Author: Aren Cambre
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OA’s latest mission and vision confirm: time to abolish it
The Order of the Arrow, a weird, racist, secret society in Scouting America (SA), is self immolating. Despite increasing scrutiny over its 109 years of mockery of American Indians, OA clings to racist playing-Indian activities. Its recent pattern is to express interest in correcting its sins, only to take de minimis measures unguided by strategy.…
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BSA’s new initials mean sexual assault
Boy Scouts of America recently chose a new name, Scouting America (SA). This will be a doing-business-as arrangement (DBA), so the underlying corporate name says the same. SA means sexual assault. With its new name, BSA spotlights its devastating past. That past is why it just made a $2.4 billion bankruptcy settlement. BSA’s marketers ham-fistedly…
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OA’s pretendian core ceremonies celebrate racist oppression, mock tribes, must be blown up
The Order of the Arrow’s core ceremonies–the call outs and inductions–are pretendian parodies of American Indians and their culture. The USA has a racist legacy of destroying American Indian tribes with forced Westernization. While that failed, OA’s core ceremonies celebrate the racist legacy’s goal: a dystopia with fully debased tribes, with nobody to own tribal…
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Dear NEB: up up down down left right left right B A B A (it’s time to unlock superpowers!)
Hey, National Executive Board (NEB)! It’s time to use the Konami code: unlock your superpowers! Your composition has changed: You’re smaller, and some of the old guard departed. You can be quite effective! You’ve got to save Scouting from its #1 existential threat: A culturally rotted, poorly performing national organization, that sees itself as its…
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BSA’s Summit Bechtel Reserve, a monument to bigotry, is failing
BSA’s Summit Bechtel Reserve (SBR) is a fantastic spot for quadrennial Jamborees. It has a dark side. Protecting BSA’s bigotry is its raison d’etre. With program revenue a tiny fraction of expectations and staggering debt, it’s worth less than zero and is a major fiscal strain on BSA’s fragile national organization. BSA has never shared…
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Abolish gold epaulets, a barrier to reform
Symbols are important to culture. Any symbol associated with national’s cultural rot needs scrutiny. Gold epaulets are an example. Representing elitism, they obstruct reform. (Epaulets, cloth devices worn on shoulder loops on uniforms, indicate the “level” of one’s role in Scouting.) Explainer: stratified by epaulet BSA’s most important adult-leader roles directly serve units, like Assistant…
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Graceless and bigoted, BSA’s Declaration of Religious Principle slaps Jesus
BSA uses its Declaration of Religious Principle (DRP) to bar atheists and agnostics. This graceless, bigoted policy is offensive to the core of Christianity. Jesus’s words and deeds command Christians to radical grace, compassion, and inclusion. Those are the opposite of BSA’s Declaration. Those who follow Jesus cannot support a policy of excluding those who…
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NOAC 2024 @ CU Boulder to mock Native Americans a bit less
While a baby step towards ending cultural appropriation, BSA still has a long way to go.
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Failing to kill most Cub Scout camping, BSA’s cultural rot on full display
How it tried to gut Cub Scout camping reveals how little BSA values competence, truth telling, or serving its members.