The Boy Scouts of America (Discussion, info, etc)

[WALK2222]

ever saw that south park episode? it's basically accurate. if they found out, they're "typically" not militant about it, but they'll typically ask someone to leave unless it's a very progressive troop.

I had always helped the group, I went on the trips, got badges, did my work like all the others.  It was fine.  But when they found out.  It all changed.  It felt as though they completely forgot that I had been working with them for a year and a half, as if they had forgotten all the work I had put into it.  It just got really awkward, and they forgot that I had never done anything with anyone on that troop at all.  It's so loving annoying.

[Ad Bot]

[Jaxx]

I had always helped the group, I went on the trips, got badges, did my work like all the others.  It was fine.  But when they found out.  It all changed.  It felt as though they completely forgot that I had been working with them for a year and a half, as if they had forgotten all the work I had put into it.  It just got really awkward, and they forgot that I had never done anything with anyone on that troop at all.  It's so loving annoying.

yeeeaahhhh, unfortunately, that's what happens when the principles you're being worked with are also uber conservative. i hope you at least got something out of it.

[Fredulus]

We light hand sanitizer on fire whilst on our hands regularly.
As well as have back-woods knife throwing competitions, my knife being a 6" blade
and last camping trip we played team deathmatch (tag + slender + hide and seek I guess?) until 3am, no lights, in a big field, in 39ish degree weather. I played in a double layer T-shirt.

It all depends on your troop really.

none of that stuff is risky.

[WALK2222]

none of that stuff is risky.

The hand sanitizer one is

[Fredulus]

The hand sanitizer one is

no.. just a quick burst of flame then it's done, right?

[AdinX]

none of that stuff is risky.

Then what did you have in mind? Catching 50. Calibur rounds with your teeth after being fired from a 50. Calibur sniper rifle?
I don't really see what you need to do that is so risky that entertains you so much.
If your smoking weed in your tent, just dont be noisy about it and dont leave a light on, and do it far away from anyone else so they don't smell it
If your drinking; hide the stuff

Seriously, what is your idea of too risky for scouts?

[WALK2222]

no.. just a quick burst of flame then it's done, right?

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Um not if the sanitizer had been used recently.  And even if it was a quick burst of fire, it would still cause quite a burn.

[Ceist]

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Um not if the sanitizer had been used recently.  And even if it was a quick burst of fire, it would still cause quite a burn.

fun fact: they put a lot of water on their hands with hand sanitizer, it just turns the water into vapor, protecting your hands.

[Frontrox]

ah, the marvelous life wall. when 80% of scouts quit because they don't care enough to get the only thing that'll always get you better chances in any interview you'll ever do. good times.

I kept moving around, and it got really confusing over time. I would have kept going but it was already too late.

[Cool Boi]

Shotgun shooting
Archery
Rifle shooting
White water rafting
Handling knives, axes, and saws regularly
.
.
.
Yeah, totally obsessed with safety.

[Fredulus]

well lately i've taken to hitchhiking/hopping rides on freight trains, by myself
i sleep in parks, cemetaries, etc. sometimes i bring a tent, but i usually don't use it anyway.
i visit national parks, and explore/sleep out in the backcountry. most recently Zion national park.
i'm planning a trip to Mexico, down Baja California. gonna hitchhike, maybe hop a few freights. live on a beach. should be fun.

now im not saying boy scouts should start hopping freight trains and hitchhiking, but i DO think they should start doing a bit more than the standard scout camp bullstuff. premade campsites, even DINING HALLS at some camps, pre-planned activities, outdated merit badges that have been useless for the last 50 years. you don't really learn anything too useful from all that. you never have to WORRY - there's always somewhere to sleep, always something to eat, something to drink. all the hard stuff is done for you.

there's nothing quite like running low on water, having an empty stomach, and watching the sun set as you still don't have a place to sleep or anything to eat. you really learn to think on your feet.

[AdinX]

That's where crew comes in. What scouts can't do, Crew can.

We go on 30 mile hikes and bring in our food, scuba dive, we're allowed to shoot fully automatic weapons (we have a few military personnel involved with our crew and they have appropriate licensing), heck our Crew leader sometimes out of crew activity takes some of us black bear hunting

BSA won't ever really be on towards the whole freight hopping thing, nor is there any major junctions in our area, so to freight hop in my state would quite literally require you to jump a moving train.

[Fredulus]

nor is there any major junctions in our area, so to freight hop in my state would quite literally require you to jump a moving train.

you'd be surprised. pretty much all cities in the US are part of the freight network, and even if you think not much moves through your town, you're most likely wrong. edit: and you can hop moving trains lol. as long as they've slowed down to like 20mph or less. i personally haven't hopped one faster than like 5mph but people do it


i suppose this "crew" thing sounds better. not great but better. still seems like it's planned out well enough that there's pretty much no chance of anything going wrong though. :P

[AdinX]

We have had quite a few instances where we pack in too little and have either gone hungry, gear gets ruined, or one instance where it was so bad that our Crew Chief went out and hunted a few rabbits.

I am aware of the rails around my area, we have one set of freight lines that goes right by the front of my high school. In fact, a little less than a month ago, a train carrying petrol and gasoline derailed, I heard rumors that 2 cars came entirely off the rails, but then again I don't entirely understand how it derailed to begin with so I'm not entirely sure if that's possible.

[Alyx Vance]

We have had quite a few instances where we pack in too little and have either gone hungry, gear gets ruined, or one instance where it was so bad that our Crew Chief went out and hunted a few rabbits.

I am aware of the rails around my area, we have one set of freight lines that goes right by the front of my high school. In fact, a little less than a month ago, a train carrying petrol and gasoline derailed, I heard rumors that 2 cars came entirely off the rails, but then again I don't entirely understand how it derailed to begin with so I'm not entirely sure if that's possible.

We never had that issue before (with the food)

As for train derailments, at my hometown there is one spot that trains love derailing at. 9/10 times the train is full of toxic chemicals that force everyone to evacuate.
They have one 1-2 times a year actually, there was a recent one where the whole train turned into a mess of twisted metal and almost none of it was on its railing no more. I seen it on the news.