[9839] in APO-L
Re: BSA Amendments - Part II -Reply
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Randy Finder)
Wed Oct 19 01:31:51 1994
Date: Tue, 18 Oct 1994 20:58:00 EDT
Reply-To: Randy Finder <NARAHT@DRYCAS.CLUB.CC.CMU.EDU>
From: Randy Finder <NARAHT@DRYCAS.CLUB.CC.CMU.EDU>
To: Multiple recipients of list APO-L <APO-L%PURCCVM.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
>the staement I WAS AN EAGLE SCOUT is more than just a typo... for several
>reasons... maybe jeremy meant none fo them, but this is how things are read
>by many scouts (both old and new)
>1) once an eagle scout honor is awarded it is for life and can only be
>revoked by the BSA National Coucil (which I don't thionk has happened in the
>recent past..)
Most recent Eagle revocation was about 3 years ago. As of this point
9 Eagle awards have been revoked. All of these after the Eagle Scout was
convicted of a Felony (6 murder, 2 rape and 1 child molestation, I believe)
>2) so if you are saying WAS itmeansd that you have decided to no longer be an
Eagle Scout (a serious breech of faiht with the people who chose to honor you
with the award) or...
I disagree, While Eagle Scout is the highest rank in BSA, It is one
of the ranks in BSA. I doubt many people would react too strongly to the
statement "I was a Tenderfoot Scout." I have never seen anything
in the handbook about the Eagle Scout award being awarded in a different
mode that would cause a difference in the way it is described.
>2a) the BSA took it from you... this is also indicative of a serious breech of
>faith, and implies that you did something pretty bad (the National Council does
>n't become pissed too easily) or...
How is this different than 1)?
>3) you have forgotten what being an Eagle Scout is all about and the burden tha
>t you shoulder each day. While this doesn't hurt anyone else I would say that i
>t is a black mark against the character of the speaker.
4) He is using common usage to refer to an award given him in the past
in the past tense. For example: At work, the topic of Colorado comes up.
I mention that I went to Denver, when someone asks why I went to
Denver, my response might be: "I was a brother of Alpha Phi Omega and went
there for a convention." I do that without in my opinion insulting the
brotherhood.
Refering to being an Eagle scout also creates some strange combinations
of phrase such as "I am an Eagle Scout, I was a boy scout".
A less nebulous way of explaining things is
"I earned my Eagle Scout award."
>If you have read this far.. thank you for your courtesy and attention.
>And as usual I expect to get flamed for being pro-Scouting in anAPO setting, no
> big deal...
I don't think there are all that many people in APO who are not pro-scouting.
However there arew a great number of people who disagree with BSA specifically
in terms of membership requirements, especially in ways in which BSA differs
not only from APO, but from most of the other members organizations in
WOSM (World Organization of Scout Movements)
I would imagine if BSA has the membership requirements of, for example,
Scouts Canada. There would be much less likelihood of these type
of ammendments coming up.
>Hope that this cleared something up for you Greg if I seem to have made a big
>deal out of nothing please remember that there are many people who find
>Scouting to be more than just an organization for boys, but finds it to be a
>lifelong comittment to a set of ideals and the passing on of those ideals to
>the youth of the world.
When we become brothers of Alpha Phi Omega, we also commit to those ideals of
the Scout Oath and Law. However in certain ways, APO's interpretation
of the Scout Oath and Law differs from that of BSA.
>mike newman -- eagle scout
Randy Finder
Alpha Phi Omega Alumnus
(awarded star rank in BSA)
