Context: I was a Boy Scout for a number of years, making Eagle in 2020 right as COVID was really kicking off.
It was right afterwards, however, that the CSA scandal started popping up everywhere (which thankfully I was never exposed to or involved in during my time), and lately it seems like the organization & movement as a whole has fallen by the sociocultural wayside.
I would say that my time as a Scout did me objective good; I learned a decent amount about first-aid & survival-craft, participated in a number of volunteer & civic projects, and it generally made me a more well-rounded person. However, there’s no denying the impact that something “bigger than the Catholic Church scandal”, as I’ve heard it described, has on an institution such as this.
I’d like to get the community’s opinion, however; were any of you Scouts? How was your experience? What is your opinion of the institution today?
I personally had an overwhelmingly positive experience in scouts. I was involved pretty heavily throughout high-school (and am now in college, so it was pretty recently during the scandals and changes.) Scouting gave me my first summer jobs, relationships, and gave me the opportunity to meet people who were different than me, particularly out and proud LGBT people, for the first time. I also got to visit new parts of the country and spend time outdoors, which eventually influenced my course of study.
That being said, there are problems. The Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s honor society, is founded on racist stereotypes towards native Americans. The organization is also full of reactionaries and is currently at the whims of Pete Hegseth and the DOD. Furthermore, despite being active when the BSA’s youth protection program was in full swing, I personally knew two scoutmasters (not in my troop) who were later arrested for sex crimes against children outside of the organization.
I have trouble reconciling the straightforwardly positive effect that Scouting had on me, the purpose and direction it gave me in my life, with the troublesome parts of the organization at all levels. I’m not sure if I would want my kids involved.