WaPo, the BSA, and subversion
Incomplete draft:
For now, I just want to put in a reference to a WaPo Op-Ed:
By Stephen Stromberg, Washington Post Opinion writer
2020-02-19
The Boy Scouts of America on Tuesday filed for bankruptcy, following a decade of alarming revelations about the alleged sexual abuse of more than 12,000 Scouts; belated attempts at reform, including the decision to admit girls and gay Scouts; and profound disagreement about the youth organization’s future. I became an Eagle Scout in the late 1990s. Here’s some of what I learned back then, and have learned since, from the Scouting program.
I learned that the Boy Scouts of America was founded in 1910 “to teach patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred values.”
I learned that the most satisfying meal is a single banana and gulp of water after a day of much hiking and little food. Even if you hate bananas.
I learned that if you capsize in a small sailboat, you should try to bail out some of the water that has accumulated in the hull it before hopping back in.
I learned that institutions steeped in tradition do not change quickly enough.
I learned that a good friend of mine was gay, and that was why he had to abruptly leave our troop, even though he was by far the most competent Scout in our ranks.
I learned that you can do the bare minimum and persuade a merit badge counselor to grudgingly sign off on your art merit badge. But it feels a lot better when the basketry instructor wants to keep your warp-and-weft masterpiece as an example for future Scouts.
I learned what it feels like to jump 40 feet into a deep pool of freezing-cold water.
I learned that some of the bravest people are the ones who acknowledge who they are, knowing the consequences of telling the truth.
I learned how to use a compass.
I learned that you should always check whether the tide is coming in before you hike along a narrow beach abutting a steep cliff.
I learned that those who told children to be brave for decades ostracized vulnerable young men simply because of their sexual orientation.
I learned that those leaders were themselves afraid that membership would fall when some religious organizations ended their partnership with the Scouts after the organization finally stopped expelling boys based on who they were.
I learned to hate the cowardice those leaders exhibited.
I learned to hate my own, after I failed to stand up for my friend in front of adult leaders.
I learned that, when using a pocket knife, you always cut away from your body.
I learned that nature does not spare your feelings, and a wildfire in the Angeles National Forest might suddenly consume your favorite campgrounds.
I learned to fear bears less.
I learned to fear ticks more.
I learned that nearly a million adults volunteer their time to mentor young people in the scouting program.
I learned that some of the people involved in scouting do wrong, like the 7,819 who, according to an internal investigation commissioned by the Boy Scouts of America, may have sexually assaulted or abused 12,254 boys between 1946 and 2016. And one might not hear about that wrongdoing until years after it occurred.
I learned many adjectives. A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
I learned that I rarely qualified to be a Scout.
I learned to try harder.
I learned that if I brought a heavy pan on a backpacking trip, no one was going to carry it back out for me.
I learned that even an awkward late bloomer, the second-shortest person in his 8th-grade class, could carry a heavy pan on a backpacking trip.
I learned that female Boy Scout leaders were often tougher than male ones.
I learned that their daughters should have been allowed to become Eagle Scouts years before the program finally became more inclusive.
I learned that you never tie a slipknot when you’re throwing a line out to a drowning person. Always tie a bowline.
I learned CPR.
I learned that I could swim a mile.
I learned that life is rarely simple, but rather a disordered cacophony of triumphs, failures, facts, impressions, intentions, hopes, fears and acts of courage. Good lessons come from imperfect sources. Flawed people make bad decisions for what they think are good reasons. Sometimes your assumptions about your friends and the adults around you can be upended when you’re just trying to up your archery score. Fond memories can get mixed up with dark questions and horrible truths.
I learned that it is easy to be angry. It is harder to be both angry and grateful.
Letters to the editor in response:
By Letters to the Editor
Feb. 24, 2020 at 5:16 p.m. EST
In his Feb. 20 op-ed, “What the Boy Scouts taught me,” Stephen Stromberg wrote of his experiences in the Boy Scouts entirely in the past tense and concluded with, “I learned that it is easy to be angry. It is harder to be both angry and grateful.” Then why not just be grateful, Mr. Stromberg, and join the organization as a Scout leader, to help bring about the changes you would like to see and help implement the changes that have already taken place? Theodore Roosevelt, an avid supporter of the Boy Scouts and recipient of the honorary title of Chief Scout Citizen, once said, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” No doubt this is what your scoutmaster would have told you.
Roger Claff, Herndon
I enjoyed Stephen Stromberg’s excellent op-ed about his experience with the Boy Scouts. Although I did not attain an Eagle rank, I benefited enormously from my experience with Scouting in the 1950s and 1960s and from the selfless volunteer work of two scoutmasters, both World War II combat veterans. They had no trouble conveying the Scouts’ timeless message of preparation, perseverance, self-reliance, civic engagement and service. When I first read of the allegations of child abuse, the first thought that came to mind was of one of those leaders teaching our troop first aid, a skill he had honed in the Pacific theater. We repeated each step in each treatment many times until it was perfect, for perfection was the only route to a first-aid merit badge. It is inconceivable that somebody so focused on properly treating a wound could hurt a child, but now we are confronted with evidence that some did. I don’t know the proper way to console or to treat the victims of those who abused their positions, but we must take care not to compound these crimes by causing further injury to our youths.
We must take care to punish the right people and not punish the innocent. The Boy Scouts of America has assets, financial and real, that can be used to give boys the experience that Mr. Stromberg and I value so highly. If these must be liquidated and disbursed in a bankruptcy proceeding, our youths and our nation will be much poorer.
John H. Haldeman, Williamsburg, Va.
