. We went camping sometimes. There was fire, yeah, that seems to be ubiquitous among the boy scouts.

I stopped when I got bored. There were no scandals.

[–] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (1 children)

Yeah, as far as I know, none of the boys were being victimized by the orthodontist scout leader, and there was no serious religious aspect. Most of the kids were probably from liberal Jewish families who went to temple mainly on the high holidays, regardless. I quit because the camping trips kept getting cancelled, and that was the main reason I enjoyed it.

Christ, why can't we just have normal things that are what they're supposed to be, without wackjobs corrupting it?

[–] Dozzi92@lemmy.world 1 points 4 hours ago

I think we can and do have normal things. I feel like exposure to mass media brings problems right to your door, and it just isn't how it is. At the same time, there is a bit of responsibility that falls on your (my) shoulders to be involved. I certainly won't stand by while some bullshit is going down especially bullshit that my kids are exposed to. I will let kids be kids, but I won't let them be poisoned with negative, fearful nonsense.

And so yeah, my response to much of the crippling depression that's blasted at us over the past 10 years has been to stick my head in the sand. And people here will chastise me for this, but I refuse to take on global problems when I've got things right here that need my attention. I know this isn't exactly what we're talking about, but I come to Lemmy to philosophize.

[–] khepri@lemmy.world 5 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I'd say, as far as being distinct from the Girl Scouts, that the two groups had basically identical values and goals. Boy Scouts maybe leaned a little heavier on the camping and knot tying and outdoor skills, but both were mainly focused on building good character, community service, basic life skills, etc.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago

Like ten years ago, Girl Scouts in my town had a civil war, because they were leaning too heavily on “girl”activities. A bunch of the girls defected to Boy scouts to do “more fun activities”

[–] Ironfist79@lemmy.world 3 points 13 hours ago

It was created as a paramilitary organization so kind of?

[–] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 6 points 17 hours ago

It was mostly about setting things on fire in my experience.

[–] I_Has_A_Hat@lemmy.world 25 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.

Nope, nothing in there about masculine.

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 2 points 9 hours ago

Ugh, I still remember that whole list by heart. I did and do take issue with "obedient" and "reverent." Question authority.

[–] JandroDelSol@lemmy.world -2 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

so you don't thing women should be any of those things?

[–] 5too@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

I'm honestly not clear if this is a sarcastic comment or not.

For myself - those all seem like gender neutral virtues, viewed separately and together. I don't know that I agree with each one as a virtual, but I don't see anything that would or should apply to one gender more than another.

This is the right take

[–] adespoton@lemmy.ca 155 points 1 day ago (12 children)

Hegseth criticizes Scouting for being "genderless" and for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.

Imagine thinking this is a BAD thing.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 3 points 6 hours ago

But this is a fairly recent thing that Boy Scouts has become more inclusive.

My kids were just moving up when they were opening cub scouts. As a parent I thought it was great that it made it more family oriented. No one complained about the girls, no one complained that women were now able to run camping events, no one complained that there were entire families at camping events.

I have no idea how they approached it for Boy Scouts.

But the thing is, this is change, recent change. And change is scary. Regressives want to hold back change, even to a past more mythical than real

[–] ronigami@lemmy.world 1 points 6 hours ago

I mean, it’s kind of a bad thing when the literal whole point of Boy Scouts was to foster masculine qualities for boys. They had Girl Scouts for something else. And you could create a third Genderfree Scouts instead but no, they just got rid of Boy Scouts.

He needs to stop. Dude is always worried about young boys and how sexy military folks are.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 4 points 15 hours ago

Can't let those girls think they're worthy. The inside MAGA secret is that women take more jobs from white men than immigrants do, and when they're done rounding up the immigrants, they'll be going after women's rights next. Say goodbye to the right to vote, ladies.

[–] Carmakazi@piefed.social 69 points 1 day ago (4 children)

The BSA wasn't Hitler Youth outright while I was in, but there is definitely a "God, Duty, Country" vibe that other scouting organizations around the world left behind or never adopted in the first place. Conservatives liked that, and they hated that they had been making a slow march towards more progressive and less nationalist policy that I bet only hastened after the sexual assault lawsuits bankrupted the national organization.

