Boy Scouts and the Right Wing
Donald Trump made headlines yesterday and today for delivering a deeply partisan speech at the Boy Scout Jamboree, a gathering of scouts in the US. Trump’s speech was his typical personalist rambling, denouncing Democrats, the healthcare debacle, and various other troublesome topics. Many attendees were supportive of his remarks, but many were not — some parents of scouts were deeply upset by the President’s behavior (though one wonders what else they expected the President to do).

Many of these parents have argued that scouting is not the place for this kind of remark, but here they are mistaken. the Boy Scout movement, both in the US and elsewhere, has always been political, and arguably right wing.
The founder of British scouting was an imperialist apologist and, along with many others, an early admirer of Hitler and Mussolini — notwithstanding the actual fascist scouting leagues, such as the Hitler Youth. The US Boy Scouts retain policies that block or discriminate against homosexuals and the non-religious from participating in the organization, particularly as leaders.

Beyond the institutions themselves, the principles of Scouting began as clear calls to return young (white) men to the wilderness to train them as survivors and warriors, to instill in them a sense of honor and militarism. These themes echo perfectly with those of the extreme right and its own support of and participation in paramilitary organizations. That the President used this platform to advance his agenda and message should be no surprise.