For now, I just want to put in a reference to a WaPo Op-Ed:
2020-02-19-what-boy-scouts-taught-me
What the Boy Scouts taught meBy Stephen Stromberg, Washington Post Opinion writer
2020-02-19
The Boy Scouts of America on Tuesday filed for bankruptcy, following a decade of alarming revelations about the alleged sexual abuse of more than 12,000 Scouts; belated attempts at reform, including the decision to admit girls and gay Scouts; and profound disagreement about the youth organization’s future. I became an Eagle Scout in the late 1990s. Here’s some of what I learned back then, and have learned since, from the Scouting program.
I learned that the Boy Scouts of America was founded in 1910 “to teach patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred values.”
I learned that the most satisfying meal is a single banana and gulp of water after a day of much hiking and little food. Even if you hate bananas.
I learned that if you capsize in a small sailboat, you should try to bail out some of the water that has accumulated in the hull it before hopping back in.
I learned that institutions steeped in tradition do not change quickly enough.
I learned that a good friend of mine was gay, and that was why he had to abruptly leave our troop, even though he was by far the most competent Scout in our ranks.
I learned that you can do the bare minimum and persuade a merit badge counselor to grudgingly sign off on your art merit badge. But it feels a lot better when the basketry instructor wants to keep your warp-and-weft masterpiece as an example for future Scouts.
I learned what it feels like to jump 40 feet into a deep pool of freezing-cold water.
I learned that some of the bravest people are the ones who acknowledge who they are, knowing the consequences of telling the truth.
I learned how to use a compass.
I learned that you should always check whether the tide is coming in before you hike along a narrow beach abutting a steep cliff.
I learned that those who told children to be brave for decades ostracized vulnerable young men simply because of their sexual orientation.
I learned that those leaders were themselves afraid that membership would fall when some religious organizations ended their partnership with the Scouts after the organization finally stopped expelling boys based on who they were.
I learned to hate the cowardice those leaders exhibited.
I learned to hate my own, after I failed to stand up for my friend in front of adult leaders.
I learned that, when using a pocket knife, you always cut away from your body.
I learned that nature does not spare your feelings, and a wildfire in the Angeles National Forest might suddenly consume your favorite campgrounds.
I learned to fear bears less.
I learned to fear ticks more.
I learned that nearly a million adults volunteer their time to mentor young people in the scouting program.
I learned that some of the people involved in scouting do wrong, like the 7,819 who, according to an internal investigation commissioned by the Boy Scouts of America, may have sexually assaulted or abused 12,254 boys between 1946 and 2016. And one might not hear about that wrongdoing until years after it occurred.
I learned many adjectives. A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent.
I learned that I rarely qualified to be a Scout.
I learned to try harder.
I learned that if I brought a heavy pan on a backpacking trip, no one was going to carry it back out for me.
I learned that even an awkward late bloomer, the second-shortest person in his 8th-grade class, could carry a heavy pan on a backpacking trip.
I learned that female Boy Scout leaders were often tougher than male ones.
I learned that their daughters should have been allowed to become Eagle Scouts years before the program finally became more inclusive.
I learned that you never tie a slipknot when you’re throwing a line out to a drowning person. Always tie a bowline.
I learned CPR.
I learned that I could swim a mile.
I learned that life is rarely simple, but rather a disordered cacophony of triumphs, failures, facts, impressions, intentions, hopes, fears and acts of courage. Good lessons come from imperfect sources. Flawed people make bad decisions for what they think are good reasons. Sometimes your assumptions about your friends and the adults around you can be upended when you’re just trying to up your archery score. Fond memories can get mixed up with dark questions and horrible truths.
I learned that it is easy to be angry. It is harder to be both angry and grateful.
Letters to the editor in response:
By Letters to the Editor
Feb. 24, 2020 at 5:16 p.m. EST
In his Feb. 20 op-ed, “What the Boy Scouts taught me,” Stephen Stromberg wrote of his experiences in the Boy Scouts entirely in the past tense and concluded with, “I learned that it is easy to be angry. It is harder to be both angry and grateful.” Then why not just be grateful, Mr. Stromberg, and join the organization as a Scout leader, to help bring about the changes you would like to see and help implement the changes that have already taken place? Theodore Roosevelt, an avid supporter of the Boy Scouts and recipient of the honorary title of Chief Scout Citizen, once said, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” No doubt this is what your scoutmaster would have told you.
Roger Claff, Herndon
I enjoyed Stephen Stromberg’s excellent op-ed about his experience with the Boy Scouts. Although I did not attain an Eagle rank, I benefited enormously from my experience with Scouting in the 1950s and 1960s and from the selfless volunteer work of two scoutmasters, both World War II combat veterans. They had no trouble conveying the Scouts’ timeless message of preparation, perseverance, self-reliance, civic engagement and service. When I first read of the allegations of child abuse, the first thought that came to mind was of one of those leaders teaching our troop first aid, a skill he had honed in the Pacific theater. We repeated each step in each treatment many times until it was perfect, for perfection was the only route to a first-aid merit badge. It is inconceivable that somebody so focused on properly treating a wound could hurt a child, but now we are confronted with evidence that some did. I don’t know the proper way to console or to treat the victims of those who abused their positions, but we must take care not to compound these crimes by causing further injury to our youths.
We must take care to punish the right people and not punish the innocent. The Boy Scouts of America has assets, financial and real, that can be used to give boys the experience that Mr. Stromberg and I value so highly. If these must be liquidated and disbursed in a bankruptcy proceeding, our youths and our nation will be much poorer.
John H. Haldeman, Williamsburg, Va.
posted by KHarbaugh at 15:29
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