Saturday, February 18, 2012

Local Girl Scout Leader Removed

Well, this is interesting.

Stacy Hintz wants everyone to know she is not a Satanist. Lately, she’s been accused of that, as well as promoting sin.

  “I’m a Pentecostal Christian,” said the West Bend mother of two and until this week a local Girl Scouts Troop leader. Following a flurry of complaints from three mothers of troop members, including the troop’s coleader, Hintz was fired from the volunteer position she held for four years by the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast because of her involvement with a website called Wisconsin Sickness.

  Started in 2007 by Stacy Hintz’s husband Charles, a computer graphics web designer, the website defines itself as a “project created to expose and preserve the dark and disturbing underground world of Wisconsin art in all its forms, including art, film and the worldrenown WI metal!”

  Stacy Hintz prefers using the term “alternative” to describe Wisconsin Sickness and the artists, musicians, authors, and off-beat Wisconsin-based topics it contains. While the website has edgy content, she said, it is far from being a bastion of evil some have portrayed it.

  “Yes, it’s controversial,” she said, but it also provides information on state bands, artists and performers.

  “It’s a harmless interest,” Hintz said. “I’m not breaking any laws. I’m not breaking any Biblical laws. It’s a hobby.”

  Hintz was first told she would be removed “from all of your volunteer positions with Girl Scouts of Wisconsin Southeast” on Feb. 8, with the decision confirmed Tuesday by Mary Black, chief program officer for the Milwaukee-based Scouts council.

  In her email, Black said Hintz was removed as troop leader “due to violations of policy, including your endorsement, while in a Girl Scout capacity, of a website service that does not live up to the Girl Scout standards and principles.”

There are a lot of issues floating through this. First, let’s remember that the Girl Scouts are a private organization and they can choose to accept or deny volunteers on almost any basis. If they say that her affiliation with the website violates their standards, then so be it. It’s their choice. But that’s just one aspect of the story.

If you haven’t already, go check out the website in question, Wisconsin Sickness. You can see what they are about and read the contributor’s own commentary on this situation. What do you think? Is it satanic? There are overtones of the occult, for sure. Is it pornographc? While it mentions porn in places, I don’t see anything pornographic. Is it creepy? Somewhat. Is it interesting? Very. I’m thinking of picking up that book about paranormal Washington County. Does it indicate that the creators of the site are evil, abusive, or in any way a danger to kids? Without any further evidence, no.

What happened here seems pretty straight forward. Hintz was a scout leader for a few years. By all accounts, she was good at it and lauded for her efforts. Then some parents found out that she was affiliated with Wisconsin Sickness. They disapproved and complained to the authorities of the Girl Scouts to have her removed. The leadership of the Girl Scouts in Milwaukee agreed, and let her know that her services were no longer needed.

Were the parents justified in being concerned? Yes, I think so. At first blush, Wisconsin Sickness is disturbing and Hintz’s role involves a lot of contact with the parents’ kids. I would have been concerned. At the same time, the situation must be put into the context that Hintz has served in the role successfully for several years. While it looks like she’s into some goofy stuff, there doesn’t appear to be any indication that she exhibited bad behavior toward the kids. In the absence of any such bad behavior, I would have been reluctant to call for her removal, even if I would have asked her about it and kept an eye out.

I suspect that there is more to the story here. It doesn’t smell like we’ve heard the whole tale.

(6) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1143 hrs
Culture + Off-Duty

  1. While I don’t know anything about her particular situation, it seems to me that the people parents should be worried about are the ones that seem “normal” but aren’t. 

    Although the website isn’t really my cup of tea, it seems to me that just being “weird” shouldn’t automatically disqualify the woman from volunteering for the scouts.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 18, 2012 at 1226 hrs


  2. A few thoughts:

    1) She brought this upon herself by including a link to that site in her email signature (along with her cake decorating business) on emails that went to the other GS families, and I think that was the rationale for firing her as not representing the GSA organization.  She could have been more discreet.  Kind of hard to use the defense, “what I do in private/secret, etc. etc.” when you put it out there for all to see.

    2) I watched some of her videos & Facebook links, and media interviews.  Her husband’s site is getting massive publicity and links due to this.  I’m sure that is a good thing for them.

    3) I have a little bit of a problem with the “private/secret life vs. the good things I do in public”.  Sexual predators have abused a lot of victims by flying under the radar (being discrete and abusing children) while “doing good things” and being upstanding public citizens.  Serial killer John Wayne Gacy was a local politician and entertained children at hospitals - in the meantime he was practicing autoerotic strangulations on young men and burying them in the crawlspace under his home.

    4) She is kind of easy on the eyes and has a wonderful voice and articulate speaking voice.  Makes for good TV, etc.  See #2 above.

    5) While the site doesn’t ring any bells for me, I can see where some parents would be weirded out by it.  It might be unnerving to discover that “private/secret” side of someone close to your kids.  See #3 above.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 18, 2012 at 1413 hrs


  3. Yet it’s OK for Priests to abuse children and cover it up? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! They must have watched Footloose 2011 and decided to take a page out of that script. She did nothing wrong while she was fulfilling her duties in the girl scouts. It’s just a bunch of paranoid bible thumpers who have nothing better to do than create controversy.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 18, 2012 at 2109 hrs


  4. I support the Girl Scouts deciding who they do and do not want as a leader.

    Fair, or unfair, they have rght to decide as a private organization.

    What I find fascinating is the statement, “I’m a Pentecostal Christian.”  Then Owen agrees the controversial web site in question has “occult” overtones.  I think its a fair assessment by Owen.  I don’t know the precise doctrinal positions of the Pentecostal denomination, but both the Old and New Testament denouce such activity in terms of the Christian biblical cannons.

    Then the next most fascinating question is:  Will the Pentecostal church body find this promotion of occult activities, by one of its Christian members, acceptable, as pat of the church body of Christ?  (If it is OK for this member to continue this promotion of occult activities, that makes a second interesting debate whether “Pentecostal Christian” means “Christian”.)

    If promotion of the occult is not OK, from the Pentecostal church perspective, and the Pentecostal church allows this unacceptable activity to continue without some gentle admonishment to the member to correct and seek Christ’s redemption on the issue, does this mean the Girl Scouts have higher biblical standards than the Pentecostal church?

    (I’m assuming, with her statement, “I’m a Pentecostal Christian”, that she is a member of a formal Pentecostal church body.)

    That’s what I find very fascinating in this story.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 19, 2012 at 1155 hrs


  5. I agree with Owen, there is more to this story. It’s unfortunate that these moms like to live in their high school years and be so cliquey. The girls miss out on a good leader b/c a few snobby stay at home moms have nothing better to do.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 19, 2012 at 1235 hrs


  6. The Girl Scout Promise

    On my honor, I will try:
    To serve God and my country,
    To help people at all times,
    And to live by the Girl Scout Law.

    The Girl Scout Law

    I will do my best to be
    honest and fair,
    friendly and helpful,
    considerate and caring,
    courageous and strong, and
    responsible for what I say and do,
    and to
    respect myself and others,
    respect authority,
    use resources wisely,
    make the world a better place, and
    be a sister to every Girl Scout.


    I’m really, really, fascinated by this story now.  I looked this up on Girl Scout web site.  Volunteers are required to take this promise and oath.  Does “serving God” include promoting the “occult”-like activities in the web site in question? 

    Are the Girl Scouts allowed to enforce the Girl Scout Promise and the Girl Scout Law?...or are they just pretty, unenforceable, words to make everyone feel good?

    Just curious.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 19, 2012 at 1253 hrs


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