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Ryan's avatar

I went to Hidden Villa's 2 week "Farm & Wilderness" camp back in 1999, which involved a combination of farm work and backpacking run by a bunch of hippies. The F&W camp specifically was for young teenagers IIRC (I was 14 at the time) and for a significant chunk of us there, including myself, it was a way for their parents to get them out of the house. Despite growing up in the liberal Bay Area it was the first time I remember anyone talking about sexual orientation in a non-judgey welcoming way. One of the kids came out as gay at the camp (I wouldn't for another 2 years, but the experience certainly helped.) I don't remember anyone coming out as a they/them, but we're probably at least a decade before they would have started talking about gender identity. They didn't have any of those identity flags strewn about the camp either.

I can honestly say I never even noticed those swastika tiles, nor do I remember anyone noticing or talking about them at all. Given that summer camps rely on older HS and college students that can afford to take a mediocre paying jobs it's not too surprising that they'd end up with the exact sort of entitled emotionally stunted staffers that are incapable of understanding historical context. It's unfortunate cause the camp was a really great experience.

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ejb0137's avatar

I never went to camp there, but I spent time there on many occasions. I remember in high school I helped out with my best friend's Eagle Scout project, which was refurbishing the forge there. I also just went there to hike on the amazing trails there. My sense was always that it was a great organization that did a lot for the community, including all of the summer programs. It's sad to see stuff like this happening to good organizations.

I didn't know about the part where they were understaffed before people quit over the swastikas, though. I imagine that has something to do with other issues, like the labor shortage in general (and I imagine it must be even worse for non-profits), and the astronomical cost of living in the Bay Area.

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