Monday, November 16, 2009
While I was hoping to do daily postings related to the upcoming Hampshire BDS conference, yesterday got tied up with my older kid's first Boy Scout overnight (which included the tail end of a tropical storm).
Which got me thinking... (Note to new readers: This is point where my regulars start fleeing the room, but if you stick with me for a couple of paragraphs, relevance to divestment should start to emerge.)
In documenting the interaction between BDS and civic society over the last five years, most of the organizations I've written about (the Presbyterian and Methodist churches, British trade unions, etc.) are alien enough to my personal experience that they required some research and outreach to understand.
The Boy Scouts, however, is not a stranger. I grew up in the movement and, as last weekend's overnight confirmed, it is just as dynamic as it was in the 1970s when I wore the khaki. More so, in fact, since I was at the tail end of a misguided attempt to reach inner-city kids by diluting the mix of outdoor skills and self reliance that formed the core of Scouting for most of the 20th century, a trend that was reversed once people realized that cutting wood, pitching tents, and building fires were exactly what urban boys (like all Scouts) wanted (and needed) to learn.
In an era when many of the planets problems are the result of (or fueled by) directionless, adolescent males, a movement designed to instill young men with a moral code, as well as a code of chivalry (in the form of the Scout Oath and Law) stands out as one of the most successful civic experiments of this or any other era. It's been a hundred years since Lord Baden Powell wrote Scouting for Boys, but I can draw a straight line between his first recruits at the turn of the last century, and the highly skilled, generous souls who welcomed my ten-year-old into their fold during last weekend's driving rainstorm.
Now I've written on the topic of civil society before, and I should stress that Scouting as an organization is fully inoculated from manipulation by political organizations like those pushing divestment. So in this case, I'm not talking about Boy Scouts as a civic institution at risk, but rather highlighting the difference between a movement dedicated to creation, and one committed to destruction.
This contrast became clear as I began to ask about what our side might want to do in order to tell our side of the story at Hampshire. This was generally met with shaking heads and grim laughter since the rule on the Hampshire campus seems to be: agree with SJP or suffer the consequences. And this bullying attitude seems to extend beyond just Hampshire to the entire Five College region where any speaker looking to share a pro-Israel point of view can expect to be harangued off the stage (all in the name of "disrupting the Zionist narrative," of course). In fact, one of the reasons it was so easy for SJP to broadcast the Hampshire Divestment hoax earlier this year was because of their success in pushing discussion of any "narrative" that did not fit their own point of view beyond the pale.
Now having been a Boy Scout, I know full well the institutions weaknesses, flaws and limitations, just as I am well aware of all of the many things that make Israel a hugely imperfect society. And yet, compare an organization that has taught generations of boys from around the world to link arms rather than swing fists, or a country that has turned Jews from a hundred lands into a nation, with the sour emptiness that underlies the BDS "movement."
Divestment does not welcome, it shuns anyone who refuses to tow the party line. It does not build, it seeks to destroy. It creates no civic space worthy of esteem, but rather attempts to piggyback on the reputation of organizations that actually stand for something.
One of Baden Powell's more well-known maxims says "If a scout were to break his honour by telling a lie . . . he would cease to be a scout--he loses his life." A bit dramatic, in a turn of the 20th century kind of way, but what a contrast with next week's the Hampshire divestment conference which -at the end of the day - is built on the knowing perpetuation of a fraud.
Im very pro Boy Scouts as well, Solomon.
Its one organization that serves the interests of males, to the exclusion of others...and unabashedly so...with little political correctness impinging upon it. The Feminists havnt destroyed it and made it into a unisexual monstrosity that subverts the institution to serve the interests of Leftwingers and the opposite sex (although it is still immensely beneficial to both civil society and women).
May the Boy Scouts continue their fantastic work. I cant say enough about them.
Its too bad that many other institutions have been torn down by the Western New Left. Cherish the ones that are still standing.
Oh fer pete's sake.
I admire the Boy Scouts too (and the Girl Scouts, 4-H, ROTC.....)
Most of us have figured out that Boys and Girls Are Different.
This is not the same thing as systematic discrimination against women.
The idea that Somebody is attempting to create a "unisexual monstrosity" is sheer paranoia. In any case "unisexuality" has nothing to do with Feminism.
In fact, your comment reminds me of a lot of the bigotry against Israel, which implies that it's an either/or situation - equality/self determination of Jews = dishonor for Arabs (or others), which is both ridiculous and harmful.
As to Sol's point about creativity as opposed to destruction: I agree entirely.
The whole anti-Israel movement seems to be about destruction rather than trying to build better conditions in the Middle East.
I don't see why Palestinian, Arab, Muslim or Christian dignity, self-determination etc have to come at the expense of another nation.
By the same token Israel's existence didn't depend upon the harming of Arabs. Bad things happened as a tragic outcome of war, not a Jewish design. In fact hundreds of thousands of Arab Jews lost everything also.
Yet it's a popular lie akin to the "Zionism is racism" meme. Helping the Palestinians entails harming the Israelis.
This is what Richard Landes calls "zero-sum" and so many people in the divestment movement and other anti-Israel movements seem to ascribe to this philosophy rather than seeking creative, win/win solutions.
