JCS

If we are going in that direction than your point sounds like "it takes a village to raise a child". Sorry but my parenting days are over. If you need a babysitter run an add.

So it is my fault you put your child in an organization that has a policy that may result in a confused child. Yeah ok.

Mageth

Already did, you must have missed it.

Yes, I did miss why you're lecturing a child about something he doesn't understand and has no control over, rather than taking action that might actually do some good.

The way to change the situation is public pressure at the organization level.

AquaVita

The little girl probably only understood (and barely)these things...

1. as a....bisexual,

2. ...serious issues with the Girl and Boys Scout's

3. ....gays and lesbians".

And she also knows she feels rejected because you were "mean" and didn't want any cookies.

Please folks...bear with me. Think like she would. We are talking about children.

simian

Why do you assume I don't "go out and participate in the channels that will actually make a difference"? First off, what channel do you think are "appropriate"?

Second, I am very active in a local atheist/agnostic/freethinker group. For about the last 3 years, I have participated in a discussion on a local college campus about religious viewpoints - I speak as an atheist - other speakers include agnostic, muslim, hindu, and a variety of Christian denominations. I have actively pursued similar venues in highschools, but with no luck so far (either they are not having a general table discussion of world religions, or I simply am not yet getting in touch with the right people). I am active in a local ethics group, which I got involved in because I wanted to make sure that the assumption was not made that "religious = ethical" or "ethical = religious". I am one of the few people that will stop for cars having trouble on the roadside. I have a darwin fish on my trunk - I make it a point to stop in front of the car having trouble. I even stand up and defend the rights of the religious to have their religion - an absolute necessity after Sept 11, 2001, when a portion of the population was grouping all Muslims as terrorists.

Do any of the above meet with your approval?

Simian

AquaVita

No...it is the preaching you feel you have the right to do that results in a confused child.

AquaVita

Simian...I didn't ask for a resume. I can appreciate the things you do for the freethough community. But the fact remains that preaching to children simply trying to raise money for a fun organization, is not one of them.

JCS

Yeah I really jump on them when they ring the bell.

(knock-Knock) Sir I'm with the BS selling bars for my troup.

Sorry I don't support organizations that support discrimination. good day.

And the totally traumatized child moves on to the next door, while mom and dad phone the cops due to the unprovoked attack on their offspring.

If the parents want to discuss this with me why aren't they knocking on my door instead of their kid. It ain't my discriminatory. policy, and I have every right to refuse and state the reason for that refusal no matter how much you argue.

AquaVita

This is the first I've seen you indicate a rational response. I would have no problem if someone told my child something so relatively straightfoward and basic. He may ask me about it later, and I would be glad to talk to him about what you probably meant.

lisarea

I sold girl scout cookies exactly once as a kid, and I obeyed all posted signs. I was a very well-behaved child, and my parents cautioned me beforehand to be polite and not to bother people who didn't want to be bothered.

I never allowed my son to sell door to door, until he got a job a few years ago with a local newspaper. He was fourteen or thereabouts at the time, and yes, I fully expected him to be aware of and obey No Soliciting signs. If he had ignored that sort of thing, I would have punished him, not the person he'd bothered.

If your child cannot be trusted to behave appropriately, they should not be out alone.

It doesn't damage a rock to mindlessly kick it around. And in fact, it's less disruptive to me personally to have to move rocks back into place than it is to be interrupted in the middle of something in order to get the door for someone trying to sell me something I don't want or need.

It's a violation of someone's privacy and their polite request to be left alone. It is rude to disturb someone in their home or going about their daily business, and there are repercussions for rudeness.

This whole "it takes a village" concept is a two-way street. If you expect the 'village' to help raise your child, you're just going to have to accept that people are sometimes going to point out your child's transgressions.

Mageth

I agree with AquaVita on that one. I have no problem with that response.