Camp Mystic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have learned so much about camp culture this week from the news. Anyone care to explain the use of Native American tribe names and headdresses by these white, Christian kids? Tradition?

Just stop trying to divert. Start a new thread.

DP. This is already a repeat of a prior thread. The topic has been discussed thoroughly; which is why people keep straying off topic. To have anything new to discuss at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, historically a good number of these oldest camps have not been particularly religious, including Mystic. I was surprised to see it described as that in the media but then I saw that they even have that word on their website and social media now. In decades past they have been "Christian" like TCU or SMU are "Christian".

There are other much more faith-based camps in the area that are funded by church organizations, etc.

True, but as a Jew, I wouldn't send my kid there....

Thank God!

Wow. Blatant antisemitism. Nice.

I read that as "because your kid could have drowned."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, historically a good number of these oldest camps have not been particularly religious, including Mystic. I was surprised to see it described as that in the media but then I saw that they even have that word on their website and social media now. In decades past they have been "Christian" like TCU or SMU are "Christian".

There are other much more faith-based camps in the area that are funded by church organizations, etc.

True, but as a Jew, I wouldn't send my kid there....

But doesn't the jewish community traditionally have Jewish camps, that Jewish kids love and that lasts about 2 months? All of my Jewish friends went to jewish camp and now send their kids to Jewish camp. They rave about it. So your statement doesn't make much sense.

I’m the PP you quoted. We’re agnostic Jews and I wouldn’t send my kid to a traditionally Jewish camp either (nor did I attend one). My kid goes to a not at all religiously affiliated camp. There are no prayers. No services. No grace before meals (though they did thank the chefs!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also, historically a good number of these oldest camps have not been particularly religious, including Mystic. I was surprised to see it described as that in the media but then I saw that they even have that word on their website and social media now. In decades past they have been "Christian" like TCU or SMU are "Christian".

There are other much more faith-based camps in the area that are funded by church organizations, etc.

True, but as a Jew, I wouldn't send my kid there....

But doesn't the jewish community traditionally have Jewish camps, that Jewish kids love and that lasts about 2 months? All of my Jewish friends went to jewish camp and now send their kids to Jewish camp. They rave about it. So your statement doesn't make much sense.

I’m the PP you quoted. We’re agnostic Jews and I wouldn’t send my kid to a traditionally Jewish camp either (nor did I attend one). My kid goes to a not at all religiously affiliated camp. There are no prayers. No services. No grace before meals (though they did thank the chefs!)

Meant to add — if I had to choose an option though I’d choose one that was more Jewish than one that had prayer elements like this (Hamotzee vs. Grace).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have learned so much about camp culture this week from the news. Anyone care to explain the use of Native American tribe names and headdresses by these white, Christian kids? Tradition?

What is your point? That these girls deserved to drown in a flood because the camp they were sent to has unenlightened traditions?

My point was really a question - this cultural appropriation is still going on? I was surprised to learn about the camp culture.

The term cultural appropriation is some woke BS, it’s not real life. Anything related to such woke BS is no longer tolerated, cowboys and Indians for all!

Maybe in your alternate reality…

[Anonymous]

My kids camp in woke California uses…. Flowers and trees. Kids seem happy!

[Anonymous]

I'm from the south and understand camp culture and its importance to many families. I have multiple friends with some association to Camp Mystic as former campers, counselors, etc. It's not my thing, but I get it.

Here's what I don't understand.

This camp - and many camps in that area - have been there for 100 years. This is a big part of the tradition; campers literally stay in the same cabins that their moms, grandmothers, aunts, etc. did. They are not going to up and move the location of the camp. But, given the nature of the river and history of flooding there, why are they not better regulated? Are they inspected for safety, beyond the dining room kitchens? How do they get insurance being situated so close to the river as they are?

It seems to me that any of these privately held camps that host thousands of kids across the course of the summer would pay more attention to safety factors. I'm sure they do some sort of weather drills and training, etc. with their young staffs. But this is the kind of thing that needs to be reviewed and thought through on an annual basis. Why was no one awake that night, all night, watching the weather forecast? The warnings were there and they grew increasingly dire throughout the night. That should be standard operating procedure for any facility like this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm from the south and understand camp culture and its importance to many families. I have multiple friends with some association to Camp Mystic as former campers, counselors, etc. It's not my thing, but I get it.

Here's what I don't understand.

