fringe group

H

Hoodoo

Joined
Aug 18, 1999
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I was watching some show on TV the other night talking about Timothy McVeigh (sp?) and they mentioned that he went to gun shows and did other "fringe activities." Hmmm...I go to gun shows and I may be one of the only profs at the university that does.

My question to you is: Do you think your interests in wilderness/survival/knives etc. places you in a "fringe group" category (either real or perceived)?

If so, does that mean the Boy Scouts is a fringe group?
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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.
 
Marines-definite fringe group. But I'm also a graduate student and teach political science. Help, I'm surrounded by liberals in academia!
 
The Boy Scout's An all male homophobic right wing religious paramilitary youth organization. Their moto. Travel to distant lands meet interesting people take them canoeing and tidy up.
A proud ex scout.
 
Originally posted by DIVER JOHN:
The Boy Scout's An all male homophobic right wing religious paramilitary youth organization. Their moto. Travel to distant lands meet interesting people take them canoeing and tidy up.
A proud ex scout.
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Is that why they call it the Boy Scouts? 'Cause it's all male? Imagine that! I suppose the next thing you'll tell me is that the girls have their own club.

And how despicable!! Traveling? Meeting interesting people? Canoeing for gods sake! Say it ain't so!!! And tidy? Unforgivable.
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I had no idea the Boy Scouts were this bad! All we ever did was camp. Well...I guess we did canoe. And we did build kayaks. And tie knots. And use a compass. We did a lot of that. Is that right wing? I often held it in my right hand. We started a lot of fires. Now that obviously is paramilitary. I had a jack knife. And a Western fixed blade. We cut things. We cut a lot of things. BTW, I'm still under strict orders not to divulge any of this so please don't tell anyone I said this. OK?

Thanks,


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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.
 
Originally posted by DIVER JOHN:
You got to build kayaks? We never got to build kayaks!
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Yup. Big ol' canvas ones. Dem were the days. We had a unicycle too. And a photo enlarger. I learned to tell how tall a tree is, how to cook on a rock, and how to get a fire going in the middle of a downpour. Man were we subversive. Oh yeah. We also built a couple of really cool bobsleds. But I had no idea this was sick behavior. Really. No idea. I've been on the fringe for a long, long, time and never even knew it.

Go figure. My scoutmaster taught me how to whittle a neckerchief slide. I made a donkey with a head that bounced on a spring. I didn't know at the time that this was right wing activity, poking fun of a donkey and all. He was into leather too but that's a whole nuthr story.
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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.
 
Originally posted by DIVER JOHN:
You got to build kayaks? We never got to build kayaks!
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All kidding aside, John. My experiences in the Boy Scouts when I was a kid were the absolute best. I grew up in a rural community and our troop had the most days camping of any troop in the state. If there were any politics floating around, I sure never heard of them. My scoutmaster was an old bachelor (although he finally married late in life) and was an old timey outdoorsman through and through. He was something right out of Norman Rockwell, kinda lanky with a smokey bear hat, big mustache, and wire-rimmed glasses.

Most of us didn't even own uniforms so there wasn't much spit and polish. In fact, none. But we sure got our butts into the woods. And in those days, we didn't even know what homosexuals were. So it was kinda hard to be homophobic if you didn't even know what you were phobic about. Most gays were firmly in the closet in those days. Perhaps it has changed but I'll bet you there are a lot of small troops out there that still get there butts in the woods and learn campcraft. But maybe it's not what it used to be.


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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.
 
I dropped out of the scouts a few years ago(i am only 17.)and one of the main reasons was one of those troop leaders.He was beyond military.I mean if there was anything he didnt like about your uniform or equipment or whatever,you were sent home. This guy even checked our socks!!! That one uptight no-fun-having ,"if your not impeccably dressed,yourgoing home" guy really put a crimp on my scouting days.
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Oh yeah,we did go camping. And fishing. But they were real uptight about the canoeing thing.

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cuz everybody should have a blade
 
Originally posted by MAURICE:
He was beyond military.I mean if there was anything he didnt like about your uniform or equipment or whatever,you were sent home. This guy even checked our socks!!! That one uptight no-fun-having ,"if your not impeccably dressed,yourgoing home" guy really put a crimp on my scouting days.
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Oh yeah,we did go camping. And fishing. But they were real uptight about the canoeing thing.
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If this is typical of what scouting is today, then I would probably agree with Diver John's original post. I never had an experience like this and I hope it's not the rule. My brother ran a scout troop some 15 years ago and although he's an ex marine, spit and polish are the last things he thinks about. He's a 55 year old retired kid who is currently out in Arizona somewhere panning for gold. His scout troop was strictly in it for the fun.

I guess it depends a lot on who is running your troop and what the local people expect. I dunno. Times have changed. But one other point. Kids have changed too. I'm not sure I would want to ramrod a scout troop today. I already have my hands full with too many lazy, whiny, sarcastic, smug, illiterate college kids. Kids today seem to have very little appreciation for self-discipline and respect for others and I'm not sure why. My suspicion is too much boob tube.

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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.

[This message has been edited by Hoodoo (edited 08-24-2000).]
 