Why is negativity so popular?
Is there a desire to punish the Israelis? Put them "in their place"?
Just a note that I am not the author of this one.
LOL!
Im unabashedly pro male Sophia. If that sticks in your craw, then that is your problem, not mine. You may need some diversity sensitivity training.
Being pro male isnt anti female. Being pro Christian isnt anti Jew. Being pro English isnt anti Pakistani.
And yet...the pervasive and continuing villification of these groups which has advanced to ill unequal treatment is right up your alley.
White is beautiful!
Sorry, I meant Jon - apologies!
EV. I have zero problem with men, maleness, and some of my best friends are white people.
That is fantastic!
Some of my best friends are Jews!
Maybe we could get together sometime for some intra-diveristy cultural interaction.
Christians arent too bad either, once you get to know them.
;)
"Some of my best friends are Jews!"
Somehow I don't quite see it, unless you count me as one of your best friends... :)
Y'all Come Back to Judaism Now, Hear?
The Virtues of Being a Jew in the American South
http://www.jewcy.com/post/yall_come_back_judaism_now_hear
Jon Haber, my best to you. The SJP has shown themselves not to be courteous, or friendly. By opposing them, and in your manner of opposing them you have shown yourself to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful and brave. Your recognition of the scouting leaders suggest that you are kind, your suggestions about positive action show you to be cheerful, and I have every confidence that you are obedient, thrifty and reverent.
I wish that I had realized what scouting had offered me when I was a kid. My only regret as an adult is that scouting makes little or no allowance for those who are Shabbos-observant.
(One quibble to an otherwise excellent post -- the fiugre of speech is "toe the line", not "tow the line.")
First off, thanks for the kind words and thanks to Yankev on the correct figure of speech. I tend to average at least one embarrasing typo or linguistic error per posting (such as misspelling “embarrassing”), and appreciate any help in ensuring that the same blunder does not happen more than once.
I appreciate the lively debate over the Boy Scouts and can only add that, like Israel, the Scouts tends to attract political criticism that is often a stand in for another issue (the culture wars, gay rights, religion vs. atheism, or in the case of Israel general Left-Right American politics).
While I understand that these are important issues that need to be discussed, my own tendency is to discuss them on their own terms and proceed with caution that I am not using an institution I respect (such as the Scouts) as a pallet on which I can paint political opinions that are not necessarily about Scouting per se. In other words, arguments over the rights of gay men and women and debates over religious belief vs. non-belief have their place, but I’m not entirely sure they need to get played out over a 100 year old civic institution whose virtues so clearly outweigh its vices.
Sophia, Im really enjoying the comments at Harry's Place over Laurie Penny.
That whole discussion is why the West is so screwed up.
I seek to replicate the attitude of Laurie Penny (and Judy) in a gaggle of groups that have been marginalized by the Western New Left.
Then perhaps you will see the harm in it. Im gonna enjoy every minute of it.
EscapeHoffman
Sophia,
I don't see why Palestinian, Arab, Muslim or Christian dignity, self-determination etc have to come at the expense of another nation.
You need first of all to understand the culture and its teachings.
It seems that the Fort Hood massacre opened some eyes while others continue blind.
Read Richard Landes' discussion on honour in his HONOR JIHAD PARADIGM
Arab leaders view any compromise with Israel as “losing face,”
The HJP understands the Arab-Israeli conflict through the prism of honor-shame culture and Islamic jihad. These elements of Arab culture are the main factors that have made it impossible to reach a solution to the conflict.
Read it all as it is basically describes everything one needs to know to understand why.
I don't see why Palestinian, Arab, Muslim or Christian dignity, self-determination etc have to come at the expense of another nation. -- Sophia
I dont see why Black/Paki, Female, Jewish or Muslim dignity, self determination etc have to come at the expense of another nation. -- AbbieVelocity the WASP
While I understand that these are important issues that need to be discussed, my own tendency is to discuss them on their own terms and proceed with caution that I am not using an institution I respect (such as the Scouts) as a pallet on which I can paint political opinions that are not necessarily about Scouting per se. In other words, arguments over the rights of gay men and women and debates over religious belief vs. non-belief have their place, but I’m not entirely sure they need to get played out over a 100 year old civic institution whose virtues so clearly outweigh its vices. --- Jon Haber
While that is a nice sentiment Jon, that bus has long left the station. The New Left attacks institutions and forces their zeitgeist upon them, via any means necessary. There favorite tactic is to shop for Leftwing judges and bring lawsuits. Merely the threat of lawsuits is enough to have institutions bow before the Politically Correct New Left Identity Politics Mob.
The Boy Scouts have been attacked and have fought back and are still standing. They are the exception and not the rule, sadly.
The title should read Par For The Western Leftist Course instead of Unreal.
Unreal: SEIU Considering Legal Action Against City For Allowing Eagle Scout to Clear Walking Path, "No One Except a Union Worker Can Pick Up a Shovel".
http://www.weaselzippers.net/blog/2009/11/unreal-seiu-considering-legal-action-against-city-for-allowing-eagle-scout-to-clear-walking-path-no-.html