Mr Ice Cream Glove posted:

https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/991671562809020417
https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/991673586233630720
https://twitter.com/CarmineSabia/status/991681483206266883
https://twitter.com/CoreyLMJones/status/991683970453602306

OldAlias posted:

real hard to read this as anything but weird irony

china bot posted:

one of my girlfriend's uncles has worked for the Boy Scouts for over 30 years. he recently melted down on her on Facebook because she was selling abstract art, and completely severed from their family over it

HenryJLittlefinger posted:

I was in scouts in the deep south all the way through eagle, and never experienced anything remotely rightwing beyond some basic patriotism and flag stuff that was even less emphasized than what you'd see in school. never was anything with a military bent at all. gun stuff was all just shooting for fun and gun safety, I don't think the words "second amendment" were ever used. religious services at camp were optional.

Rad-daddio posted:

I live in rural California, so maybe it's a matter of location or the fact that hardcore Republicans tend to feel a little more alienated in the Golden State.

Rad-daddio posted:

Has anyone touched on why her head is misshapen? I'n not judging, because we're all misshapen flesh bags. Just curious.

I still think she's sort of cute in an evil henchmen way.

Pennywise the Frown posted:

pages back, but whatever

I watch the American Heroes Channel (they have good documentaries) a lot and the shorter version of this commercial is on all the time late at night. Each time it comes on I can't believe it. And it comes on about every commercial break past 2am.

Rad-daddio posted:

I never understood why the Boy Scouts had such a hard line no gays policy.

I mean, those neckerchiefs are gay as hell.

Edgar posted:

My scout troop was an extension of my LDS mormon church's ward. So pretty much church.

Applewhite posted:

That's why. Their outfits and activities are so flagrantly homosexual in every aspect that if they didn't have an anti-gay policy, everyone would assume they are exclusively gay.

do u know jenny posted:

do u know jenny posted:

Applewhite posted:

That's why. Their outfits and activities are so flagrantly homosexual in every aspect that if they didn't have an anti-gay policy, everyone would assume they are exclusively gay.

Deki posted:

Yeah this is why I never went any further than Webelos. Lds troops are insular as gently caress.

Cleveland Scene posted:

The boys are arranged into a line, their arms folded tightly in front of their chests. If they move, if they make a sound, an Indian will fly down upon them for "correction." The Indian may put his hands on a boy's face to straighten his wandering eyes, or he may push a boy's legs together if he is fidgeting. Then each Indian lights a long flare. The noise is deafening, the sound of a thousand sparklers. The light they cast is a cancerous red glow on their quiet bodies. The air smells of brimstone.

The Indians begin running the scouts through the woods. The race takes them farther and farther into previously forbidden areas. Finally they come to a second clearing. There is another fire here, and the flares are extinguished.

Around this fire are Indian elders, who are painted with symbols of the different years of Pipestone: A teepee, a flower, an arrowhead. The medicine man sits next to a pile of bones, which look too big to be from animals. Behind them sits the chief, whose feathered headdress reaches the ground. In the chief's hand is a human skull.

One at a time, the boys are led to an Indian who holds a clamshell full of liquid. They are asked to swallow its contents without making a face. This is liquid Bytrex, the most bitter substance ever created; it's used in antifreeze so that babies won't drink it.

If they do not cringe, they go to the medicine man. He is holding a stone tablet, which the boys must read. It says:

Before these braves I promise to tell no other person of this ceremony.

An Indian keeps his word whether good or evil.

I go now to the Great Chief to learn the password of this First Degree.

The chief motions for the boy to join him. The scout is pushed to his knees and must look into the eyes of the skull, which sits in the chief's lap. Inside is the password: Secrecy. The scout is then handed a piece of stone -- pipestone -- which he can wear on his uniform. But the chief warns the boys: If they ever speak of what happens inside the circle, that stone can be taken from them forever.

They say that because they have always said it. Secrecy is another tradition at Camp Algonkin. Stories of ceremonial nudity, physical abuse, sexual advances, even suspicious death are expected to remain in the dark woods forever



........



