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