How’s that for a headline? It has everything — an improbable violent act, a clean-cut goody two-shoes as a victim and a tie to the Russians. Just add some blood and it is ready for TV.
On a trip long ago to Caracas, Venezuela, which was a beautiful country and an economic success back then as the twin engines of oil and tourism energized the country, we toured some remote areas and were shown a piranha feeding frenzy which was impressive. Devouring a cow in less than an hour was easy work for a hundred or so piranhas.
The guide pointed out some of the smaller ones (the wimple version) outside the feeding zone who were eating the tails of the piranhas in front of them while other piranhas were at their back eating their tails. Cannibalistic behavior without regard to the long-range consequences. I bought a mounted piranha and it sits on my bar to this day as a reminder of irresponsible activity.
This can be tied into the Boy Scouts, which are topical because of their recent bankruptcy filing — supposedly to protect assets and continue operations. A simple timeline below tells the entire story.
1991 — Margo somebody (a girl) joined the Cub Scouts, got outed and was removed. She sued, got her 15 minutes on Oprah and eventually dropped it.
1991 — later in the year Katrina Yeaw, a girl from California, sued the Boy Scouts so she could join and she (certainly with her parents’ encouragement) took it all the way to the California Supreme Court 8 years later where surprisingly (it being California) she was denied.
Two observations here: Did these girls not know the Girl Scouts existed? These names Margo and Katrina sound vaguely Russian to me. I don’t think that is a coincidence.
The same year, 1991, in another “coincidence” FBI agent Richard Miller is in his third trial for espionage. He was spying for the Russians! The Russians! He finally gets 30 years after 2 mistrials. And who is the hero who put this Russian spy away? U.S. Attorney Adam Schiff who sprung off of this into California State Senate and later U.S. House of Representatives.
2013 — Gay male individuals can join the Boy Scouts. No lawsuits, no doubt some threats.
2015 — Boy Scouts accept the notion that it is OK to have gay male individuals serve as leaders. What could possibly go wrong? Again no lawsuit, just some threats and a fast-track decision.
2017 — going for the trifecta, girls are now allowed to join the Boy Scouts. Notable lawsuit, the Girl Scout organization sues the Boy Scouts following this decision.
2019 — “Aqua Joe” a 39-year-old Scoutmaster is convicted of setting up hidden cameras at campsites and pools and other abusive behavior toward young Boy Scouts in his Scout Troop. He is sentenced to 30 years. #metoo will cross gender lines and sue the Boy Scouts for failure to protect its young members.
2020 — Boy Scouts declare bankruptcy.
2025 — this is in the future, but likely to happen. One of these 2 Russian girls, Margo or Katrina, is going to have a boy and he will want to join Boy Scouts. Can he? Should he? Can he sue somebody? Let’s check Adam Schiff’s visitor logs and see if Margo or Katrina ever visited him. Somehow I know this is Schiff’s fault and he’s certainly guilty of something.
I could easily cast the lawyers and the parents of Margo and Katrina as the piranhas in this story, but I’m going macro. Our whole society is acting like piranhas.
Some of us focus on jobs, family, religion, politics, entertainment, whatever it may be and we do not pay attention to the elements of uncaring thought that nibble at our edges — the fish that eats other fish just because another group of fish is eating a cow.
People that push for women’s rights or gay rights are not evil, they have legitimate and persuasive concerns and proposals. Unfortunately, we make decisions that are good for a sub-group rather than all of society. No better example of that than that of the Boy Scout fiasco.
As an Eagle Scout with a grandson in Cub Scouts, I take this whole thing personally, while I know I should not. I want to either suggest or be part of a better solution, but seeing a 100-year-old institution destroyed because of people seeking fame, fees, attention or “justice” saddens me into inaction.
I’m only half-kidding about the Russian connection in here. If someone wanted to destabilize a country, organizations like Boy Scouts would have to go. Let’s look at Boy Scouts in Germany: 1935, all operations suspended, all boys forced to join Hitler Youth movement. Then in 1947, Scouts restored in West Germany. 1990, Scouts restored in East Germany.
Maybe we should teach real history in our schools.
Rick Schlosser
Peachtree City, Ga.
Seriously Rick? The Boy Scouts have filed for bankruptcy because of girls and gays?
My husband is an Eagle Scout and has a Silver Palm, and went to the World Jamboree in 1979. (Where BTW, there were many coed troops from other countries.) Both my sons are Eagle Scouts, which they earned from their excellent troop here in Peachtree City. They both went to Philmont plus Florida Sea Base. It has been a great program for them to learn leadership and self confidence plus a love for the outdoors.
