The harm has been done.

[Eamonn 61]

Most of the people I know are aware of my involvement in Scouts and Scouting.

At work, I do at times get teased. Of course I give as good as I get!

The teasing is more along the lines of good natured banter than any real form of teasing.

Many of our staff members are ex-military and a good many were Scouts, some have kids in the program. It's not unusual to see a notice of someone selling popcorn or Christmas trees on the Staff Notice Board.

One day this week I ran into one of my bosses.

We stopped for a chat. It wasn't by any means a formal interview or anything like that. Just two guys talking.

I really like the guy.

He is about ten years younger than I am. He really knows his job and is good at it.

I think he wants to go far and so far is doing a good job of reaching his goal.

We made small talk for a couple of minutes.

Then out of the blue he asked me if I was going to distance myself from the BSA?

This caught me a little off my guard. - I wasn't expecting it!

I asked why might I want to do that?

He said that being so close after the release of the files wasn't a good career move!

He went on to say that he had been a Boy Scout and had really enjoyed the time he spent as a Scout. (He didn't make any mention of what Troop, or rank.) I know that he has two girls that he has adopted. He kept talking saying that if he had a son, there is no way that he'd allow his son to join.

I explained to him that I really wasn't looking for any kind of a promotion, in fact I was happy where I was, so the idea of career building hadn't crossed my mind.

I went to say that it was clear that the BSA had messed up, but from my point of view the core values of the organization were very much in line with my own and that when it comes to keeping kids safe the BSA is really trying. I however do believe that parents also have a duty. They need to get to know the person and the people who they are allowing to take care of their kids.

 

I'm not sure if our little chat in any way changed his mind or not?

I tend to think not.

The view of one person is not enough to really make any sort of a judgment on the feeling of others.

I do however wonder if he'd said this to someone else who was setting his eyes on promotion, someone who wasn't able to give as good as he gets, if the idea of being associated with the BSA would get in the way? If they would quit and not want it known that they were members?

 

The BSA has a real PR nightmare on their hands.

While most of us have enough passion and love for this organization that will see us through and help us get past any mess and any mishandling.

I don't know if new parents and people who are on the sidelines will think the same way.

Ea.

[qwazse 4346]

Our secretary has seen me leave the office in full uniform on my way to the occasional meeting on the work end of town. They all know when I'm taking time off to haul kids into the back-country. Moreover, when Mazucca was SE here, he sent a letter to our chairman thanking him for allowing us the time off to volunteer as a scouter.

 

My colleagues work with some really messed up kids. I haven't read all of their case histories (some go back to the '80s), but few of them involve direct abuse, and none of them involve a scout (or priest, for that matter). Long story short, there are so many ways that parents can jam up your mind, it's ridiculous.

 

The BSA has a PR problem, it's our job to fix it in the long haul. That includes sticking to YPT guidelines and cranking out some kids who become thoughtful and caring adults.

[Eagle732 27]

We can't change the past, we can only influence the future.

 

I believe today BSA is doing a good job educating and preventing child abuse. I also believe they were in many respects ahead of the times with their files. The original sex offender registry.

[Brewmeister 132]

Scouting is local...

 

[skeptic 999]

Yesterday I had seven scouts and three adults, including myself, helping in a Forest Service related cleanup of a closed shooting site. It was sponsored by one of the local area forest support volunteer groups. My experience with these groups is that they tend toward what would be considered "liberal" by many, so likely could project negativeness towards BSA based on media issues.

 

There was not one negative comment from any of them. Rather, they were all thrilled to have our help, and especially appreciated the kids, even commenting on their enthusiasm on finding strange things, as well as noting they were pretty typical in focus, needing to be prodded a bit at times, but keeping at it.

 

Only one example, but I honestly was a bit concerned I might have to field some negative comments and or deal with innuendo. Was pleased I did not, and even more pleased with the apparently open acceptance and welcome.

 

As an aside, we had a troop reunion of sorts. An 80 year old gentleman came down from Santa Barbara to help out, a part of the greater LPNF support group that sponsored. He heard me say where we met (no uniforms, though did have troop t's by some). He asked the troop number, and then told me he had been in our unit during WWII. Another lost alumnus found. Hope to have a photo a guy took of him with three of the current scouts and myself; sort of three generations. But, he noted that they did a lot of community service back then; and he is still doing it.

[Eagle732 27]

So your boss leads a squeaky clean life? No association with organizations that have had problems in the past, like maybe a Church?

[BadenP 93]

 

I have to kinda of agree with Eagle 732 association with an organization is not the same as being one of its leaders. A good friend of mine who is a priest and I have had discussions about the Catholic Church. He told me that even many of his own parishioners look at him with distrust, he says attendance and offerings are really down since the pedophile reports became more widespread. It is really sad to me that he has to take the flack for the actions of his brother priests who hide in the shadows and protection of a code of silence among the church clergy.

