Unacceptable, gentlemen

Chronic brain dysfunction indeed

— On my honor, I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.

—Boy Scout oath, emphasis ours

THERE’S A Boy Scout leader in Arkansas who has a pat answer whenever the kids get too rambunctious or otherwise mess up. Unacceptable, gentlemen. Must’ve learned it from a coach. It’s a good way (1) to scold without being crude, (2) to express disappointment, and (3) to refer to the boys as gentlemen, reminding them of what it is they’re supposed to be.

Boy Scout leaders are a different breed. It’s a calling. Think teaching. Or preaching. Which is what Boy Scout leaders do. They don’t just show kids how to bandage a wound or start a fire. They pick the scout who’s going to to say the prayer over breakfast.

Boy Scout leaders give up their Saturdays and Sundays, even in the fall (during football season!) to teach kids how to swim, canoe, cook, play chess, build a rope bridge and, yes, write a letter to the editor. (Keep ’em coming, young people!) What do they get in return? A chance to sleep on the ground and eat what the Scouts cook up in the Dutch oven. And you wouldn’t believe what 14-year-olds will cook up in a Dutch oven.

Boy Scout leaders are special. But like other callings—again, think teaching and preaching—it’s especially scandalous when they abuse kids.

This summer the Los Angeles Times reviewed something like 1,600 confidential files from 1970 to 1991—and what it found was disturbing. According to its account, the Scouts not only didn’t report hundreds of purported child molesters, but even hid such accusations from parents and police.

Yes, scandalous. Some of the suspects were allowed to leave the Scouts quietly for “work reasons” or because of—in this age of psychiatric labels—Chronic Brain Dysfunction. What was happening wasn’t exactly secret. The Scouts even maintained something called a Perversion File for those suspected of abusing the kids.

In most cases, the Scouts didn’t find out about the alleged abuse until after somebody had reported it to the police. But, the Times reported, in more than 500 instances, the Scouts had to learn about the abuse from the victims themselves. And in more than 400 of those cases, or 80 percent of them, there is no record of Scouting officials saying a word to the proper authorities. In more than 100 of those cases, or 20 percent, the Scouting bureaucracy either tried to conceal the abuse or allowed the suspects to hide it.

Unacceptable, gentlemen.

Over the years, the Boy Scouts of America and their lawyers have been fighting to keep the organization’s files confidential. But now courts have started to rule against them. Which is how the Times was able to review so many of the complaints.

For its part, the Boy Scouts of America refused to be interviewed by the Los Angeles Times. Instead the organization sent out a prepared statement saying the Scouts cooperated with law enforcement.

Unacceptable again, gentlemen. Doing as little as possible as late as possible as legally as minimally required is not in keeping with the words of the Boy Scout oath. Or its spirit.

ANYBODY who’s ever been to a Scout meeting can tell you: A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. How trustworthy, loyal and helpful is an outfit that won’t even talk to the press?

The Scout leaders we know would be disappointed by all the negative publicity the national organization has gotten over the last week. (The article in the Times was widely reprinted; the Democrat-Gazette carried it.)

And the Scout leaders we know would be even more disappointed not only by the record of widespread abuse in their organization but in those who’ve helped cover it up.

No, there is no reason for families to avoid Scouting, any more than reports of abuse among clergy is a reason to keep kids out of church. But you’d think that an organization dedicated to molding boys into men, even gentlemen, would be the first to sound the alarm when there’s a suspicion boys have been harmed. And the last to even think about covering it up.

Unacceptable, gentlemen. What this mess needs is more sunlight. Exposure. Ventilation. There’s no disinfectant like it. And that, gentlemen, is where newspapers come in. We inky wretches may not be gentlemen, but we do know what our duty is when something like this is going on. Let people know.

Editorial, Pages 16 on 09/21/2012

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