This camp - and many camps in that area - have been there for 100 years. This is a big part of the tradition; campers literally stay in the same cabins that their moms, grandmothers, aunts, etc. did. They are not going to up and move the location of the camp. But, given the nature of the river and history of flooding there, why are they not better regulated? Are they inspected for safety, beyond the dining room kitchens? How do they get insurance being situated so close to the river as they are?

It seems to me that any of these privately held camps that host thousands of kids across the course of the summer would pay more attention to safety factors. I'm sure they do some sort of weather drills and training, etc. with their young staffs. But this is the kind of thing that needs to be reviewed and thought through on an annual basis. Why was no one awake that night, all night, watching the weather forecast? The warnings were there and they grew increasingly dire throughout the night. That should be standard operating procedure for any facility like this.

Is it common to have someone literally awake watching the weather forecast at any camp? I'm sure that many of y'all will become experts on the Camp Mystic Safety Manual as soon as it's available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm from the south and understand camp culture and its importance to many families. I have multiple friends with some association to Camp Mystic as former campers, counselors, etc. It's not my thing, but I get it.

Here's what I don't understand.

This camp - and many camps in that area - have been there for 100 years. This is a big part of the tradition; campers literally stay in the same cabins that their moms, grandmothers, aunts, etc. did. They are not going to up and move the location of the camp. But, given the nature of the river and history of flooding there, why are they not better regulated? Are they inspected for safety, beyond the dining room kitchens? How do they get insurance being situated so close to the river as they are?

It seems to me that any of these privately held camps that host thousands of kids across the course of the summer would pay more attention to safety factors. I'm sure they do some sort of weather drills and training, etc. with their young staffs. But this is the kind of thing that needs to be reviewed and thought through on an annual basis. Why was no one awake that night, all night, watching the weather forecast? The warnings were there and they grew increasingly dire throughout the night. That should be standard operating procedure for any facility like this.

There used to be federal oversight and plans in place to keep everyone safe. So, they thought it was safe because they don't realize that firing 600 people that keep the US safe from weather disasters, actually, kept people safe from weather disasters. So now they know, or they don't because they would have to look themselves in the mirror.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm from the south and understand camp culture and its importance to many families. I have multiple friends with some association to Camp Mystic as former campers, counselors, etc. It's not my thing, but I get it.

Here's what I don't understand.

This camp - and many camps in that area - have been there for 100 years. This is a big part of the tradition; campers literally stay in the same cabins that their moms, grandmothers, aunts, etc. did. They are not going to up and move the location of the camp. But, given the nature of the river and history of flooding there, why are they not better regulated? Are they inspected for safety, beyond the dining room kitchens? How do they get insurance being situated so close to the river as they are?

It seems to me that any of these privately held camps that host thousands of kids across the course of the summer would pay more attention to safety factors. I'm sure they do some sort of weather drills and training, etc. with their young staffs. But this is the kind of thing that needs to be reviewed and thought through on an annual basis. Why was no one awake that night, all night, watching the weather forecast? The warnings were there and they grew increasingly dire throughout the night. That should be standard operating procedure for any facility like this.

Is it common to have someone literally awake watching the weather forecast at any camp? I'm sure that many of y'all will become experts on the Camp Mystic Safety Manual as soon as it's available.

PP here. Are you kidding me?

Suppose you're the owner/ operator of a camp that hosts 850 children on site at one time. Don't you think you would spring for a couple of overnight security people at $25 an hour to make sure everything is OK overnight, while all of the children and staff are sleeping??? Or are you OK to just go to sleep in the middle of the woods, away from everything, and hope nothing happens for 6-8 hours?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm from the south and understand camp culture and its importance to many families. I have multiple friends with some association to Camp Mystic as former campers, counselors, etc. It's not my thing, but I get it.

Here's what I don't understand.

This camp - and many camps in that area - have been there for 100 years. This is a big part of the tradition; campers literally stay in the same cabins that their moms, grandmothers, aunts, etc. did. They are not going to up and move the location of the camp. But, given the nature of the river and history of flooding there, why are they not better regulated? Are they inspected for safety, beyond the dining room kitchens? How do they get insurance being situated so close to the river as they are?

It seems to me that any of these privately held camps that host thousands of kids across the course of the summer would pay more attention to safety factors. I'm sure they do some sort of weather drills and training, etc. with their young staffs. But this is the kind of thing that needs to be reviewed and thought through on an annual basis. Why was no one awake that night, all night, watching the weather forecast? The warnings were there and they grew increasingly dire throughout the night. That should be standard operating procedure for any facility like this.