Hegseth is probably doing this to either pressure Scouting into regressing, or to weaken Scouting in order to spin up a Trump Youth later. There is no shortage of conservative dads unhappy with modern Scouting that would love either outcome.

[–] khepri@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

Yeah, BSA was still real weird when I was in it (90's-very early 00's). The martial aspects, Christianity, and nationalism were sort of the assumed values. And there was a very disturbing I'll just say Neo-confederate Mormon flavor to the top level national organization. It was built by straight white conservative men so that their sons would have a safe space, in other words.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 2 points 15 hours ago

Pistol Pete will want to turn the Scouts into the MAGA Youth.

[–] Manifish_Destiny@lemmy.world 22 points 1 day ago

Fuckinnn yikes. Gonna have to watch out for the shitler youth.

[–] thejoker954@lemmy.world 18 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Yeah that's why I never really got into the scouts - it felt culty (not that I could articulate that back then.)

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

It was thick with MLMs and reactionary evangelicalism. Didn't hurt that the Mormon Church was heavily embedded in the national leadership.

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[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 11 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I know from seeing videos of other Scout troops over the years compsred to my own experiences as a Scout that it really depends on the place and the people. All my troop leaders were moms, and it was more or less just after school activities to keep you from being idle and getting up to trouble out of boredom that were also educational.

We didn't do much of the "culty" things like pledges or whatever. We just did arts, crafts and went camping. Learned how to cook, sew, survive in the woods, first-aid, etc. 🤷‍♂️

[–] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago

Yeah same here. But I grew up on Long Island, NY, where at the time it was like 85% a blue region.

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[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 25 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Imagine thinking it's true.

The Boy Scouts of America had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century by way of multiple sexual abuse scandals, a dwindling membership, and repeated bankruptcy.

This isn't DEI, it's a desperate appeal for more warm bodies in the program to shore up a dying movement.

It's BAD in the sense that Scouting has largely become (arguably always had been) an MLM run by and for the benefit of a few connected business savvy insiders. And drawing in more grist for the mill only delays the inevitable failure of this corrupt and sclerotic institution.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago (4 children)

It's BAD in the sense that Scouting has largely become (arguably always had been) an MLM run by and for the benefit of a few connected business savvy insiders.

Could be worse: could be Girl Scouts.


Seriously though, if both Girl Scouts and "Scouting America" suck, is there some other alternative (short of not participating in a scouting-like organization at all)?

[–] khepri@lemmy.world 3 points 11 hours ago

I have no idea if they are any better than the Scouts, but Campfire is the other big national one I'm aware of.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 1 points 15 hours ago

is there some other alternative

Plenty. But then tend to be local and they vary in content. Houston has a number of programs run through the Children's Museum and the various universities (Rice, in particular) for aspiring engineers and nature lovers alike. The YMCA and the JCC both have youth programs for fitness and sports. Soccer is always popular.

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[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 28 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

He also just tried to remove nooses and swazticas from the military’s recognized hate symbols so this tracks. I fully expect this administration to announce some form of Shitler youth indoctrination program any day now.

[–] a_non_monotonic_function@lemmy.world 1 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

That is essentially the role Kirk (formerly) and Fuentes play.

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 1 points 9 hours ago

I don’t think they were into Kirk’s anti Israel stance. Im sure Erica is happy to stay within the lines

[–] njm1314@lemmy.world 28 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Something about the phrase boy friendly spaces sounds very odd to me. Certainly doesn't sound like the warrior mentality ole drunk Pete is going for does it?

[–] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 18 points 1 day ago

He should just use “safe spaces.” Much clearer and surely he’d get the full support of everyone who supports this

[–] WhatGodIsMadeOf@feddit.org 19 points 1 day ago (2 children)

That's all they really want guys... They just want a place to be boy friendly.

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Support of Scouts, like it or not, is Congressionally mandated, and that includes the Pentagon for some events. The exception is national security. Yet another fight that will drag through the courts incoming.

[–] oh_@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

He really is insecure.

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