"Honest Girl Scouts": I CAN'T EVEN

[Destiny]

honestgirlscouts.com

This website enraged me - to the point where I went to girlscouts.org and pressed the volunteer button. How dare we teach our girls to actually follow the Girl Scout law they espouse in the header, by teaching them to tolerate people who might be different from them? It's anarchy I tells ya!

(Disclosure: I was a scout for ~10 years before I decided I would rather be in band.)

[crawfishgirl]

I will never understand why these idiots are so against Planned Parenthood - don't they care about pap smears, mammograms and other female-related health issues??

My daughter is a Brownie Girl Scout (2nd grade). Last time I looked, there were no discussions of anything of a sexual matter - though I'd be fine with it, as long as it was age appropriate. And of course, being inclusive of others is the right thing to do and teach. The main focus of my daughter's troop seems to be learning first aid and visiting the SPCA - nothing "unpure" or "unclean" as this site suggests.

[keen23]

My Brownie Troop spent yesterday's meeting working on their sinful pottery badge. I mean, we made COIL bowls. The HORROR. And, our cookie funds are going to be used for trip to the BIOSPHERE.

[Destiny]

I will never understand why these idiots are so against Planned Parenthood - don't they care about pap smears, mammograms and other female-related health issues??

My daughter is a Brownie Girl Scout (2nd grade). Last time I looked, there were no discussions of anything of a sexual matter - though I'd be fine with it, as long as it was age appropriate. And of course, being inclusive of others is the right thing to do and teach. The main focus of my daughter's troop seems to be learning first aid and visiting the SPCA - nothing "unpure" or "unclean" as this site suggests.

ITA re: the hate for PP. I've used PP's services. I was young, had never had a pap smear, and was contemplating becoming sexually active. I was doing the "right thing" and preparing beforehand. (Of course, it was another 5 years before I married the guy, so clearly I was acting like a cheap slut, right?) PP gave me the BC I needed, an exam I had never had, and all in a completely nonjudgemental atmosphere. I will always appreciate that.

I can't comprehend why these guys don't see more than just OMG!!!!11111eleven ABORTION1111 from PP.

[So Says I]

I've always just felt more comfortable using PP. I go there for pap smears and they also inserted my iud and have followed up on it. I also took a family member there for HPV treatment and for a Mirena insertion. I don't even think PP provides abortions in my state, just referrals. I have always given donations through work when they do the Community Health Chairties drive each year. I always thought of GSA of a pretty feminist organization and am angered to hear that some are anti-PP. I don't have a daughter, but we've kept my son out of Boy Scouts due to their homophobic stance. I wish there were a more progressive minded group for our boys and girls to be involved in.

[Nothing2CHere]

I can't click on the link, or I know I'll go all :angry-banghead: about it, but have these people ever BEEN to a Girl Scout troop meeting? When I was in middle school, which, if any sex-related talk at a Girl Scout function is going to happen it would probably have been in that time frame, and we talked about cookie sales, sang songs, and my friend & I passed notes back & forth all meeting long.

I am also one who managed to use PP for something other than an abortion. I'd recently lost my job but wanted to keep taking my birth control, and was able to get it through PP rather than paying who knows what I would have had to pay through the regular pharmacy. But I guess they'd consider my pills just as bad as an abortion, too.

[SquirrelySquirrel]

From the site:

FACTOID:

Did you know that radical feminist Betty Friedan, founder of NOW (National Organization for Women) and NARAL (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League) was on the National Board of GSUSA for 12 years?

And? This shit just makes me even more happy that my kiddo is a Daisy and that I am also a scout again, so I can help with her troop.

My Brownie Troop spent yesterday's meeting working on their sinful pottery badge. I mean, we made COIL bowls. The HORROR. And, our cookie funds are going to be used for trip to the BIOSPHERE.

Our cookie funds are going to send us to the zoo, and then we're going to take the girls shopping for pet food, beds, and toys for the local animal shelter. I'm sure there's something sinful and evil about helping animals.