Is it common to have someone literally awake watching the weather forecast at any camp? I'm sure that many of y'all will become experts on the Camp Mystic Safety Manual as soon as it's available.

At the camp I attended there absolutely was a counselor tasked with being up all night for medical emergencies, weather, comms, etc. I’m floored there wasn’t someone looking out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's affecting me more than I thought it would. My 9 year old daughter got home from 3 weeks at camp this weekend and I cried myself to sleep last night thinking about if she was one of the girls at Mystic.

It doesn't change my mind about sending her to camp -- there's so much good that comes from it to forgo it for a statistically rare event (just like I keep sending my kid to school despite the very statistically rare event of school shootings) but its just so so awful.

I hope this is hyperbole. If not, it’s not a normal reaction.

Yes it is very much "normal" you must not have a kid. -DP

1000%. My very alpha husband teared up reading the latest last night too. When you have kids the same age, and it’s a small world with lots of friends of friends stories coming through, it is the normal human response.

DP, tearing up, or crying while you see the news story, or even crying for a few minutes later as you think about it, is very different than crying yourself to sleep.

FFS just stop PP. We need different level of empaths in the world to balance out the likes of you. I do not cry much but when I do, it exhausts me and I may fall asleep.

[Anonymous]

Imagine sending your child to any sleepaway camp along this particular river. Ever again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm from the south and understand camp culture and its importance to many families. I have multiple friends with some association to Camp Mystic as former campers, counselors, etc. It's not my thing, but I get it.

Here's what I don't understand.

This camp - and many camps in that area - have been there for 100 years. This is a big part of the tradition; campers literally stay in the same cabins that their moms, grandmothers, aunts, etc. did. They are not going to up and move the location of the camp. But, given the nature of the river and history of flooding there, why are they not better regulated? Are they inspected for safety, beyond the dining room kitchens? How do they get insurance being situated so close to the river as they are?

It seems to me that any of these privately held camps that host thousands of kids across the course of the summer would pay more attention to safety factors. I'm sure they do some sort of weather drills and training, etc. with their young staffs. But this is the kind of thing that needs to be reviewed and thought through on an annual basis. Why was no one awake that night, all night, watching the weather forecast? The warnings were there and they grew increasingly dire throughout the night. That should be standard operating procedure for any facility like this.

Is it common to have someone literally awake watching the weather forecast at any camp? I'm sure that many of y'all will become experts on the Camp Mystic Safety Manual as soon as it's available.

PP here. Are you kidding me?

Suppose you're the owner/ operator of a camp that hosts 850 children on site at one time. Don't you think you would spring for a couple of overnight security people at $25 an hour to make sure everything is OK overnight, while all of the children and staff are sleeping??? Or are you OK to just go to sleep in the middle of the woods, away from everything, and hope nothing happens for 6-8 hours?

There was a night security guard and he helped evacuate and rescue the girls.

He didn't start the evacuation the day before, which in hindsight is when the evacuation should have started.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm from the south and understand camp culture and its importance to many families. I have multiple friends with some association to Camp Mystic as former campers, counselors, etc. It's not my thing, but I get it.

Here's what I don't understand.

This camp - and many camps in that area - have been there for 100 years. This is a big part of the tradition; campers literally stay in the same cabins that their moms, grandmothers, aunts, etc. did. They are not going to up and move the location of the camp. But, given the nature of the river and history of flooding there, why are they not better regulated? Are they inspected for safety, beyond the dining room kitchens? How do they get insurance being situated so close to the river as they are?

It seems to me that any of these privately held camps that host thousands of kids across the course of the summer would pay more attention to safety factors. I'm sure they do some sort of weather drills and training, etc. with their young staffs. But this is the kind of thing that needs to be reviewed and thought through on an annual basis. Why was no one awake that night, all night, watching the weather forecast? The warnings were there and they grew increasingly dire throughout the night. That should be standard operating procedure for any facility like this.

Is it common to have someone literally awake watching the weather forecast at any camp? I'm sure that many of y'all will become experts on the Camp Mystic Safety Manual as soon as it's available.

At the camp I attended there absolutely was a counselor tasked with being up all night for medical emergencies, weather, comms, etc. I’m floored there wasn’t someone looking out.

PP again. A counselor?? That's not good enough. If you have 850 CHILDREN as your responsibility, again sleeping out in the middle of the woods away from serious medical help, etc., for weeks at a time, there damn well should be a full staff of adult security guards.

The more I think about it, this is 100% on the camp. I hope parents are lining up lawsuits.