Growing up, I did the whole Cub Scout thing, all the way through. I have vague recollections of merit badges, racing cars that our dads made for us we made by carving up blocks of wood, camping trips, etc. When it came time to graduate to Boy Scouts, I pretty much bailed. If I recall correctly, meetings were on Wednesdays, during Buck Rogers, and that sealed the deal for me. No Eagle Scout for this kid.
Anyhow, and despite the troubles in recent years for the BSA and CSA, those memories are fond and my attitudes towards such organizations are generally positive. At least, they were, until I learned that "Boy Scouts in the Los Angeles area will now be able to earn an activity patch for learning about the evils of downloading pirated movies and music." Among other activities,
Go to a movie and stay through all of the credits. Tell your counselor and/or troop leader who you think, in addition to the main actors and actresses, would be hurt if that film were stolen?
The news story is here, but that's an exact quote from the official curriculum for the "Respect Copyrights" merit badge. Said curriculum appears courtesy of the MPAA, of course, and includes their logo at the top of the document.
A document whose link I would be able to share with you had I diligently fulfilled the conditions for the Respect Copyrights merit badge. As it stands, I can only offer you a picture of the merit badge, disrespectfully ripped from the last page of said document.
Feel free to add it to your sidebar. What better way to reward the Cub Scout who must have earned his Clip Art merit badge designing it or the industry flak who wrote the accompanying curriculum?
