I kow this has already been diaried by Thechild, but it has already fallen off the recent diary list, and it is too big a story to just ignore.
In todays NYT, there is an article about the boy scouts explorer program which takes scouts (boys and girls) between 14 and 18 and trains them in so called law enforcement activities. This proram now has over 35,000 members and semms to be concentrated in the border areas.
My immediate reaction on reading the article was to think of the Hitler Youth movement in Germany of the thirties, and to this end I checked into Wiki and compared the two groups.
From the NYT
The training, which leaders say is not intended to be applied outside the simulated Explorer setting, can involve chasing down illegal border crossers as well as more dangerous situations that include facing down terrorists and taking out "active shooters," like those who bring gunfire and death to college campuses. In a simulation here of a raid on a marijuana field, several Explorers were instructed on how to quiet an obstreperous lookout.
and from Wiki on the Hitler youth
For example, many HJ activities closely resembled military training, with weapons training, assault course circuits and basic tactics.
Interestingly, the Hitler Youth started out as an alternative to the Boy Scouts, and subsequently when the Scout movement was banned by Hitler, tokk over many of its roles and functions.
The focus of the Explorer program is desribed as Before it was more about the basics," said Johnny Longoria, a Border Patrol agent here. "But now our emphasis is on terrorism, illegal entry, drugs and human smuggling.". Is it only me that feels that this is a mirror image ofsome of the right wings fantasy fear agenda?
I mean just how big an issue is terrorism is South West Texas, at least when we are talking about Islamic terrorists? Can you imagine Bin Laden poring over his target list "...... Wall Street, Pentagon, Wendy's in Midland". But that doesn't stop the trainers from bringing out the bogey men.
From NYT
In a competition in Arizona that he did not oversee, Deputy Lowenthal said, one role-player wore traditional Arab dress. "If we’re looking at 9/11 and what a Middle Eastern terrorist would be like," he said, "then maybe your role-player would look like that. I don’t know, would you call that politically incorrect?"
I call that both politically incorrect and painfully stupid - as if Mohammed Atta wandered around Boston Airort in a Dishdash and Kheffiya.
What strikes me is that this is more about indoctrination of youth, and preparing future mailitias than it is about career training, with its focus on hot button issues. A more objective training would involve stuff like crime and domestic disputes, traffic laws.
Just one more step down the road.