Scouting Being Non-political

MarkAndrzejak · July 21, 2023, 1:59pm

I thought Scouts was supposed to be non-political. I’m in the Hazardous Weather Training" course and in it has a tent that’s portraying a Ukrainian flag. Why not an American flag?

I have relatives in Europe and in Ukraine on BOTH sides of this conflict. Why is the United States there at all since Ukraine isn’t a Democracy and they’re not a vital interest to the USA? Why has NATO creeped all the way to Russia’s border when our diplomats said we wouldn’t.

Get rid of that slide please that shows the Ukrainian flag.

scouter11 · July 21, 2023, 3:00pm

Mods, I recommned removing this nonsense.

MarkAndrzejak · July 21, 2023, 3:16pm

Which do you say is nonsense? My issue or my statement?

edavignon · July 21, 2023, 4:18pm

@MarkAndrzejak

I recommend contacting your council professional staff about your concern. They can open a ticket on your behalf to get the training updated.

MarkAndrzejak · July 21, 2023, 4:28pm

It’s in the my.scouting.org online training catalog course called “Hazardous Weather Training”

edavignon · July 21, 2023, 4:29pm

@MarkAndrzejak

The forums are not monitored by anyone who can fix the courses. Your only option is to contact your Council with your concern and for them to open a ticket.

TimothyRogers · July 21, 2023, 5:07pm

We will look at it at next update. This image was in the original course published way back in 2016 by the vendor who created the original. No one has intentionally put in anything regarding a flag - and no one else has seen it in the view you have expressed.

WilliamNelson · July 21, 2023, 5:29pm

I looked and can’t find a URK flag in the training. Would you give us a screen shot of what you are talking about?

MarkAndrzejak · July 21, 2023, 5:35pm

Thank you. The picture in question is the “Weather Planning” topic of the “Hazardous Weather Training” course. It’s shortly after the quiz. Any flag flown other than the US flag is potentially controversial, a Ukrainian or Russian flag especially at this time. To permit other flags to fly opens a Pandora’s box.

I did open a ticket with my council but this seems its a national thing since its an official BSA website

WilliamNelson · July 21, 2023, 5:45pm

Thanks talking with Tim now. This was done in 2016. Not sure why they used anything with a flag.
Dev will see what can be done.

CharleyHamilton · July 21, 2023, 6:05pm

It does seem reasonable on the face of things to start here, since this is generally the “first stop” for technical assistance for volunteers (assuming that an individual council doesn’t have a Scoutbook champion who can directly assist locally). The issue on this particular item is that (as @edavignon noted), the forums are not generally monitored by folks who have contacts directly with the LMS team, although some of them are “here” off-and-on. The general direction for these types of issues is to go through the councils (which have a channel to national for support issues), since national BSA no longer provides direct support to volunteers.