[footfootfoot]

I was a scout for a few years, we met at our local synagogue. I was catholic at the time, and meeting there gave me a lot of exposure to Judaism, which I can say only opened my mind to other ways of thinking and worshipping god. The adults I met who were invovled in our troop, were real mensches, to use a phrase. I'm sure the adults had differences of opinion about many things outside of scouting, but we never cottoned on to that as kids.

The other scouts were really pretty good guys to be around. Probably not as exciting (read larcenous/misdemeanorous) as some of my neighborhood friends, but also not so cliquish or back stabbing either.

I may have stayed on longer, but our scoutmaster left the troop for some reason, I think it was a combination of being married and also because (I think) he felt a number of the parents were not carrying their end of the load. Could be wrong.

In any case no one really stepped to the plate after he left and I really admired him to the point where I doubt anyone could have filled his shoes.

I don't hate anyone, and my intolerance is limited to peoples actions (e.g. letting your dog crap on my lawn and walking away as if you were leaving me a bag of Krügerands) rather than any other defining characteristic.

This non hatred wasn't the result of deprogamming either.

But that was my troop.

At a World Jamboree one time I was asked by my scoutmaster to invite the scoutmaster from another troop on a ballon ride. My scoutmaster was a hot air ballonist. This other scoutmaster and troop was from Arabia. I have no idea what this guy was thinking or what he was about, what kind of cultural worlds were colliding at that moment, but I did sense what i took as hostility or at least contempt. He sat there silently eating a piece of sausage not saying a single word for several minutes. My friend and I just sat there wiating for his answer that we could report back to our scoutmaster. After an extraordinary long silence he fianlly said OK or something to that effect. Probably not as long winded as OK. This was 1972 if I remember.

Whatever, that was his trip.

As far as the us govt fundung the BSA, is that new? I'm not surprised. During one drill at summer camp it occurred to me that the only difference between us and the military was that we didn't have guns. (they were locked up down at the rifle range, and we paid for our own bullets.)

I agree with BigV, the hatred and intolerance is a local thing and was not part of the program when I was there. But that was 30 sumpin years ago.