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ParkMan

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Everything posted by ParkMan

  1. I think we need to be clear though. The LC do not have billions - they have camp properties worth billions (maybe). As far as I know it, most councils are struggling to just pay their bills on time. That is why Churchill added in a 90 day liquidity goal. These are fairly small non-profits that have a few major assets (camps and maybe an office building), a fixed set of salaries to pay, and a donation stream to fund those salaries. Some may have an endowment that they can draw on for improvements and capital expenses. These are not companies with fixed revenue streams and numerou
  2. I have the utmost sympathy and compassion for those who were abused. Please accept my comments with that in mind. I find it very difficult do discuss this topic because of my sincere compassion for those who were abused. What's happening now is two sides are negotiating a settlement. The side that wants more and the side that wants less. The BSA and those representing it have a duty to Scouting to preserve as much as they can. The claimants and those representing them will try to extract as much as possible. Am I wrong here? It is in the best interest of claimants to paint the
  3. As I expect that you would. Are you not a member of the group suing the BSA? Seems to me what we really have here is two groups: those was hurt a years ago trying to extract as much money from Scouting as possible those who are involved in the program today trying to preserve as much of Scouting as possible I know the media has portrayed this as victims vs. the national BSA - but at this point, it's really gone beyond that. This is about how much of Scouting in the US do the claimants want to dismantle. Of course the claimants are going to try to make national look awfu
  4. I will be interested to hear if you get a response. I am not connected to these discussions even tangentially and everything that I have ever heard is that our own council is involved in a good faith way in what is going on. Each council will get advice from legal council and so will and will not say certain things. Those statements may seem adversarial - but in reality they are simply protective measures trying to navigate this process in the most responsible way possible. In a world where it is very likely that that victims and their lawyers will drive liquidation of the BSA and ces
  5. And the only way you get to those levels is to: close the BSA at the national level - sell off all national assets and HA bases. merge all councils in a territory in to one organization. Sell all camps and facilities - leave one camp per each of the 16 regions for a summer camp. My guess is that a year from now the BSA is a confederation of 16 territories with 16 regional camps and no local councils.
  6. I don't know if $1.3 billion will be enough. I suspect that they will ask councils to contribute $1 billion. The language I've read suggests that the victims lawyers believe that the councils have more assets than national. I expect the victims target number is $2 billion.
  7. Which is why I try to avoid these kinds of discussions in my life. I don't see that we can ever reach a conclusion on these debates - even amongst Scouters. Myself, I think the message is: it's without question that abuse happened Scouters in the BSA should always do whatever we can to prevent the abuse of youth. When abuse occurs, we should focus on learning what happened and work to learn from those cases so we can prevent it in the future. To me, the relevant question is whether the BSA is safe today. Regardless of whether it was safe in the 1980s and befo
  8. This is why it's important for supporters of the BSA to never try to defend the actions or inactions of the BSA back then. What was wrong was wrong. But it is fair to argue over the appropriate punishment. This is why SOL make sense.
  9. Thank you for the context. I am intellectually curious to know more about what happened, what the BSA did, and what the BSA did not do. I've heard various anicdotal comments, but do not recall seeing an impartial authoritative piece. Yet - I've come to the conclusion that making an argument about whether the BSA did enough back then is a mistake. The BSA and it's supporters will always lose an argument of whether the BSA did enough to prevent abuse. Even one single case of abuse is too much. To me the better argument is that "we believe the accusers, we have learned, we a
  10. That's a tremendous honor - to be recognized by your Scouts. Congratulations!
  11. Uncle - I give up. To me, this is a big part of the reason the BSA is in decline. It's always easier to take the safe road. It takes some vision for the BSA to define itself for 2021 and beyond. This is probably why the BSA doesn't have a stronger PR organization because we lack that willingness to have a vision and lead here.
  12. Thank you. I will recognize that I'm describing a goal more than a solution here - but it strikes me that must be cases nationally where organizations and politicians have been able to craft a PR strategy that takes historic bad acts and lawsuits and turns them into a positive message. I understand that these approaches must make lawyers squirm - but there has to be a way here. My sense is that the BSA typically has something of a bunker mentality. As such, I expect that the discussion in the national offices are indeed focused on limiting exposure in the lawsuit. I appreci
  13. To use another political concept, I essentially keep thinking of a concept I heard a lot about in the Clinton days - triangulation. Instead of the BSA defensively responding and requiring surrogates to defend it, why not simply own their history and become an advocate for those that were harmed? In essence, change the narrative. If someone wants to talk about 95,000 abuse cases - talk about 95,000 abuse cases. Ally with the people making the claims. Ally with the people leading the cause. Don't make it about victims vs. the BSA. Make it about Scouting being a leader in protectin
  14. Excellent suggestion. I know that many would think this would be in jest, but this is a wonderful idea. Imagine a Scouting campaign that showed real successful people and how Scouting helped them. Back in the 60s/70s I think there was a thing like this about astronauts. Today make it about media people.
