Are the girl scouts evil or good?

[snooper2]

daughter just started kindergarten and now I'm starting to hear some murmurs from MIL and wife about girl scouts-

I got this flyer from her school with some info and one of the "information nights" is a church close by then a a McDonald's and a Starbucks. Not going to let her get indoctrinated into mythology LOL (although MIL would love that)


All she knows as of now is lots of different people believe in lots of different religions. Daddy, can I go to church sometime like "her BFF" does every Sunday. No, maybe down the road as you learn about religion but not now. Shit, was easier a year ago when she used to ask what every building was for. That's a window store, that's a storage unit place, what's that tall building daddy? That's where old people go who are lonely

[sarisataka]

1. Evil come packaged

in little boxes of deliciousness goodness



Here is the limit of religious teaching I have seen at my daughter's Girl Scout meetings

On my honor, I will try:
To serve God and my country,
To help people at all times,
And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

[sharp_stick]

2. It's great

my daughter loves it. No indoctrination at all, at least here.

[flamin lib]

3. Girl Scouts are NOTHING like Boy Scouts.

They are open and inviting to everyone regardless of or in spite of religion, sexual orientation or anything else I can think of. The organization is dedicated to every girl being independent, strong and accepted.

Plus the GS cookie program is great training for hard work, ingenuity and marketing. Besides they're damn good cookies and have NO calories. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

[snooper2]

15. thanks for the info and all others, guess I'll have to check out the troop leaders are

I'm in the DFW area so you know how it can be

[d_r]

16. Plus most troops are more boring

and don't go outside enough. So every year my daughter wants to drop out after a few meetings of sitting around talking, but then she wants to go back every fall because we do some fun outdoor thing in the summer and she wants to have a patch for it.

One family dropped out of my troop because they girl scout promise had the words "to serve God and my country" in it. And we were about as secular as you could possibly be. As was my son's boy scout pack. But whatever.

[pinboy3niner]

4. Is there any doubt?

[justhanginon]

11. I frickin' love that. Every time it is GS cookie sales time

I make sure to send that little gem out to my friends. For some reason, whenever I see that I just bust out laughing. I'm lsughing as I type this.

[onehandle]

5. Good. My wife was a scout leader for a while.

This was in a reddish upper-class area of a suburb of Atlanta.

She made sure that these relatively privileged girls learned to be generous with their free time and open to diversity.

[Brickbat]

6. The Girl Scouts is an independent organization and not affiliated at all with the Boy Scouts.

As with all volunteer organizations, much depends on the people involved.

[TexasBushwhacker]

7. My mother was anti indoctrination also

When we moved to a very Catholic neighborhood when I was 8, we started going to a Unitarian church. You might want to try it.

My memories of Girl Scouts are good.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

8. They're more evil than Big Tobacco.

They sell quite possibly the most addictive product known to man.

They're pure evil, I tell you!

[hifiguy]

9. Girl Scouts are great.

Light years ahead of the reactionary Boy Scouts. And they come bearing Samoas.

[stevenleser]

10. It's all about the trefoils man, the TREFOILS!!!!!!!!

[hifiguy]

12. I see a drooling Homer Simpson

captioned "mmmm. Girl Scout cookies..."

[stevenleser]

13. Fortunately, these days I steer away from any food temptations, but just seeing them here and yes

I am exactly the caricature you wrote!

[DeadLetterOffice]

14. Nah, it's the Thin Mints. Every. Damn. Time.

[cyberswede]

26. But why do they come in a 2-serving box? nt

[Kali]

27. !

[hifiguy]

29. Now that is an excellent question.

And just where are those homunculi coming from that are eating all those cookies when I am not looking. No way did I eat the whole box in one sitting.

[NCjack]

17. My two daughters were Girl Scouts 30 years ago. They made quality

friendships that still exist. My wife was one of their Den Mothers, and I attended some of the camps as a guardian. This Friday, we will have dinner with our daughters, one of their GS friends, and her daughter. Don't let this opportunity pass by -- you and your wife should participate as well. Did I mention that it is fun and strengthens family bonds?

[Arugula Latte]

18. Good. But the Boy Scouts are scary.

I've been to Eagle ceremonies -- Holy Shit. If you like rightwing religion, jingoism, and flag worship you will like the Boy Scouts. Ugh.

