Girl Scout Cookie Drive...

I don't know what my problem with the Girl Scout Cookie Drive is, but it drives me mad. Doe-eyed, innocent, affluent children allowed to go anywhere to raise money for their exclusionary group... They are everywhere--any store has them in front, waiting until you leave to make their teary plea for your money. You can say they are offering something in return, but those are just overpriced cookies; you are serving to support their group.

Why should people have to see these children? Why is this exclusionary club allowed to bother people so? Homeless people (who need the money) are turned away from stores, even arrested, for doing something similar. I find that the public subsidization of this group is senseless.

These girls are getting money to do things so that their parents do not have to pay for them. They masquerade this as:

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is not just about cookies. These annual activities offer many opportunities for hands-on entrepreneurial program activities. We find that most girls in Girl Scouting thoroughly enjoy this activity and look forward to it each year. Participation in this activity is voluntary and requires written permission by a parent or guardian.
- from the girl scout website faq

I find it duplicitous that children are forced to cover the costs of their club membership, not to mention their indoctrination into female roles ascribed by the group.

I am sure that the Girl Scouts have dues and requirements in order to become a member. Actually... it is a quite reasonable $10.00, with an option for assistance.

As I am reading and trying to make my points about this practice, I realize that the Girl Scouts aren't all that bad:

--They allow you to substitute the word "God" with whatever you would like in their promise... describing the usage as:, "...'God' can be interpreted in a number of ways, depending on one's spiritual beliefs. When reciting the Girl Scout Promise, it is okay to replace the word 'God' with whatever word your spiritual beliefs dictate."

--They are not sex-discriminatory or intolerant of race or sexual orientation

Perhaps I am too hard on them... they are unwitting participants in a group that is probably okay, but is using little girls to support their corporate power structure. They only receive 12-17% of the proceeds from their toil.

This still does not mean I will buy cookies from the girls... Perhaps if I was writing about the Boy Scouts selling cookies i could have made valid pointsa against them. I still think it is difficult to constantly tell small children that I am not going to buy their cookies... they look so heartbroken. I find myself telling the kids that "I don't have anything," just like I tell the panhandlers...