My Reasons for Leaving Scouting
By M. K.
1. I won't have to file a Tour Permit to go somewhere.
2. I won't have to be trained another 5 times in Youth Protection.
3. I won't have to take another course in how to fill out BSA paperwork.
4. I will be able to use my judgment as to whether an activity is considered
a risk or not.
5. I won't have to fill out another application because I decided to coach
someone in a different skill.
6. I can go to Ft. Erie without having to file with someone in New Jersey or
Texas.
7. I can go to see the things I want without convincing 13 other people that
it's the place to go.
8. I don't have to worry about other people's children, even though they
don't.
9. If I give someone a ride - I can reasonably expect a "thank
you," instead of: why are you late, or early? (or anything else). I might even
get offered some "gas money."
10. If I decide to go camping this weekend - I probably can.
11. I won't have to worry about getting a ride for "Johnny."
12. I won't have to wait for "Johnny" to show up.
13. I won't have to wonder if "Johnny" is going to show up.
14. I won't have to stick around a half hour after the Scout meeting for
someone to pick "Johnny" up. (Or be concerned that I'm violating 2
deep leadership cause everyone else has gone home).
15. I won't have to cajole some kid into performing "volunteer"
service.
16. I won't have to answer to parents as to why their kid doesn't get off his
butt and do things.
17. I won't have to deal with people who say they are going to do something,
but never do.
18. I won't have to deal with "professional Scouters" who don't
back volunteer leaders.
19. I won't be giving up a week of vacation time each summer (2003 was at
least the 12th) to take someone else's darling to Summer Camp, Washington, D.
C., Montana, Algonquin, etc. Not that I didn't have fun on most of those trips,
but the responsibility, planning, logistics, etc.
20. I will be able to attend my Church more regularly on weekends. I
typically have been missing approximately 1 service per month.
21. I won't have to get a substitute for my reader assignments because a
campout got scheduled that weekend.
22. Summer camps have become summer schools for merit badges.
23. My local Council office now has "buy-a-badge" for merit badges. It shouldn't cost
Scouts $12.50 to earn a merit badge from some person with whom they have very
little personal contact. ($262.50 for 21 M. B. - be an Eagle without going to
camp).
24. I won't have my weekend ruined 'cause someone decided that "all the
troops should camp on the creek bank during this rain storm".
25. I won't have my weekend ruined 'cause someone's mom said he doesn't have
to bring rain gear (or snow boots, or extra socks) 'cause it's not going to rain
(snow, be cold . . .).
26. I can get up early or late on a camping trip without having to be
concerned about waking or being wakened.
27. I can go to bed on a campout without listening to silly giggling and loud
guffaws about flatulence and other bodily functions.
28. When it's time to eat, I won't have to clear the table of the junk of 10
other people, who can't seem to understand that they need to put their stuff
away.
29. When it's time to eat, I won't have to wade through all the people who
think they have to sit within arms length of the food.
30. I won't have to worry about whether "Johnny" really washed his
hands well before preparing the meal.
31. I can plan menus around the diet my doctor wants me to follow, rather
than eating the overly fat, overly sugared, "you have to have meat"
American diet.
32. I don't have to take a Dutch oven camping with me. Nor wait forever for
the darn thing to cook something that could be cooked in half the time in a
conventional pot or pan.
33. I won't have to listen to a self-proclaimed "expert" go on and
on disseminating half-truths, and biased opinions to young minds.
34. I won't have to worry about pompous Scouters, who think their way is the
only way to do Scouting.
35. I won't have to tolerate people who think that girls & women have no
place in Scouting.
36. I won't have to worry that someone is going to find out that
"Johnny" Eagle candidate doesn't practice any religion and doesn't
really believe in a god.
37. I won't have to buy a new copy of the guide to safe scouting every year,
'cause someone just thought of something else Scouts shouldn't do.
38. I won't have to try to remember the "new" requirements for
Eagle that seem to change every other year or so.
39. I won't have to explain to an irate parent that his/her darling missed
the cutoff date for qualifying under the old requirements, even though we warned
him as soon as we found out about it.
40. I won't have to check an e-mail system set up by my local Council office within their
website that they never use.
41. I won't get 50 e-mails from people sending e-mails to the entire list
asking to be added to the e-mail list.