[Rainytown]

I didn't have health insurance while young and single. PP did my yearly exam. When I decided I wanted to become sexually active, I went to them for birth control. I will always donate to them; they offer education and prevention. Performing safe, legal abortions is less than 1% of their business.

Let's talk about my experience with the Camp Fire girls; it may offer some illumination in this discussion. We met in a local parent's basement "rec room", which was covered in black velvet paintings of nude females. People are free to decorate their homes as they would like, but it was embarrassing for fifth-grade me to be confronted with an adult woman who mocked and belittled any girl who didn't properly appreciate her "art". This was in the early 70's. It remains comical to me that the poutrage of those who started the above website is directed at PP, when we all know a child belonging to Girl Scouts, Camp Fire or other orgs is much more likely to be molested by one of the leaders than find herself reading PP propaganda at a meeting, or undergoing an abortion against her consent.

[hahe77]

I am a Junior leader (4th & 5th grade) and I get so frustrated by the anti-girl scout crap. I can't do anything with my troop without filling out a tree's worth of paperwork. I can't talk to my girls about anything sensitive without a signed permission form from parents. We do My Faith, My Promise once a year which connects the Girl Scout Promise to the bible. We say the pledge at every meeting. I don't know how any of the female role models we talk about in our journey feels about abortion. It's not important. What is important is teaching girls that they can be and do anything they want.

So what does my demon troop do for others?

1. Adopted a family for Christmas. We provided gifts and Christmas dinner to a single mom and her two children.

2. We rang the bell for Salvation Army twice during Christmas.

3. We did a can food drive around Halloween and donated what we collected to a food pantry.

4. We collected 48 boxes of cookies for the troops.

5. Make valentine cards for an aircraft carrier.

6. Will take some of our cookie money to help the local humane society. This will also result in my girls earning their Bronze Award. This is the highest award a Junior can get.

[ShadowyOne]

After a quick skim of this (poorly-designed) site, they don't even seem to be condemning PP as an abortion provider, they object to the basic women's health services that they provide! A headline under the "discover" (quotation marks theirs!) the truth column reads:

WAGGGS IPPF: YSAFE advocates young people's Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

Oh noes!!! We can't advocate for that! All of the women's health care that previous posters have stated that they received at PP wouldn't be approved of, either. Idiots (the folks behind the website, not the previous posters).

[hahe77]

Last year at a cookie booth, my 4th grade daughter and another scout asked an older woman if she would like to buy some cookies. Instead of saying no thank you, she screamed "No I wouldn't and let me tell you why. You support Planned Parenthood." The leader told her that wasn't true but said thank you anyway. Instead of walking away, the woman kept screaming about planned parenthood.

My daughter freaked out and started crying. The other girl wanted to know what Planned Parenthood was. As a parent, I wanted to follow the woman to her car and beat her behind for doing that to a 9 year old. But the leader held me back.

[Ellimenopy]

Last year at a cookie booth, my 4th grade daughter and another scout asked an older woman if she would like to buy some cookies. Instead of saying no thank you, she screamed "No I wouldn't and let me tell you why. You support Planned Parenthood." The leader told her that wasn't true but said thank you anyway. Instead of walking away, the woman kept screaming about planned parenthood.

My daughter freaked out and started crying. The other girl wanted to know what Planned Parenthood was. As a parent, I wanted to follow the woman to her car and beat her behind for doing that to a 9 year old. But the leader held me back.

What the hell? Why do conservative old ladies think they have the right to be bitches in public? Why couldn't she just say, "no, thank you," and then go tsk tsk in Sunday School with her old lady friends?

[ADoyle90815]

What the hell? Why do conservative old ladies think they have the right to be bitches in public? Why couldn't she just say, "no, thank you," and then go tsk tsk in Sunday School with her old lady friends?

