The Girl Scouts Will March In Trump’s Inaugural Parade And Twitter Is Not Happy
Girl Scout fans are highly disappointed with the decision
The Girl Scouts of America are set to march in Trump’s inaugural parade and people are pissed. The list of participants was released yesterday and planted among college marching bands, military and veteran organizations, was the Girl Scouts. The Boy Scouts of America are also marching, but that doesn’t seem to be as jilting for obvious reasons.
Almost immediately, parents and critics took to social media to voice their disgust and outrage over their participation. Despite the fact that the Girl Scouts have been participating in inaugural events throughout their history (a little over 100 years), many say the presence of the Girl Scouts at the festivities is contradictory to the organization’s core values. Basically, maybe Girl Scouts should sit this one out perhaps? They specifically point to fact that president-elect Donald Trump has a well-documented history of making sexist comments, as well as, allegations of sexual harassment claims against him.
The Girl Scouts immediately defended their participation, acknowledging the “strong public response” to their participation. In a statement on the Girl Scouts website, the organization pointed out that they will be participating in the Women’s March on Washington the following day. Despite how at odds these two acts of participation seem to be with each other, the Girl Scouts are standing on their supposed nonpartisan platform as a way of trying to legitimately reckon their involvement with the inauguration.
“At Girl Scouts, our movement is made up of individuals who hold political beliefs and convictions as varied as our nation itself. And because every girl has a home at Girl Scouts, every girl in our movement is allowed her own ideas, opinions, beliefs and political ideology,” the group said. “Our fundamental value is empowering girls to be leaders in their own lives. By helping them build the courage, confidence, and character to lift their voices, champion their views, and be advocates for the issues and ideas important to them, Girl Scouts supports girls as they become catalysts for change who strengthen their communities.”
“Of course, we are a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that by law cannot take positions on political candidates or parties — and we take this very seriously,” the group added. “Advocating for change on issues one cares about isn’t at odds with participating in a century-long tradition that represents the peaceful exchange of power.”
Despite the tumultuous feelings surrounding the Girl Scouts at Trump’s inaugural parade, it seems there is also a more pressing confection concern: to boycott or not to boycott the cookie organization that has people obsessed (and addicted) to their thin mint cookies?
