Boy Scouts of America files for bankruptcy

[Neutral Corner]

Facing hundreds of sex abuse lawsuits.

Sad.

Boy Scouts of America files for bankruptcy amid hundreds of sexual abuse lawsuits - CNN

 

[SoloFlyer]

Facing hundreds of sex abuse lawsuits.

Sad.

Boy Scouts of America files for bankruptcy amid hundreds of sexual abuse lawsuits - CNN

Couldn't happen to a more deserving organization, except the Catholic Church.

 

[Scout]

So the current organization needs torn to ground.

Should something replace it? My daughter is a Girl Scout, and with all its mismanagement at the local level, it’s still a good organization.

Can the local troops press forward? Do localities run something sort of like parks and rec soccer but with teams of scouts?

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

Before the usual suspects weigh in with a woe-is-America-leave-its-national-institutions-alone take, here’s a reminder that Boy Scouts of America made the bed they’re being forced to lie down in.

watchdog: Inside the Boy Scouts' 'Perversion Files' — Los Angeles Times

 

[DanielSimpsonDay]

 

[Cosmo]

I made it as far as Webelos before quitting. Still remember slaving over that Pinewood Derby car...

 

[DanOregon]

I had a good experience with Scouting, made friends, did more outdoors stuff than I likely would have - but I'm guessing this bankruptcy is just a legal maneuver like they did with some Catholic dioceses. It doesn't undo the damage done by people within the organization.

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

It is sad. Can we have one thing that doesn't get debased?

I didn't get very far in it, but scouting was one of the things that best blended kids from differing socioeconomic backgrounds, and almost completely erased the lines.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

The lawsuits I'm sure are a big factor. But so is the declining participation in outdoor recreation across the USA.

A little less than half of the entire population did not participate in outdoor recreation at least once in 2018. Only 13.9 percent of Americans went camping (and that includes backyard camping) at least once.

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

Surprised by those figures. Hiking is a way bigger deal than it was when I was a kid. A nice niche industry also.

 

[mateen]

You would hope there is a way to thread the needle and provide justice for victims without destroying the organization and the good it does. It obviously took way too long to implement them, but once they acted the scouts took effective steps to prevent abuse. Today there are very strict guidelines - a single scout can never be supervised only by a single adult, for example - that, at least in the troop my sons are in, are closely followed. I have never had a moment's doubt about my sons being safe at scout events, and it's been a very good program for them.

 

[TigerVols]

I credit a lot of my work ethic, project management skills and leadership abilities and sense of adventure to my nine years in Boy Scouts...that said, I hope it's blown up and replaced by a co-ed, civic-minded organization that replaces all the military indoctrination with an emphasis on civic duty and nature conservation.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Surprised by those figures. Hiking is a way bigger deal than it was when I was a kid. A nice niche industry also.

Hiking has shown some growth in the past few years. It was at 15.9 percent in 2018, up from 10.8 in 2007. Running was most popular (19.2) followed by fishing (16.4), cycling (15.9) and hiking and then camping (13.9).

The rise of all-encompassing travel ball probably hurts Scouting too.

 

[goalmouth]

I once slept in my Cub Scout uniform, I was so excited for the meeting the next day. That excitement ended with my first BS meeting, and I never went back.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

At the Catholic grade school I was at we probably had six kids who were enrolled as Cub Scouts in the early years. Then puberty hit and that **** went away real fast.

 

[3_Octave_Fart]

The hypercompetitiveness of the Pinewood Derby chased me off. Who needs that **** at age 8.

 

[Scout]

What’s interesting is how current Girl Scouts are pushing girls away from the traditional barefoot in the kitchen to being independent with math and science knowledge.

Unsure if Boy Scouts are peddling outdated thoughts.

And South Park nailed this about 15 years ago.

 

[SoloFlyer]

I credit a lot of my work ethic, project management skills and leadership abilities and sense of adventure to my nine years in Boy Scouts...that said, I hope it's blown up and replaced by a co-ed, civic-minded organization that replaces all the military indoctrination with an emphasis on civic duty and nature conservation.

Amen, well said.

 

[TowelWaver]

The hypercompetitiveness of the Pinewood Derby chased me off. Who needs that **** at age 8.

I finished dead last in the Pinewood Derby--by far, other cars were crossing the finish line as mine was only halfway down the ramp--as I had no aptitude for woodworking or crafting of any kind (and my dad tried to help, bless him). I was in tears the whole way home and never did that again.

My other boy scout ordeal was literally the "Ordeal" (Order Of The Arrow initiation). Anyone who has done it knows you spend the night outdoors under the stars, do a day of labor with minimal provisions, then at the end you're supposed to celebrate with a huge banquet. Oh, and you're not allowed to speak a whole word during the whole multi-day affair, until the banquet, or else you'll fail the ordeal.

So I'm out in the South Texas summer heat, wrapping up a day of cutting cedar trees, when I finally finished up and regrouped with my dad. He had to go meet with the other scoutmasters for some business before he could go to the banquet, so he left me with another troop with people I didn't really know to head to the banquet several miles away on the other side of the scout reservation. Unfortunately, for reasons to this day unknown, this other troop ditched me, and I trudged along in silence while being passed by every pickup truck full of scouts driving to the banquet. I wanted to ask each one for help or a ride but all I could do was look plaintively to no avail, until after awhile no more trucks were to be seen at all.

I had no idea where I was supposed to go or what I was supposed to do, just being a not-too-bright teen who thought I couldn't break silence yet and that maybe this all was still part of the ordeal. Finally after over an hour of walking in 90-100 degree temps all by myself, I happened upon a trailer in the middle of the reservation and thought to myself, "F this" and started banging desperately on the door. A man emerged in the doorway, and I explained to him what was going on, that I was so sorry and I wasn't supposed to be talking yet to the best of my knowledge, but I was lost, hot and tired; and had no idea where I was going and could he please help me? That man, God bless him as he probably saved my life, drove me over to the banquet site where my dad and the other scouts were, the rest of them carrying on happily and cluelessly. My dad, to his credit, had some words for the other leaders, but it was really too late as the damage was done. I quit scouting more or less immediately after that. And to this day I hate camping and the outdoors.

 

[DanielSimpsonDay]

The hypercompetitiveness of the Pinewood Derby chased me off. Who needs that **** at age 8.

A 1st and 2nd place finish. 1st was based on a Ferarri 308. 2nd was a Hot Wheels Large Charge (below). I didn't get a writeup in the paper. Y'all mutha****as cost me a Pinewood Derby scholarship.