One thing I know is that I'm proud to have been a Girl Scout until most of us decided we wanted to do other things by high school, and will continue to support them every cookie season as I love pissing off conservative old bitches like that. If I had seen that happen, I would probably buy a case worth of cookies. After all, one of my aunts used PP after she was married and had a child, but her health insurance wouldn't cover treatment for a gynecological issue, but PP was able to treat it successfully.

[snarkbillie]

I've always just felt more comfortable using PP. I go there for pap smears and they also inserted my iud and have followed up on it. I also took a family member there for HPV treatment and for a Mirena insertion. I don't even think PP provides abortions in my state, just referrals. I have always given donations through work when they do the Community Health Chairties drive each year. I always thought of GSA of a pretty feminist organization and am angered to hear that some are anti-PP. I don't have a daughter, but we've kept my son out of Boy Scouts due to their homophobic stance. I wish there were a more progressive minded group for our boys and girls to be involved in.

It's called Campfire.

[rward]

I've always just felt more comfortable using PP. I go there for pap smears and they also inserted my iud and have followed up on it. I also took a family member there for HPV treatment and for a Mirena insertion. I don't even think PP provides abortions in my state, just referrals. I have always given donations through work when they do the Community Health Chairties drive each year. I always thought of GSA of a pretty feminist organization and am angered to hear that some are anti-PP. I don't have a daughter, but we've kept my son out of Boy Scouts due to their homophobic stance. I wish there were a more progressive minded group for our boys and girls to be involved in.

I love Planned Parenthood, too. I get all my gyn needs there. They're so welcoming of everyone, from every background and I know there won't be any judgment. Any other doctor, I have to wonder, will they think I'm a slut if I tell them how many people I've had sex with? What if I admit I had an abortion? I don't want to go to a doctor who thinks I'm horrible, so I go to PP and am secure in the knowledge that they only care about my health, nothing more.

[Marilla-Cuthbert2013]

What the hell? Why do conservative old ladies think they have the right to be bitches in public? Why couldn't she just say, "no, thank you," and then go tsk tsk in Sunday School with her old lady friends?

Personally, there is a special place in hell for conservative old ladies that make little girls selling Girl Scout Cookies cry. Just saying. :x

[Savoring Samsara]

Personally, there is a special place in hell for conservative old ladies that make little girls selling Girl Scout Cookies cry. Just saying. :x

Yeah, I bet Jesus was looking down from Heaven in pride at how she told off that 9-year-old girl. Talk about speaking truth to power!

[YPestis]

I've read in a NYTimes article that while churches loooooooove the Boy Scouts, many feel ambivalent about the Girl Scouts. Some church groups even have their own, more conservative Girl Scout equivalent groups. It's odd to me, as both groups offer many of the same values. They want to train young children to be moral, strong leaders of the future. I don't think it's really the planned parenthood-abortion-Girl-Scout conspiracy that deters so many, I suspect it's that Girl Scouts encourages girls to be strong, independent leaders. It's not said out loud, but there's an underlying fear that Girl Scouts will raise a a generation of women who are career minded and not as family focused.

The Mormon church incorporated the Boy Scouts into their boys' church program and yet some of those same churches refuse to let Girl Scout troops meet there. What's good for the boys is not good for the girls. I think the Planned Parenthood link just reinforces this "liberal" stereotype. Instead of complaining that they don't want girls to be focused on careers, conservative focus on abortion. However, abortion is never about abortion in this country. It's codeword among conservatives for all the social values gone wrong with this country. Abortion is equal to turning girls away from families, turning into their career focused lesbians, away from church and home. The Girl Scouts are just victims of this mentality.

I have never been a Girl Scout but I love their cookies. I also love how Girl Scouts' inclusive attitude towards gays and other spiritual beliefs. The Boy Scouts, while striving to be morally pure, comes off as intolerant and narrow in their thinking. I hope the Boy Scouts will finally join the new century in their acceptance of gays. I know it's difficult with such a strong Catholic and Mormon dominated group to open up to gay members but they need to figure out if the Boy Scouts is a figurehead for the religious conservatives, or a mainstream group for everyone.