 

The BSA leadership is going to similiarly be held accountable, public opinion will continue to be negative and unfortunately the scout leaders in the field will have to endure continuing negative scouting comments, parents pulling their kids out, accusatory comments by coworkers, etc. A whole program of instilling values into their members will be forgotten and replaced in the publics minds as an organization of child molestors. Hardly the legacy you want the BSA to have to take into its next hundred years.

[Eagle92 110]

We all know the negative stuff is out there. I made darn sure that the YP section is in the HBs and they WILL be going over that info with their kids as it is required. The adults feel comforted about it.

 

Going a step further, and also to help with our leader recruiting process , my pack is going to do a live YPT for all parents and leaders that need it. Part of it is to grease the recharter process for any new committee members/leaders. Part of it is so that parents will know exactly what the leaders know and the process.

[acco40 95]

I stepped down as a Scoutmaster after about 8 years because my boys were through (over 18) and it was time. It had nothing to do with God/gays or perversion files.

 

Since I've left, about two years, the council has merged with another council and then just recently into one big "super council", announced the closure of about five major camps in the council, seen our local paper (Detroit Free Press) have a large Sunday article on the 52 Scouters with Michigan ties listed in the "perversion files" and generally seen a slide in funds, membership and community support.

 

My biggest disappointment is in the parents who now view Scouting as something to pad the resume of their son for a college application and not as a program that builds character.

[Eamonn 61]

"So your boss leads a squeaky clean life? No association with organizations that have had problems in the past, like maybe a Church?"

I'm not sure how squeaky clean his life might be.

But I do know that he isn't facing the problems that the BSA is.

 

If our only answer, only reply to the crisis we face is to poke fun at the people who are now feeling uneasy? Then we might as well all quit now.

 

Within our own ranks I do think that our members support the organization and feel that any sort of abuse wouldn't and isn't going to happen on their watch.

I'm not sure how much or how little public support the BSA might or might not have?

However, I do tend to think that parents very well might not want their child joining.

Nearly all the parents of young children (Tiger Cub and Cub Scout age.) That I know of are very busy people. Very few work Monday -Friday 9-5 jobs. Many have a lot of debt, mortgages, school loans, car payments, the list goes on.

Scouting isn't the only game in town. Their kids can be involved in a lot of after school activities. Most of which don't really need parents to get involved and most of these activities don't have the stain that the BSA now has.

The future of the BSA depends on not only recruiting these young kids but also being able to select / recruit their parents as the next group of adult leaders.

We can and to a great extend have done a good job of not only keeping their kids safe. We have the protection plans in place, we have the training's in place.

I think that if asked I could show all of these and have a good chance of putting any parent or maybe parents mind at ease.

When it comes to asking a young parent to make time and give up time to volunteer as an adult leader? Taking away the idea that he might be seen by others as some kind of a deviant? Might be a lot harder.

Me saying that he isn't squeaky clean. Or that his association with organizations that have had problems in the past, like maybe a Church?

Really isn't going to do much to help.

Eamonn

 

 

 

[Kahuna 172]

I've had no negative comments, but find people are interested to know what BSA does nowadays to prevent abuse. They are impressed by the background checks, YPT and guidlines now in place. I think the BSA is today in the forefront of child protection and has been for some time. Some people, like Eamonn's boss, are going to think what they think and there really isn't much we can do about it.

[Basementdweller 608]

Only 50 some reported in the entire state of Michigan over 50 years????

 

I wonder what % the abusers make up of the total number of volunteers that served during the same period????

 

 

I agree one is too many, but really it is probably well less than .0001 of one percent of total number of volunteers.

 

Glass half empty or full?

[Eagle732 27]

Eamonn,

My comments were not meant to call into question your bosses personal life but rather the organizations that he associates.

[OldGreyEagle 5]

It was Rudyard Kipling who gave us the following:

 

"... If you can meet with triumph and diaster and treat those two imposter's just the same..."

 

AND

 

"...Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools"

 

Anyone can support an organization in easy times, its in adversity that true character is revealed, what will such a revelation say about us?

 

[CalicoPenn 729]

"Only 50 some reported in the entire state of Michigan over 50 years????

I wonder what % the abusers make up of the total number of volunteers that served during the same period????

I agree one is too many, but really it is probably well less than .0001 of one percent of total number of volunteers.

Glass half empty or full?"

 

I understand the sentiment being expressed, but perception is always worse than realty. We can sit here and use the "only" word all we want, but that's not going to counter the perception of a news story that lays out 50 some reports in one story.

 

Consider this - Chicago has been in the news alot this summer for the number of murders that have taken place - 436 as of October 27. Of course, one is too many, but, with a population of 2.69 million, the murder rate is less than .01 percent (436 divided by 2.6 million = .0001 which is .01 percent). Statistically, that's insignificant - but new-wise, it's not. We can't defend ourselves with "statistically insignificant".