You are absolutely wrong about the reasons for the BSA’s bankruptcy. The fact that the Boy Scouts, for decades, failed to properly deal with adult leaders who molested scouts and only recently (in the last 10-15 years or so) implemented child protection procedures is why the organization is being sued by former members who had been molested.
Allowing gay scouts or gay leaders is not the problem here. The problem was with leaders who preyed on underage scouts. Being gay does not make a person into a pedophile. Openly gay men were not allowed as leaders until 2015. The cases in the lawsuits are from decades ago. The abuse occurred because there were no background checks done, leaders were allowed to be alone with scouts, and when abuse was discovered by others, it was covered up, instead of being turned over to the police. And it was being done by men who were not openly gay.
The updated child protection procedures include a requirement for a minimum of two leaders to be present at every event. No leader is ever allowed to be alone with a child who is not his or her own. Background checks are required of every leader. There are training materials that all adults and all scouts must review so that everyone is safe. And leaders are required to report any abuse to the police.
I’m glad the scouts have finally taken responsibility for their past failures and have sought to be a better organization going forward.
I’m also glad the scouts have accepted gays. It’s an organization that teaches young men to be kind, compassionate and accepting of others. Below is a quote directly from the scout handbook.
A Scout is kind. A Scout knows there is strength in being gentle. He treats others as he wants to be treated. Without good reason, he does not harm or kill any living thing. Kindness is a sign of true strength. To be kind you must look beyond yourself and try to understand the needs of others; take time to listen to people and imagine being in their place. It should never be difficult to show kindness to those in need and those who cannot defend themselves. What can be harder is being kind to people you don’t know or with whom you disagree. We live in a world that has more than its share of anger, fear, and war. Extending kindness to those around you and having compassion for all people is a powerful antidote to the poisons of hatred and violence. Kindness is not limited to how we feel about people. Be kind to pets and wildlife. Be kind to earth by protecting natural resources and by using the leave-no-trace methods of hiking and camping.
Let’s blame the Girls and the Gays. Rick, I have to ask – why did you leave out the real reason for the bankruptcy? You know, the fact that male leaders couldn’t keep their hands from the little scout’s private parts. Why did you choose to leave that out? While the Girl Scout lawsuit is most likely the straw that broke the camel’s back, the mountains of child abuse lawsuits and statute-of-limitations reforms in some states is what really did them in. At this point, the BSA had no other choice. The bankruptcy will freeze current lawsuits and put limitations on any further cases that happened in the past. This was BSA’s own doing. They had a choice, years ago, to hit these abuse cases head on. They should have acknowledged them and made changes in the organization immediately. They made the wrong choice and now they’re paying the price. But yeah, let’s blame the Girls and the Gays.
By the way, I am a former Cub Scout Den Leader, my son is currently a Boy Scout who is on track to make Eagle in about a year and a half, and we’ve been scouting since he was a Tiger. I can’t say enough good things about the program and leadership in his Troop. Our Scoutmaster and his wife are some of the most dedicated leaders that I have come across. Despite what is going on in the national organization, the local councils are strong and will continue to put out a great program that is in the best interest for all concerned. This last fall my Scout was selected for the National Youth Leadership Training program presented by the local council. My son’s patrol was made up of four boys and one girl. This patrol had to work together over a period of three weekends, changing leadership positions within the patrol. My son made absolutely no mention of this dynamic until we asked the names of the other members of his unit. I bring this to your attention because this younger generation does not have a problem with different genders working together. They may have a problem with personalities, but they do not have problem with genders. This is an advancement in our society that we all should be proud of.
You’re “half-kidding” about the Russian connection due to the names Margo and Katrina ‘sounding vaguely Russian to you’? You’re making a connection between Adam Schiff’s successful prosecution of a Russian spy to these two girls because you personally don’t know that Margo is a French name and Katrina is German?
“A simple timeline below tells the entire story” – Does it? Your timeline starts in 1991 and a large amount of the lawsuits that have caused the Boy Scouts to declare bankruptcy are from abuses long before 1991.
Your timeline seems to imply that by allowing gay people and girls into the Boy Scouts, they set themselves up for being sued into bankruptcy. You continue the timeline by mentioning ‘Aqua Joe’ who was convicted in 2019 but I have seen no reports that he was openly gay (which makes his conviction as a follow-up to the previous allowance of gay members irrelevant) and his abuses started in 2011 which is before “2015 — Boy Scouts accept the notion that it is OK to have gay male individuals serve as leaders. What could possibly go wrong?”
The lawsuits against the Boy Scouts are primarily due to the organization covering up the sexual abuse of children for decades, long before even the earliest entry on your timeline. So, a 100-year-old institution is not being “destroyed because of people seeking fame, fees, attention or ‘justice'”, it’s being sued for protecting and enabling sexual predators.