  15. Though I am not a PR professional, I have been around enough companies that are good at this to completely concur. You see the same thing in successful politicians. It is never about attacking the victims. The BSA should never need to attack the victims. It is all about controlling the narrative as @yknot said so eloquently. The BSA should be out there holding events, on new shows, wherever they can be having conversations about how important it is to develop youth in our complex, challenging world. They should be the advocate for helping kids solve problems, be prepared for the
  16. I think @yknot is spot on. A war leader would find a way to get ahead of the public relations conversation here. The BSA doesn't win by being anti-victims. The BSA could win by getting out ahead and changing the conversation. Find a way to make this a discussion about the value of investing in the kids of today. Find a way to make this a discussion about how lawyers are playing both the victims and the youth of today to line their pockets. Get the BSA out in front of the public relations message. Were I Mosby, first thing I would have done is write the biggest check - one s
  17. I think that's the best we can hope for here. Share our own views on these topics and in the process be enriched from each other. I've welcomed your comments on this topic - in fact, I had not seen the website you referenced before. I also think that as an abuse victim you bring a different perspective to the discussion here that is very welcome.
  18. I have similar struggles with the idea of extending SOL for civil liabilities for non-profit organizations like the BSA. Extending SOL for criminal prosecution is something that I am 100% behind. I am 100% in support of extending SOL for civil liabilities for individuals. If an individual abused a Scout, 75 years ago they should held criminally and civilly liable to the fullest extent of the law. Similarly, for profit corporations that benefit financially and use that benefit to build their stock value should be held liable as well. Further - I of course want to see victims of abu
  19. @5thGenTexan I'm so terribly sorry to hear the emotional roller coaster that you are on. Scouting is a funny enterprise - we as volunteers come from all sorts of different backgrounds and styles. It is very tough to know how to interpret the comments and suggestions from other volunteers. At times, I've work with some of the absolutely friendliest, nicest Scouters. Other times, I've worked with Scouters who lack a personal filter and have said things to me that drove my to lose my own mojo in Scouting. The only suggestion that I can give you is to be honest with those that you vo
  20. If you are willing to volunteer and get registered, you will most likely make the Scoutmaster's day if you show up in uniform. Welcome to the world of volunteering!
  21. Point well taken. At the scout level just about all of this adult should be transparent - knots, FOS, round table, adult recognition dinners, Wood Badge, etc.. If it isn't, then we're doing it wrong. We're often quick to deride these things - but they really should frankly by inconsequential to the Scouts. To me the point is - let the program be the program. If individuals make mistakes, correct them. But I would encourage people to take a step back and let the program breathe. Keep it simple, make it fun.
  22. I never said he was anti-Wood Badge. I said he's beating up Wood Badge. I stand by that statement. My point is that as someone who is not anti-Wood Badge these sorts of statements jump out at me: We all get it - there are people who are over the top - it happens in every organization. But, we do not need to look for opportunity after opportunity to complain about it. We don't need to create labels like "Really Big Deal Cult" or "cult of critters" or assert that Wood Badge translates into "I am better than you." Point made, complaint registered. Can we please st
  23. I am sure you've got your reasons for beating up on Wood Badge. As someone who is not anti-Wood Badge, I perceive the frequency of such comments as being rooted in simply a dislike of the program. To use a similar analogy. I'm someone who will never be able to attend a week long resident camp. As such, I will never be a member of the OA. Yet, I hear about the OA constantly. OA events, OA inductions, OA campfires, OA ceremonies, OA drumming circles, and the list goes on. I won't ever be eligible to be part of that restrictive club. Yet, I've never once thought abut complaining about
  24. You guys kill me. Can we not miss an opportunity to bash Wood Badge? Wood Badge has beading ceremonies for one reason - tradition. There have been beading ceremonies for years now and so it's just part of what happens. Wood Badge has the unique combination of a lot of history, takes a lot of effort to complete, and has some unique bling. Most beading ceremonies I've attended give a short overview of Wood Badge, what the person did, and then simply give a overview of the bling, it's significance, and then present it. Most beading ceremonies I've seen at a unit level are typi
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