Hi Hoodoo,

I'm one of the fringe group members as I consider Scouting a part of my life.
I spend considerable time trying to learn the next generation about nature and the values of live.

Hoodoo, I finally figured out where you got your name from: Did you perhaps ever visit Bryce Canyon national Park and buy a Bryce Canyon National Park pin?
Mine read on the paper it was pinned to:

HOODOO - a pillar of rock, usaually of fantastic shape, left by erosion.

According to your name you are a tall guy (a pillar) in your fifties (the erosion, that takes years) with some additional buyancee material (aka fantastic shape) and a weathered face?
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Keep up the interesting posts HOODOO.

Best Scouting wishes from Holland,

Bagheera
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My only problems with scouts is that they are trying to become very politically correct on everything. (BTW the new scout manual sucks ass, they skipped firebuilding and took out semaphore, and Moris Code)

but at least I rubbed off on the scout master (got him to start carrying a knife everywhere he goes)
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I could of been a assistant leader, but I just couldn't put up with the hyper little kids. But I did teach them about knives though.

Also I hate the people who try to turn scouts into some sort of para-military whatever, especially when the adults there aren't even a part of the military.
 
I hope everyone does realize that my original post was totally tongue in cheek. We did a good bit of camping. canoeing, night hikes. Plus all the stuff no one else teaches. Little things like how to wright an over turned canoe, how to use your clothes as flotation, building emergency shelters, knot work, The summer camp that our council ran in New Hampshire had just about every merit badge class imaginable. I however did pack it in as well when we got a new pro spit and polish asst scout master.
 
Originally posted by Bagheera:
Hi Hoodoo,

I'm one of the fringe group members as I consider Scouting a part of my life.
I spend considerable time trying to learn the next generation about nature and the values of live.

Hoodoo, I finally figured out where you got your name from: Did you perhaps ever visit Bryce Canyon national Park and buy a Bryce Canyon National Park pin?
Mine read on the paper it was pinned to:

HOODOO - a pillar of rock, usaually of fantastic shape, left by erosion.

According to your name you are a tall guy (a pillar) in your fifties (the erosion, that takes years) with some additional buyancee material (aka fantastic shape) and a weathered face?
wink.gif


Keep up the interesting posts HOODOO.

Best Scouting wishes from Holland,

Bagheera
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Bagheera,
Ya found me out. I took my "nom de plume" from my old geology 100 textbook.

Not quite 50,though, but I do look kind of weathered.
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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.
 
What we need is a politically correct scouting alternative that is sponsered by the government. I worked with a guy once who used to talk wistfully of all the fun they used to have in the Hitler Youth. Now that was scouting! Sure they were fussy about the uniforms, but otherwise they were right in tune with the latest political thought. You really learned that The Party was more important than family values.
 
I too was in scouts. It was a great learning place for respect and morals. But I must say that in the past 20 years, I see that most scouts have absolutely no respect for the uniform Shirts half out, neckerchiefs draped instead of properly rolled, and jeans. What the h*** is up with that?? They look like slobs. Has the handbook been "liberalized" that much? As far as fringe group, kinda reminds me of Red Dawn, where the cuban officer said that the kids were members of an elite para-military group, Eagle Scouts. But BTTT, the media has had its way with those of us who enjoy anything to do with those intrinsically evil, crime-causing, society-destroying, Bambi-killing, child-killing, oh-my-gawd-nobody-needs-over-20-shots, favorite-of-drug-dealers, blah, blah, blah guns. Sorry to vent, just hit me at the right time.
 
Originally posted by thatmguy:
Shirts half out, neckerchiefs draped instead of properly rolled, and jeans. What the h*** is up with that?? They look like slobs. Has the handbook been "liberalized" that much?
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Sounds like you're describing the troup I was in over 35 years ago. I didn't realize we were so ahead of our time.
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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.
 
There are a lot of interests which have a small following, considering carp fisherman, corvair nuts, as well as wilderness and survival skills, cutlery and such, but they don't seem to be considered 'fringe groups' until they start aligning themselves with some sort of usually conservative political dogma. The NRA use to be considered a group that supported firearm interests, lots of people from both parties were members, until Carter and Co. took over and then even Bush wasn't politically pure enough to warrant support. The Boy Scouts seem to have done something similar but to a lesser degree.

I started in Boy Scouts in about the fourth grade, there was a troop in our church that had a good history of support and membership, and I loved it. We met once a month to do do troop stuff but the highlight each month or so were the weekend campouts. I don't ever remember hearing talk about race, sexual orientation, religous preferences, etc., as Scouting at that time had troops all over the world and among many different faiths.

My son will start in a local Boy Scout troop when he is old enough, should be this next year and which I'm looking forward to, but I'll also pull him if I hear of the troop being used as a bully pulpit for faith bashing or other such dribble.

 
Hoodoo, guess we should have expected that to start in Wolverine country..just kidding...
 
Originally posted by thatmguy:
Hoodoo, guess we should have expected that to start in Wolverine country..just kidding...
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I was a Hoosier in those days.
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Hoodoo

Why dost thou whet thy knife so earnestly?

The Merchant of Venice, Act IV. Scene I.
 
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