Scouts to no longer bring penknives on camping trips
New advice published in Scouting, the official in-house magazine, says neither Scouts nor their parents should bring penknives to camp except in “specific” situations.
Scouts have traditionally been taught how to use knives correctly, using them on camping trips to cut firewood or carve tools.
At one point Scouts were allowed to carry a sheath knife on their belt as part of their uniform although this is no longer the case. In recent years the Scout Association guidance has been that parents should carry knives to camps or meetings.
Dave Budd, a knife-maker who runs courses training Scouts about the safe use of blades, wrote that the growing problem of knife crime meant action had to be taken.
“Sadly, there is now confusion about when a Scout is allowed to carry a knife,” he wrote. “The series of high-profile fatal stabbings [has] highlighted a growing knife culture in the UK.
“I think it is safest to assume that knives of any sort should not be carried by anybody to a Scout meeting or camp, unless there is likely to be a specific need for one. In that case, they should be kept by the Scout leaders and handed out as required.”
I was never a Scout. They tried to recruit me back when I was a youngun, with mandatory assemblies in the gym/auditorium, and all the demonstrations of the apparently exciting activities and merit badges and whatnot. But when it was made clear that atheists weren’t welcome and that God was big-time important, even though I wasn’t an atheist, the whole organization began to give me an uncomfortableness and I lost whatever interest I once had. If scouts have now lost the ability to even carry rinky-dink little knives, it is perhaps time to fold up the organization.
6 Responses to “Be unprepared!”
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In fairness to the Boy Scouts of America, this is a report from the UK. Scouting in the States descended from Baden-Powell’s efforts in Britain, but almost immediately became a distinct program. While it’s been several years since I’ve left the Scouts, learning and teaching blade safety (pen knives through axes) was a cornerstone of being a good camper, and I’d be stunned if the BSA moves away from that.
Here in the states the Scouts can still earn merit badges for Shotgun Shooting and Rifle Shooting. Ironically the “American Labor” merit badge resembles the Ingsoc logo done in 0bama colors.
http://www.scouting.org/sitecore/content/Home/BoyScouts/AdvancementandAwards/MeritBadges/mb-AMLB.aspx
It’s the British solution. Something is a problem? Ban it.
In the end only criminals will carry any weapons and the citizens won’t be able to defend themselves. Because the British police is only strong against its own citizens. Not too long ago once could see how “strong” British police is against muslim rioters. The bobbies ran away.
I have a Swiss Army knife, a Huntsman. Very good knife. Love it. Very handy. Makes you feel like MacGyver. It’s hardly a weapon though. I can try to stab someone with it, but it’s just not designed for it. I’ve seen what kind of knives those “cultural enrichers” (muslim immigrants, that’s how German politicians call them, they are “enriching” our cultures and societies, we need them, according to the German left wing) carry. Trust me, you’d pray for them carry a Swiss Army knife, because their usual knives are damn lethal. And they don’t care about any of our laws.
Disarming people is a primary goal of leftists, and always has been. You can not force people to do things they don’t want to until they are defenseless. This is just one more, tiny, step along that route.
And in the interests of full disclosure, I have 3 knives on my person at all times. Simple fact, a man has sharpened steel and a source of fire on his person at all times. Otherwise you are just an animal, scrabbling in the dirt eating bugs.
Hoax by reporter:
http://scouts.org.uk/news/225/scouting-refutes-knife-ban-claims
>Hoax by reporter
A lack of integrity by a journalist? That’s unpossible!
But then there’s also this from your link: “The Scout Association does not condone young people carrying knifes on their person as a matter of course, unless there is a specific need for one.”
Jackholes.