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Sultan: Girl Scouts threaten legal action over troop's fundraiser for children in Gaza (www.stltoday.com)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

27 comments fedilink hide all child comments

The Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri sent an email and said members could not raise money that represents “partisan politics” and must “stay neutral.”

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[–] [email protected] 44 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

The oppressor determines which things are and are not "political." The ideology and politics of the oppressor is always viewed as "neutral," while the oppressed, pointing out their oppression, are "being political."

The oppressor maintains power by controlling language and expression, by denying the oppressed even the right to talk about their own oppression as it is "impolite." In the rare cases the oppressed is allowed to talk, the oppressor demands inclusion in the conversation to "make sure both sides are heard." The two sides being that of the oppressed asking for their oppression to stop, and the oppressor justifying the continuation of said oppression while criticizing the oppressed for "not being willing to compromise" on "some oppression" or "some genocide" but the oppressed making the "unreasonable" demand of "no oppression" or "no genocide."

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

This is excellent. Is it from something?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I'm probably paraphrasing someone.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Elie Wiesel said something similar.

https://www.ipl.org/essay/Essay-On-Neutrality-PCBW3QTTU#:~:text=The%20statement%20by%20Elie%20Wiesel,protect%20themselves%20and%20their%20people.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 9 months ago (3 children)

I have to admit, my gut reaction was to ponder if this rule would be enforced if it was to raise money for Israeli children instead… but I know diddly squat about Girl Scouts and did about 5 minutes of research.

What I learned was that money raised by Girl Scouts is intended to be spent on local community projects. So helping local kids would be cool, but not foreign. Girl Scouts doesn’t forbid one from aiding foreign needy, but you can’t do that under the Girl Scout banner/as a Girl Scout project.

So, at the moment, I’m inclined to side with Girl Scouts on this issue. But, again, I don’t know squat about how Girl Scouts is run in practice, and if this project is being singled out or not.

[+] [email protected] 49 points 9 months ago (1 children)

[deleted]

[–] [email protected] 33 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Good point. I admittedly missed that part when I skimmed the article.

I found the Ukraine page on Girl Scouts’s website… it certainly paints a damning picture on Girl Scouts end.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yep, I'm convinced. The Girl Scouts are pro children suffering. At the least they can argue they're against relief for suffering children, or they're massive hypocrites and shouldn't have ever supported Ukraine. They'll have to choose one. I'm going with the the pro blowing up and orphaning children one for now, though.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago

A lot of large organizations either explicitly or tacitly support Zionism, so this isn't surprising.

It's a shame that Israel's barbarism is once again causing people who are Jewish around the world to be causelessly scapegoated and blamed for a thing that they have no direct connection with. And many people who are Jewish are anti-Zionists. But we can't let the Zionists conflate anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism - that is a repugnant feat of hasbara propaganda

The Gaza genocide must be opposed and it is at least positive that this seems to be waking up the world to the horrors of Zionist colonialism

[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I was troop leader for GSUSA, and you called it. The organization is very protective of its image, in order to be open to kids from ALL cultures. The rules regarding political activities under the Girl Scouts banner are clearly stated, and if there are any questions or requests for an exception, the staff is always willing to help.

This troop could have simply cleared the plan in advance, or participated in political, humanitarian fundraisers without involving the organization. The fact that the leader decided to break the rules, take offense, disband, and publicly infer that the Girl Scouts values are questionable says a lot about who has what agenda.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

I appreciate this level-headed take from someone knowledgeable on the topic. It's very easy to get riled up over the issue in Gaza, and it's important to discern where certain actions are sanctioned or not.

That said, I suspect there were better ways to deescalate the issue on Girl Scouts' end. Threatening litigation over a contentious humanitarian issue is begging for bad publicity. But, I'm not privy to the exchanges that brought it to that level.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 9 months ago (2 children)

My daughter is a girl scout and as far as I'm aware they can choose to spend money raised on activities for their own troop or any cause / non profit that they wish. I think the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri may be mistaken here.

Unrelated topic, the Girl Scouts allows trans girls to participate. I wonder if they have the same stance or if this local branch is going against the international standard.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Gonna put my sister in Boy Scouts cause they allow girls in there since a few years ago now. I wonder if they have any restrictions on foreign aid like this.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Afaik, the US is the only country still calling it "boy" scouts.

Everywhere else that I'm aware of, it's just Scouts. And it has been co-ed for at least a couple of decades outside of the US.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Yeah I like saying Scouts more than boy scouts. It's more inclusive that way.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Girl scouts may be wrong here, but they're still by far a better organization than the boy scouts.

There's something to be said for the skills that are taught and the overall purported ethos, but like the Catholic church, you absolutely cannot trust them to not cover up heinous shit that they'll allow to continue forever.

If you do, make sure you're present all the time and be aware that predators have found a home there since their inception.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

Boy scout troops vary from place to place. I've been with my troop for many years and we're great. The next city over, I know a troop that runs things very differently and left. So ymmv

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Supporting Israel's victims is drastically more disruptive to establishment power than supporting trans children.

Consequently, It's more likely for an organization to prevent its members from supporting Gazans than it is for an organization to prevent its members from supporting trans rights

[–] [email protected] 31 points 9 months ago

partisan politics

Huh. Which US political party represents not doing genocides? Kinda seems like both of them are on board with the genocide thing so I don't see how this is partisan.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago

The political party of palestinian children

[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

“Unfortunately, if this direct violation of the organization’s governing documents and policies continues, Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri and Girl Scouts of the United States have no other choice than to engage our legal counsel to help remedy this situation and to protect the intellectual property and other rights of the organization.”

Politics is violence.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago

Damn it Mom, I'm never going to earn this genocide badge If we keep doing these protests.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago

I don’t eat GS cookies because of the ingredient list, but I’ve always donated money. Now I’m tempted to keep my money due to this heavy handed reaction.

[+] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

[deleted]

[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It is the position of the national organization. People here are going on about how a troop was allowed to raise funds for Ukraine, without reading the part that states how that troop asked in advance for an exception to the rules and took the required steps to do it.

[+] [email protected] 14 points 9 months ago (1 children)

[deleted]

[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (1 children)

This. The "just go through the steps!" people are ignoring that one of the steps is approval, which can and will be denied if it would cost them more than they could expect to recoup.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

The “just go through the steps” people is me - the solitary commenter who has declared direct and extensive experience within the organization. You’re correct that one of the steps is approval, yet the woman in this instance never requested approval. What is wrong with requesting approval for an exception from an organization that isn’t yours? Everyone else requests approval, just like we all would if we wanted an exception at work, because we don’t own the company.

It boggles my mind that almost every commenter here is certain that there would never have been approval because GSUSA is Zionist, Girl Scouts is made up of donors who are largely Jewish, GSUSA is genocidal and would lose money by granting approval to the nonexistent request. This is all emotion and vile conjecture. Where are the facts to support such accusations?

Why don’t the rules apply to this one individual. I led many activities that had to be cleared, and because I don’t own the Girl Scouts, because I’m not in charge of the organization, I never thought “Oh, those rules aren’t meant for me”. I simply made the requests and provided details as needed. Then my request was approved almost every time. Somehow, this one person is the only one who is above that? And this means the Girl Scouts are racist? What a massive, crazy leap!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

What does this have to do with a sultan?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Huh, wondered the same thing. Apparently written by Aisha Sultan.