And there is a place that makes summer camp badges difficult at times.  Going through dozens of signed blue cards from camp, how many of us will have a serious talk with each scout about what he learned or did?  Hard to selectively judge unless something rings an alarm, like hearing from the counselor that the youth was not going, or not participating.  Of course then, the card also should never be signed as completed if that were the case.  We want to trust the youth, and hopefully will find few times to seriously challenge some things.  Fine lines and balance much of the time.  I am reminded of the great book by Cochraan, Be Prepared.  The SM in the story has taken over a troubled troop where much has been let slide.  He has two youth that are Eagles, and he has concerns about them based on observations of their skills and so on.  So, when he suspects they may not really be swimmers due to indictions they avoid the water and make excuses, he takes them in a row boat to the middle of the lake.  It is only a few hundred yards from shore which for someone with the swimming and life saving badges should not be an issue to swim back.  So, he tells them he wants them to swim back to shore and they refuse and admit they are pretty much unable to swim.  He challenges them as to how then they could be Eagles.  More discussion and he finally rows them all back.  He informs them that he is distressed by their obvious issues, especially as he needs them as leaders.  So, he suggests that they give him back their Eagles untilcan validate they deserve them.  I know, not allowed or realistic, but it is a story.  The book is really fun and also encouraging.  Ultimately, one boy's father challenges the issue and threatens the SM, while the other youth's parent acknowledges an issue.  And one boy does prove himself and is again given his Eagle.  The other drops out and has other issues as well.  Idealistic, but also makes us think.

Well, the  parents would be right. The average kid is far safer from sexual abuse in sports than the average kid in scouting. Sexual abuse of children is a society wide problem in any setting where adults have access to kids, but a kid on a soccer field for two hours in public view is far safer than a kid on a campground overnight in a remote location with unrelated adults. Studies like this highlight our problems with CSA but have little bearing on BSA's experiences and track record with it. 

I'm salivating waiting for this. It's going to exactly like climb on safely! A legal chokehold that elevates national from liability and voiding the indemnification clause for leaders who do not have the training and experience an incident. This is directly from climb on safely. "The adult supervisor works cooperatively with the climbing instructor and is responsible for all matters outside of the climbing/rappelling activity. " Climb on safely is not a training course in climbing. Contrary to popular belief it's a sideways acknowledgment from the leader who takes it that if BSA policies are not followed, they get hung out to dry. For the leaders that don't take it, things are just as bad. Ignorance is not a legal defense to liability in court. 

The sporting thing; there's an aspect of this compare and contrast that is not being discussed.  https://childusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Five-Key-Findings-from-the-EAS-7.9.2021-Updated.pdf#:~:text=18.3% (nearly 1 in 5) of elite athletes,minor by a sport official or peer athlete. Because of the decentralized nature of sports, schools, clubs, etc ... there's no great big target with a big pocket of money (when comparing to BSA). So for 30 years there are local discussion when a pedo coach or physically abusive coach or exclusionary club gets caught doing the wrong thing; however, there has never been a national discussion about this. Contrast that with national media constantly on BSA about the lawsuits, accusations, and most recently the settlement and bankruptcy. Perception is reality; some parents falsely think their kids are safer in sports.

Lot of wrong information about that second discussion with the SM about the MB. Page 41 of the GTA states that the 2nd discussion with the SM is supposed to be about the scouts experience, not a retest. As a SM you're signing the blue card not as an approval or denial, but acknowledging that the adult association of the discussion has taken place.