The Indians -- ages 15 to 50 -- are allowed to "correct" the boys if they step out of line. In the not-too-distant past, things have gotten pretty rough. "It was certainly more physical in the early '90s," says Chip Bleakney, a pipestone holder and camp staff member for several years, beginning in 1995. "I saw some stuff that I thought was out of line. They really could have gotten their asses sued. Why would you want to hit an 11-year-old boy? It is abuse. I think it's part of the reason the secrecy thing was put in place. To cover it up. And it works."

It works so well that adults care more about obeying the chiefs than admitting lapses in safety. While sitting in on a ceremony that took place on June 9 -- those who have completed all five years of Pipestone may return for ceremonies -- I watched a young boy collapse in the circle from an apparent reaction to sulfuric smoke from the flares. Two Indians dragged him out of the circle and back up the paths toward camp. Later, I called the boy's father to get his reaction. Surprisingly, the kid's old man was also an active member. "We really shouldn't be talking about this," he said, citing the old rule. "I can take away your stone."

Ned Lauver, program director at Camp Algonkin and a pipestone holder, had a similar reaction when I called him. "Be careful," he warned. "If you break that first password, you may not ever be able to set foot in the ISH again."

The "ISH," or Indian Shower House, is a small, secluded facility located up a service road, across from camp. Only those who have completed all five years of Pipestone may enter. Each Friday night in the summer, 100 to 200 men and boys -- some as young as 15 -- visit the ISH to get dressed for the night's ceremonies. They are the volunteers who will scare the poo poo out of about 2,500 Boy Scouts over the course of the season.

Until at least the late '90s, Friday night at the ISH would begin with a spaghetti feast. Men would strip naked and sit outside the building eating pasta. Then they would cover their bodies with masonry paint, helping each other out with those hard-to-reach places, before donning loincloths. When women began earning pipestone, this changed a bit. Now, there is a partition, so that you can't see into the shower. A secret is better kept behind high walls.

"I was approached by someone in the shower," says a pipestone holder and ex-staff member of Algonkin, who does not want to be identified. It happened at the end of the night, at about 2 a.m., when everyone was rinsing off paint. "All this red crap was falling off their bodies. It's hard to tell who's who. He used an innuendo. He said, 'Do you need help getting some of the paint out of your rear end?' I quickly said no. I was 17." He reported the incident to a staff member, who then alerted Buckeye Council, but no charges were leveled. "The thing is, I can't identify him. I don't want to ruin someone's life."

"Sexual abuse could easily, easily happen, and there's no way to stop that from happening in some situations," says Bleakney, also recalling the practices at the ISH.

"Are we technically in violation of national policy? I can't argue that," concedes Johnson, referring to the shower arrangement. He maintains that there's no cause for alarm, though. "There is never a time when there's a boy alone with one adult."

Asked about the 17-year-old who complained of being propositioned, Johnson says, "I am absolutely, unequivocally unaware of that. There is nothing we take more seriously than youth protection."




..........


He also remembers the van Mills used to drive to Pipestone. Bocian had a chance to see it from the inside during a Buckeye Council pig roast. "He pushed me into the van. I remember him trying to undress me. I remember coming to and trying to fight him." What happened after that is "kinda fuzzy." He does remember being outside the van sometime later. His mother found him hiding in the woods.

The Bocian family contacted Jack Johnson, but no charges were filed against Mills or the camp, because Matt didn't want to talk. Mills denies that the incident took place. He left the scouting program at the behest of Buckeye Council, but Johnson maintains that neither Bocian nor the sweatlodge led to his departure. (Mills declined further comment.)

Buckeye Council does not require background checks for Pipestone volunteers if they come from outside the council. And the majority do. Instead of weeding out potential adult pedophiles, the Pipestone chiefs would rather talk to 14-year-olds about the dangers of becoming a homo.

The fourth-year Pipestone speech is so important that the Chief of Pipestone himself, Greg Swinehart, delivers it. This is the speech that once included, "Masturbation leads to curiosity." That word has been removed, but the theme remains that of the birds and the bees. Or, rather, the bees and the bees.

"Beware of homosexual encounters," Swinehart tells a group of fourth-year candidates on July 9. "Homosexuals are immature. They are stuck in childhood forever. Leave your close friendships with the same sex behind."




.........




The Boy Scouts remains a private organization, funded by sponsor groups. Their biggest supporter: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which threatened to sever ties if the Supreme Court ruled to allow homosexuals to become scout leaders in 2000.

