Kind - When Scouts Hurt Scouts (Scoutmaster Minute)

I want you to think about a Scout you know who is a little different. Maybe he talks too much, or not enough. Maybe he's not good at the physical stuff, or he's awkward in groups, or he just hasn't quite figured out how to fit. You know someone like that. Every troop has someone like that.

Here's a question: is Scouting a better experience for him than the rest of his week? Because it should be. For some Scouts, this troop is the only place where they feel like they belong. The only place where someone knows their name and is glad they're here. If we're not that place, we're failing him - and we're failing what Scouting is supposed to be.

Teasing feels harmless to the person doing it. The joke lands, everybody laughs, the moment passes. But it doesn't pass for the Scout it was aimed at. He carries it home. He thinks about it that night. He wonders whether he wants to come back next week. Sometimes he decides he doesn't. And when he disappears, the rest of the troop goes right on - because they weren't the ones who paid the price.

A Scout is kind. That's not a soft rule. It's the one that holds the whole troop together. You don't have to be best friends with everyone in this room. But you do have to make sure the Scout who's a little different feels as welcome as everyone else. That's it. That's the job. It doesn't cost you anything.