Oh the hypocrisy. It looks like over the last 20 years, Boy Scouts of America has been covering for child molesters. An investigation by the Los Angeles Times has unearthed what's informally called the organization's "perversion file," records of blacklisted scout leaders who allegedly molested boys in their care. The list goes back to 1919! And BSA has been fighting to keep the list secret.
Now we see why: Because time after time BSA let alleged child molesters quietly resign under false pretenses, neglecting to alert the authorities about reports of abuse. Worse, because BSA leaders didn't report these incidents, alleged molesters sometimes weaseled their way back into the organization to do it all over again!
Who were the Boy Scouts of America trying to protect with this supposed black list? Definitely not the boys or their families! This sort of cover-up is much more about protecting the alleged molesters and especially protecting the reputation of the organization. No wonder they take such a hard line against gay scoutmasters. Right?
Wrong. The ban on gay scout maters totally misses the point. None of the alleged or convicted child molesters were gay. Gay does not mean child molester. Not the same thing, folks! And anyone with half a brain knows that openly gay men like GROWNUP MEN, not boys. Men who are into boys are in a whole, sick, disturbed category all of their own. It is not even remotely the same thing. Not even if you're into twinks. Anyway, you lose all claims to "morality" when you cover up for child molesters.
So let's look at the facts as they're being reported. Most allegations of abuse were reported to the police before they were reported to the Scouts, so that's a relief, anyway. But there are about 500 reports that came from kids, parents, or other sources. Of those, about 400 of those cases were never reported to the police. And in 100 of those cases, there were attempts to actively cover up the incidents.
So here we are now, and I have a son in Boy Scouts. How thrilled am I with this news? My son is pretty young and hasn't gone on any overnight camping trips. Meetings are at a church, not in anyone's home. And it's some relief to know that in 2010 the BSA instituted a policy requiring leaders to report any and all cases of suspected abuse to the authorities. But still -- this story really makes me wonder about the culture in BSA leadership and where their priorities are. Maybe we'll skip scouting this year, after all.
Do you feel secure that BSA's new policy about reporting incidents of abuse will protect your child?
Image via anja_johnson/Flickr
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Comments 42
What I meant about your weird theory is you make it sound like any person to volunteer their time was a pedophile. Like I said for all you know its not the outside world you should be worried about but your own family. I would also like to point out that as someone who knows a lot about the gay community there are a lot and I mean a lot of 50 year old gay men openly living with house boys as young as 15 and it seems as though its a pretty acceptable part of the gay community. Is that 50 year old a gay guy or a pedophile?
The point is we all hate rapist and pedophiles and we all want them to have nothing to do with our children. You could have made your point with out attacking florida's parenting skills and you chose not to do that. You have to remember that it has only been in the last 20 years that we as Americans are even trying to fix this problem and we are going to make mistakes along the way. Part of preparing your children for the real world is exposing them to it, and talking to them about the bad things out there that could happen and how to deal with it. The public school's have made a lot of mistakes along the way but the video I was shown in the 2nd grade about pedophiles is what got me out of my situation. Thankfully I didn't need an adult to save me because that video told me how to take care of myself. It doesn't mean I don't deal have problems with what happened but I'm so glad I was prepared and that as bad as things were they weren't worse. It sounds like you, and floridamom and I have a lot in common in wanting to protect our children. Maybe we don't agree how to get there, but we all want the best for our children. You should do what you think is right for your son, just know it doesn't mean your way is right for everyone else.
Oh, Kelleykpk, you should never make assumptions, they make you look silly. I am a stay at home, homeschooling mom. Surprisingly that means that not only do I teach my children myself, I'm with them in almost every endeavour (including volunteering in their scout programs). I don't assume anyone is inherently safe for my children to be with. I was pointing out that the BSA is taking many steps to prevent any child from being mistreated while in their care. Perhaps you should go watch a boy or cub scout meeting or activity to see for yourself what they are like before judging them. Gasp! There it is. The liberals most hated action, judging. Talk about hypocrisy! Liberals yell and whine about the dreaded judging, but judge everything and everyone they disagree with to be hatred and/or vile and/or evil.
psst, Kelleykpk, do you put your children is school? If you do then you are doing the very things you just told me not to do.
wamom223
Florida I respect you as a mother and will always come to your defense when that is put in question. I know you can defend yourself but it offended me and I had to say something. It sounds like Kelly is a good mom too, with her children's best interest at heart. I just didn't like the attack on you to make her point when she was dead wrong about you.
No child should be harmed in an organization meant for children. If something so hideous happened over years to many children,then that organization has to answer for that. Period!
Well then, bleedingheart, I expect you to begin condemning public schools any minute and calling for the end of those programs.
You whiney bitches are so hell bent on finding offence you cant even understand context. I'm not going to bother reading all of your misdirections. I was politley debating until wamom called me an ass, and you obviously cannot tolerate someone elses opinion on a subject and make an intelligent, relivent responce. I was not referrring solely to floridamom, its pretty damn obvious through all of the "we's" thrown in there that all of my comment was a generalization, besides the part where I said to her that two years do not make up for these cases of undisclosed un reported abuse or the influence of higher ups telling victims to keep quiet or shaming them into secrecy. wamom I straight up dont beleive you, you should have a little more compassion towards the victims and a little less for the abusers.You don't get to make up things to prove your point, but if you were I am sorry that happened to you, it wasn't your fault. This is the last time I'm arguing with any of you since this will be taken out of context and twisted into something you can be offened by as well.
Guest - The term gay means likes to have sex with some one of the same gender.....that is not a child. There is a word specifically for sick people who like children and that would be pedophile. I suppose you could call an adult who likes children that are the same sex as said adult a gay pedophile but you would NOT just call that person gay. That would be the point the author was trying to make because some people don't want gay men as scout leaders because they feel that since they like men they will prey on their sons, which is completely assinine. Ok? Ok.
Kelly could care less if you believe me. You are the one that has no idea what you are talking about. You make a lot of assumptions and you are wrong a lot. I do have compassion for victims and want to teach people how to make sure they don't become ones. Unfortunately I know that we live in a big bad world and there are bad people out there. I can not condemn the BSA and then not also condemn the public school district. In fact the man that molested me was a teacher. The school district cut him a deal so they would save face and he wouldn't go to jail. Do I blame the school district or do I blame the guy that abused me? I wish that school district had made different choices but I wouldn't tell them to shut down over it either. My abuser has been busted many times and keeps finding a way to get back on the streets and there is nothing that can be done about it, I know I have tried. So because I live in the real world I know the best thing I can do is educate my son and make the best informed decisions about the people he spends time with. I am really sorry you are so close minded and so unwilling to admit when you're wrong that you would accuse someone you don't even know of making something up to make a point to you.