I have a general feeling that they're bad (the org, not the individual children lmao) but am fuzzy on the details of why. It's generally agreed among leftists that it's child labor right? And that they love teaching little kids that capitalism = cool and good. I've got a niece in girl scouts and I'd just like some more concrete examples and reasons not to support them so that my family understands that I'm not just being cheap... although yeah ok I admit it the shrinkflation over the years is one of the reasons I don't give them money, fine.
Or uuuuuh if you think they're good actually then explain for the class pls. Make me feel bad about buying knockoff treats for a third of the price and then not donating the difference. 
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mewling little hitlerites trying to hock junk cookies and corrupt the fitness regime of my maoist cadre. i chase them off with a broom
spoiler
but the actual thing with scouting orgs beyond whatever weird sales junk they do is that, unironically, "Scout" orgs were established as child paramilitaries to prime kids for patriotism & militarism. the Hitler youth were the nazi version of scouts.
and i extend this criticism to socialist 'pioneer' youth too. it was not a good idea to be emulate, even if you removed half the racism
and i extend this criticism to socialist 'pioneer' youth too. it was not a good idea to be emulate, even if you removed half the racism
Seems excessive. Were they really that bad?
Boy scouts started after US civil war after Union military commanders had to teach city people how to do basic things with a firearm and living outside. Some rich asshat decided that the city people were too soft and needed a club to teach the next generation how to be "men".
Oh I'm not denying that the BSA (and related orgs) are thorough crap. But the idea of giving kids a chance to join some group to learn a bunch of things and have some fun in the wilderness isn't inherently a shit concept
Not at all, its a pretty common thing in most cultures.
Shit, I was in cub scouts and boy scouts and for the most part, we just hung out did some guided activity for a while until we became "ungovernable" and were allowed to go play elsewhere.
Outside of the occasional "fundraiser" and the Boy Scout Jamboree (which, I know I've been to, but have almost no specific memories of) it was just a bunch of kids being kids and our parents being able to talk to other adults for a while.
If you can find alternatives that don't feed into the whitewashing of the genocide of indigenous Americans I'd go with that. It's fine for kids to have a nice org that is nice to them (scope it out to verify that first) and has them do outdoor activities so I'm not saying to just write them off entirely but it's something to think about.
In my neck of the woods there are independent orgs that still do camping and outdoor skills and art and so on but actively incorporate indigenous Americans and cultural practices and history into it and I think that's a much better way to go. As a contrast, scouting tends to feed into the path where being an "outdoorsman" means replicating the white settler experience, or at least a mythologized version of it.
This thread unlocked another core memory of nobody knowing or understanding I was neurodivergent. I had to quit girl scouts because I couldn't stop having such bad anxiety to the point of crying meltdowns just from "normal" things like camping and trying to make fires. Huh...
Was also quite a humiliating experience because I could tell the adults and the other girls just thought I was being a whimp, dramatic, a brat, etc. I'd be terrified of random things like bugs or hot things or sleeping in a tent and they'd just be like really? :| why are you like this
Which made me feel like a piece of shit because I couldn't control it of course
I get the child labor part but can you give details or post something that explains how it's set up like an MLM?
Most of the fundraising money raised by the boy/girl scouts is used to pay "dues" and buy uniforms from "approved vendors" instead of funding your kids next group camping trip.
Probably selling cookies and other shit like that. Boy Scouts of America does some similar stuff too but probably less of it- they make the kids sell this very overpriced cookies/popcorn/candy to get back pennies to fund their troops
Why are we searching for a reason to be mad about Girl Scouts? Don't we have enough problems?
It's the no fun zone, but "fun" has been crossed out on the sign and "overpriced cookies" has been written over it in off brand marker.
Anyways I got some new perspectives I didn't have before so I'm happy.
I mean to be fair, why am I searching for a reason to be mad about searching for a reason to be mad about girl scouts
they're bad because TWICE I have been tabling with SAlt and the girl scouts set up next to us and people preferred cookies to socialism. mogged by 12 year olds
if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. SAlt girl scout troop when?
Really depends on your troop leader. It was by far one of the cheapest extracurriculars we did with our kids. We had a good troop leader and most of the money raised from the cookies went to excursions for the girls. They also allow trans girls in now. Anyone who is living as a girl full time. Not sure where that leaves enby kids, but I’d imagine the specifics are left up to the specific people making that call.
Scouting as an idea is cool and good. Most of the problem Hexbear has with it is some elitist urban looking down on rural folk. That or confusing their personal dislike of the outdoors with an communist impetus against Scouting.
Of course, it's also filled with chuds but liberals and progressives abandoned it for the above mentioned reason so you can't blame it.
I am sure some chapters can be good for some kids but on the whole the institution has a very conservative and corporatized bent.
A few years ago, there was a story of a girl scout and her mom setting up a table outside a dispensary selling cookies and absolutely killing it. Not only did they deserve some sort of innovation award, but it taught the whole organization how to tap into an unmet need.
Well shit.