"The Church, in this case, loves the sinner, but abhors the sin," says Don Russell, who works in the public affairs office at the Mormon headquarters in Salt Lake City.

The Latter-day Saints keep the money flowing into the organization by all but requiring their young men to join scouting. "I wouldn't use the word 'mandate'," says Russell, "but it's pretty close. You can safely say that almost all our youth are in scouting. Without a doubt, it's a huge amount of institutional support."





..........



On July 12, 1995, the staff at Camp Algonkin could tell something was wrong with one of the counselors who had just returned from a night campout with some first-year scouts. At 18, Todd was an extrovert, usually the loudest one at breakfast, but he wasn't eating that morning. He looked like a shadow of himself, drawn and hollow. As the hot day went on and the scouts didn't see him at camp again, the rumors began. The most widespread was that he'd gotten into a fight with another counselor, 24-year-old Mike Klingler.

The following morning, the staff was gathered behind the dining hall. By then, the rumors had escalated to insinuations of sexual abuse, and tensions were high. We were told by Jeff Gonzales, our camp director, that Klingler had been fired, then had gone home and killed himself. We were stunned. Then, an hour later, we were gathered again and told the coroner had made a mistake: a bullet had ricocheted off a tree as Klingler was shooting at pop cans. The fight with Todd, we were told, was over Klingler's having beer in his tent.

Todd, who never returned to Algonkin, heard all this for the first time last month. "That's as far from the truth as can be," he said, but refused to elaborate. After agreeing to be interviewed, he changed his mind, deciding to not relive the incident. It's hard to blame him.

Police reports fill in most of the blanks and reveal the lie told to the staff back then. The following is from Todd's handwritten account:

About 11:30-11:45 PM, I went to bed and then sometime after midnight, Mike Klingler pulled off my blanket and woke me up. He asked me if everyone was accounted for. I quickly began to walk around the shelter to count [the younger scouts] and Mike grabbed the back of my shirt and took me to another camp sight and began choking, punching, kicking and hitting me. He took me behind one of the shelters and made me jack him off. He caught the ejaculate and smeared it on my face and hair. He beat me some more. He called me gay. He pulled down my pants and made me continue hugging the tree which was covered in poison ivy. He pulled me off of the tree and told me to go back to bed and if I told anyone about this he would kill me. He said he should have killed me that night.

Todd made it through the night, staring into the blackness beyond the trees and wondering with every snap of a twig from the underbrush whether Klingler was coming back for him. In the morning, he woke the younger campers and marched them back to Camp Algonkin. Once the scouts were again with their separate troops, he allowed himself to finally break down, telling his story to the camp chaplain.

The chaplain's written account states that Don Schneck, the Buckeye Council representative who escorted Klingler from camp, said that Klingler began to come unhinged. Schneck told the chaplain that as he packed, Klingler was mumbling about a suspicious 1993 fire on the grounds -- which Klingler was rumored to have started -- and about when he could get his last paycheck.

Prester Jane posted:

I don't know how it is now but back in the 90's there was some hardcore poo poo going on in some of the more rural camps. I interned as a counselor-in-training at the camp described in this article and was standing in the chow hall when they announced that counselor Mike Klingler had been fired the night before and then gone home and killed himself. A Brave never tells: Strange and erotic tales from inside the Boy Scouts most secret society.


So the fire being mentioned there is the Trading Post fire in 1993, and it was widely known that Klingler had said it. (In point of fact my younger brother was one of the Webelos Scouts who discovered him leaving the scene of the fire carrying empty coffee cans that reaked of kerosene.) The general rumor was that Klingler had burned the trading post down under the instructions senior staff, something about insurance claims on a bunch of super expensive kitchen equipment that had been destroyed in an accident a couple of days before iirc.


Working there was a strange experience at the time. Even though I was staff (and had my 2nd year stone) I barely knew anything at all about how Pipestone was organized and run- the camp was itself basically owned by a local subsidiary of the Latter Day Saints and the entire senior staff was all Mormons. I was under the impression that a lot of the people who came in to participate as "Indians" were people who either had some sort of connection to senior staff or some sort of connection to the Mormon church.

HenryJLittlefinger posted:

do u know jenny posted:

Bogus Adventure posted:

FAGGY CLAUSE posted: