Several longstanding Scouting friends wear 15 or more \u201csquare knots\u201d\u2014all properly placed (even with the colors in the correct direction), with no duplicates where there should be none, and with no inappropriate embellishments or incorrectly placed badges anywhere else on their Scouters\u2019 uniforms. No \u201cparents pins\u201d on their collars or pocket flaps; no \u201ctemporary patches\u201d above the right pocket (where just Jamboree patches are supposed to go) and no \u201cphony baloney\u201d interpreter strips there, either. No double-position patches on their left sleeves, and nothing but the World Crest above the square knots\u2014not even a march of service stars! Although most could, they don\u2019t even wear multiple \u201cdevices\u201d on their Scouter\u2019s Key square knots. <\/p>\n
Yet they\u2019re frequently accosted by such disparate and derogatory terms as \u201cfruit salad,\u201d \u201cChristmas tree,\u201d \u201cMexican general,\u201d \u201cRussian general,\u201d and so forth. <\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the curious part: The folks accosting these devoted, loyal, and achieving Scouters with such terms invariably have considerably fewer square knots than those they disparage.<\/p>\n
To top it off, these same folks don\u2019t even have a clue that they\u2019re directing ethnic insults at those in the Mexican and Russian military, and insulting our own military\u2014particularly officers\u2014as well (only enlistees attempt to make fun of officers, revealing more their own pettiness in such attempts).<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve also been an unfortunate witness to salaried Scouters at both the council and regional levels who make it clear that they think less highly of those who wear their accomplishments than those with what we used to call \u201cWood Badge uniforms.\u201d A pity. And silly. After all, who created these recognitions? None other than these folks\u2019 employer: the BSA. Seems a lot like \u201clet\u2019s bite the hand that feeds us\u201d to me. <\/p>\n
Why would this be? Is it truly a worthy attempt to tone down Scouters who have achieved a few things along the way as volunteers? Does this put them in their proper place? Does it help them understand that they\u2019re overdoing it? \u2026 What? <\/p>\n
Some accusers will tell you that \u201cScouting\u2019s for the boys\u2026we shouldn\u2018t out-shine them.\u201d Or, \u201cThis intimidates Scouts.\u201d Or simply, whadda ya want to show off for?\u201d Other will tell you that it\u2019s a carry-over from the military and has no place in Scouting.<\/p>\n
Baloney.<\/p>\n
In the first place, youth\u2014especially those of the male persuasion\u2014look up to and respect achievers. Show me a Scouter who has earned little or nothing, and I\u2019ll show you a unit of Scouts that doesn\u2019t earn much, either. Show me a pastor or rabbi who doesn\u2019t inspire his flock and I\u2019ll show you a pretty empty house of worship. Show me a sports coach with a history of losing seasons and I\u2019ll show you an unemployed coach. <\/p>\n
Further, wearing one\u2019s accomplishments is hardly restricted to Scouting. Visit any meeting of Rotarians, Freemasons, or other civic group and you\u2019ll see lapel pins, ribbons and aprons denoting accomplishments. <\/p>\n
Now certainly, there can be silliness. The wearing of \u201cBrooklynese\u201d or \u201cKlingon\u201d interpreter strips, an OA flap and button ribbon, multiple QU patches, and so on often reveals more about the wearer\u2019s inadequacies if not ignorance than accomplishments. Curiously, those who indulge in this practice usually have no or very few square knots. To them I say: Cut it out \u2013 you\u2019re fooling no one and you\u2019re deluding yourself. <\/p>\n
To my thinking, if you\u2019ve earned Scouting ranks or awards or received recognitions that are symbolized by square knots, wear them. And, for those of us that don\u2019t have them, it\u2019s time to remember that until we have, we really have nothing to say. <\/p>\n
The immortal Casey Stengal said it: \u201cIf you\u2019ve done it, it ain\u2019t braggin\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n
So, if you\u2019ve got \u2018em, wear \u2018em; if not, shut your mouth till you do.<\/p>\n
Happy Scouting!<\/p>\n
Andy<\/p>\n
Got a question? Send it to me at AskAndyBSA@yahoo.com – (Please include your Council name and home state)<\/p>\n
(Special Edition: Fruit Salad, Christmas Trees & Generals \u2013 Copyright \u00a9 2006 Andy McCommish)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Several longstanding Scouting friends wear 15 or more \u201csquare knots\u201d\u2014all properly placed (even with the colors in the correct direction), with no duplicates where there should be none, and with no inappropriate embellishments or incorrectly placed badges anywhere else on their Scouters\u2019 uniforms. No \u201cparents pins\u201d on their collars or pocket flaps; no \u201ctemporary patches\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-10"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":251,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions\/251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/netcommissioner.com\/askandy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}