[wildcatgrrl]

I have a troop of Daisies, Brownies, and Juniors. Last year I warned my moms about the possibility some nutter might go off at a booth about PP. Luckily, no one did. From what I can gather, the big stink seems to be that GS/WAGGS had a presence at the same convention that PP did, which of course totes means we're all in cahoots to teach Kindergartners about abortions and why they should have one.

At our last meeting, we learned about proper hygiene and did assorted activities for the World Thinking Day badge. Next meeting, we'll learn about malaria prevention and ways to care for moms, for the Global Action Award. We also donate cookies to the troops, we've made blankets for Project Linus, Valentines for an old folks' home, and dog and cat toys for shelter critters. I'm so indoctrinating them. Mwa ha ha.

Hahe77, congrats on your girls earning their Bronze! Which Journey did you do? My girls don't like them but they have to for the higher awards.

Edited to remove ex'tra a'postrophe because I know better.

[hahe77]

Hahe77, congrats on your girls earning their Bronze! Which Journey did you do? My girls don't like them but they have to for the higher awards.

We did Agent of Change. I feel like the journeys and even badge work is more like being at school. So I try to make it fun for the girls. I wish that we could still do the old badges. They took away all the math and science badges and replaced them with how to make jewelry.

The issue I have with Girl Scouts is the adults in the organization. Back stabbing, two faced women and bitchiness. If you don't kiss the behind of higher ups, then exspect to be put under a microscope. It's really insane.

[ems]

From the site:

Our cookie funds are going to send us to the zoo, and then we're going to take the girls shopping for pet food, beds, and toys for the local animal shelter. I'm sure there's something sinful and evil about helping animals.

That would probably fall under "gets girls comfortable with global warming alarmism, group-think, eco-activism and advocacy for liberal-left causes" (from one of the links)

[wildcatgrrl]

We did Agent of Change. I feel like the journeys and even badge work is more like being at school. So I try to make it fun for the girls. I wish that we could still do the old badges. They took away all the math and science badges and replaced them with how to make jewelry.

The issue I have with Girl Scouts is the adults in the organization. Back stabbing, two faced women and bitchiness. If you don't kiss the behind of higher ups, then exspect to be put under a microscope. It's really insane.

Word on the two-facedness. I've seen that more at the Troop Leader level than SU/Area/Council though. My troop is focusing on legacy, associated, and yearly badges. It's really all I can do anyway, because now I'm a full-time college student with even less time to plan. But the girls are enjoying it much more than they did in the first half of this year when we were attempting Journeys.

It also cracks me up that they offer Journey-in-a-weekend or Journey-in-4-sessions badges. Easier on the troops? Yes. But more expensive and seeming to miss the point of the Journey? Well, yes, but if the girls can get their awards, then OK.

[PennySycamore]

Word on the two-facedness. I've seen that more at the Troop Leader level than SU/Area/Council though. My troop is focusing on legacy, associated, and yearly badges. It's really all I can do anyway, because now I'm a full-time college student with even less time to plan. But the girls are enjoying it much more than they did in the first half of this year when we were attempting Journeys.

It also cracks me up that they offer Journey-in-a-weekend or Journey-in-4-sessions badges. Easier on the troops? Yes. But more expensive and seeming to miss the point of the Journey? Well, yes, but if the girls can get their awards, then OK.

Do they think that the leaders in Camp Beverly Hills and that Hallmark Channel movie about Girl Scouts were role models to be emulated?

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I just starting going to PP, got a pap smear. I'm quite happy that the teens going there for birth control are choosing not to breed yet. BC prevents abortion and all that comes with unwanted pregnancies. But the main reason I love PP is that they have detected precancerous cervical cells in two of my friends, and then did further testing, and treatment. The leep (sp) procedure and others. All very expensive and all provided free of charge. Things that they never would have gotten because they never could have afforded the initial appointment. PP will always be seen as a life saving organization to me.

[mlady]

That site in the OP looks to have been dead for over a year. I'm not surprised. The first thing they should have done is hire a web designer.