42. I won't need to wade through a ton of outdated announcements on the Council website to find what was changed/added.
43. I won't have to deal with the bloated bureaucracy at Council in order to
make a simple camping reservation (you have to go through the secretary for your
district - even though there's only 1 set of camping books)
44. I won't have to be told that the person who takes care of that is out to
lunch/ on vacation/ out sick for 6 weeks.
45. I won't have to listen to the treasurer complain that he/she is not
getting the receipts they need to keep accurate records.
46. I won't have to be concerned that adding money to the Troop account at my
local Council office results in a bigger negative number.
47. I will have fewer frustrations in leaving messages for people who never
reply (sometime they don't get the message).
48. I won't have to worry about people who can't do something they should
(including letting you know that they can't do it) & then be mad at me for not
accommodating them.
49. I won't have to interrupt Scouts from playing their games, so that
something important (food, water, warmth, etc.) can be taken care of.
50. I won't have to be concerned that people are eating, drinking, leaving
mud, their belongings, etc. in my car.
51. I won't have to be concerned that "someone stole" my compass,
watch, money, etc.
52. I won't have to wonder where "Johnny" went after he was dropped
off at Scouts.
53. I won't have to worry about getting the janitor, principal, etc. upset by
having the Scouts carry water, ice, equipment through the halls.
54. I won't have to come out when I'm not feeling well or the weather is bad,
to open the doors for a meeting, camping trip, etc.
55. I won't have to worry about recruiting drivers for camp, field trips,
etc.
56. I won't have to collect money, checks, or "take it from my
account" because the treasurer isn't there.
57. I won't have to remind Scouts and parents that they need to pay dues,
because the treasurer hasn't.
58. I won't have to advance my money to cover unit expenses because I can't
get hold of the treasurer, or it's inconvenient for them to have me pick up a
check because they are about to eat, go out, paint, etc.
59. I won't have to listen to a kid complain that we didn't do a particular
activity on a camping trip (in spite of bad weather) 'cause his father paid for
him to do that activity.
60. I won't have to listen to some kid complain that it's not fair that he
has to do something at camp - someone else should have to do it.
61. I won't have to try to find something in the supply room because there's
no order to it because the quartermaster hasn't been there to establish any
order and Scouts tend to put things wherever.
62. I won't have to take tents home to my wife to sew holes, repair zippers,
etc.
63. I won't have to watch things I've (and others) have donated to the troop
disappear.
64. I won't have to go back to take down tents from the Scout room after a
campout because Scouts are too undependable to take them home to be dried and
swept and returned.
65. I won't have to listen to people suggest that we should get new
neckerchiefs, hats, tee-shirts, etc. for the troop, but never come up with the
design, pattern, colors, etc. to actually do it.
66. I won't have to have 15 people say that they want to do something, then
after all the arrangements are made, only 3 people show up.
67. I won't have to field phone calls from Scouts/parents, such as, "is
anything important going to happen at Scouts tonight?"
68. I won't have to listen to Scouts giggling through an important lesson, or
acting silly when they should be paying attention.
69. I won't have to witness Scouts repeatedly start jabbering as soon as the
Scout sign is put down.
70. I won't have to listen to leaders talking when the Scout sign is up.
71. I won't have to listen to leaders holding their own loud conversation in
the back of the room, when they can go to another room if they can't pay
attention to what's going on.
72. I won't have to pay to re-learn Safe Swim Defense or Safety Afloat, every
2 years.
73. I won't have to worry about awards for adults, nor about people who worry
about such things ("we do it for the boys").
74. I won't have to listen to people trying to get me to go to "Wood
Badge" or "Powder Horn," but have no good reason why I should go,
or how it will help me.
75. I'll be able to clean out the "Scout stuff" from the drawer in
my filing cabinet.
76. I won't have to feel guilty 'cause I don't like tent camping in snow.
77. I'll have 2 weeks vacation to visit my sister in Oregon.
78. I'll have 2 weeks vacation to visit my brother-in-law in Tennessee.
79. I'll have 2 weeks vacation to visit my cousin in Nevada.
80. I'll have "personal leave" time to use for something other than
getting ready for camp.
81. I'll have fewer e-mails.
82. I'll send fewer e-mails.
83. I'll be able to pursue some of my other hobbies.
84. I'll be able to spend more time on the things that need fixing around the
house.
85. I'll be able to spend more time with my wife.
86. I'll be able to spend more time with my friends who are not in Scouting.
I was going to try for 100 reasons. But 86 is close enough.
Adult Association