[hifiguy]

22. I used to work for a guy who had been an Eagle Scout.

It must not have taken on him. I managed his bookstore, where he sold the weirdest underground shit imaginable, including porn comics, in addition to sci-fi, comics, and gaming stuff. The Anarchist Cookbook was always a must-stock. Sold dozens of 'em. He was a big shot in the Comic Book Defense Fund - a hard core First Amendment absolutist group. One of his best friends in the industry is Neil Gaiman, who came in to the store regularly for signings. Neil is a perfectly lovely fellow and perhaps the best-read human I have ever met.

David Lynch was an Eagle Scout as well, IIRC.

VERY strange.

[Arugula Latte]

34. I'm sure there are plenty of cool Boy/Eagle Scouts and former Boy Scouts ...

and I know that individual troops vary widely. The organization as a whole, though, gives me the creeps.

[hifiguy]

35. Me, too.

I was a Cub Scout when I was a wee lad in the mid-1960s and had fun, but not enough to continue with it. The best part was that we could wear our uniforms to school on den-meeting days.

[One_Life_To_Give]

19. They are Certainly Evil

They have known links to such vile groups as Planned Parenthood. For which the American Family Association has instituted a Boycott against their Cookies. (Which arguably are some sort of intoxicating substance intended to separate people from the lord.)

More recently they have demonstrated an inability to tell the difference between little boys and little girls.
They openly treat them as little girls. Surely this is a sign the apocalypse is upon us.

Please take your precious child to a place where they can be brought up properly.

[hifiguy]

21. More than reason enough to buy a couple of

extra boxes of cookies every year!

[brer cat]

20. Many girl scout troops are allowed free meeting spaces in churches

but they are in no way associated with any church. Both my daughter's troop and now my granddaughters' are very inclusive and have no religious indoctrination.

[Generic Other]

23. There was no religious indoctrination in my troop

Patriotic jingoism galore. And no matter how you slice it, a bit of regimentation. Nonetheless, the organization did promote girl power when few others did back in the day. I recall earning merit badges for teaching myself to do useful things including survival skills, political activism, environmental awareness, creative endeavors. And yes, I once sold more cookies than anyone else in my city. In a uniform. Door-to-door. For no pay whatsoever other than earning our troop a trip to camp. Because that was just the kind of girl I was.

And still am. The "Thin Mints" melted their way into many hearts! LOL.

[Ace Rothstein]

24. Thin mints are the crack cocaine of cookies.

I could eat an entire sleeve of them in minutes.

[Fawke Em]

25. Ironic!

My daughter is going to a GS informational meeting tonight.

I think her Daddy wants her to go for the cookies, alone.

[jberryhill]

28. You could let her make up her mind

[justamama83]

30. I was a Girl Scout leader for 4 years

I had a huge Brownie troop- then became more involved and added the Daisy troop when my youngest started kindergarten and then finally Juniors. It was a great experience- my kids made a lot of friends- so did I. Yes, there are some that get upset because apparently Planned Parenthood supports them- I have been told that I was a horrible person for being a leader since I was teaching the girls about abortion- I was like umm they are 6 years old I don't think so. There are a lot of troops that meet in churches- that doesn't mean that all the members are going to preach- our troop was held in a church and all were welcome- religion never came into it. Girl Scouts is a wonderful organization- when they are in high school if they complete their Gold Service Project (similar to Eagle Scout) there are all kinds of perks they can receive like scholarships and grants.

[Rex]

31. It is a well known fact that the Girl Scouts of America are just a front group for

__________ and __________________.

[beltanefauve]

32. As a scout in the '70s

I learned a lot about girl power and developed self confidence. I went to Girl Scout camp too, and it was at a lower rate than any other camp around. I still love the outdoors and take my family camping today.

[CrispyQ]

33. It's been decades since I was a Girl Scout, but I loved it

& I have lots of fond memories from my meetings & events with them.

[OnionPatch]

36. My daughter was a Girl Scout

and I was a leader for a very short time. She outgrew it a few years ago. But I think the Girl Scouts are great. The activities we participated in were not religious in the least and were very educational and/or altruistic. There was an occasional meeting in a local church but no "indoctrination" took place. FYI, I'm an agnostic and my daughter, who is 15 now, is a self-proclaimed atheist.

I think it's possible you could run into a troop with adults/leaders who try to push their religion into it but the larger group is secular.