The Boy Scouts of America is considering filing for bankruptcy — it should do so and fade into the annals of history, leaving behind a mixed legacy of traditional values and rampant abuse.
Reports say say the organization hired attorneys and is looking at what they should do after realizing they are drowning in the legal costs from defending themselves against so many lawsuits claiming members were subject to sexual abuse.
“We have a social and moral responsibility to fairly compensate victims who suffered abuse during their time in Scouting, and we also have an obligation to carry out our mission to serve youth, families and local communities through our programs,” Surbaugh said in a statement.
In 2015, the Los Angeles Times published several thorough stories about the overwhelming number of sexual abuse cases and cover ups, including a database of the cases published. In light of the research, which included “3,100 case summaries spanning 1947 through 2005,” it’s astounding the organization is still functioning.
Documented cases of rampant sexual abuse is not the only controversy the organization has been embroiled in over the last couple years.
In 2014, they allowed gay members into the group and in 2015, they allowed gay members to be scout leaders. In 2017, the group allowed transgender boys to join, and near the end of 2017, the Boy Scouts announced they would be allowing girls into their program, to the chagrin of hard-core scouts and parents nationwide. When one considers the sheer number of sexual abuse cases circulating within the Boy Scouts, it’s a wonder girls were allowed to join at all, to say nothing of why they wanted to join so badly.
The Boy Scouts was founded in 1910. For many decades, the organization was a beacon of traditional values, honoring boyhood, and teaching character traits and survival skills to young boys. In its 2016 annual report, the Boy Scouts still had 1.26 million Cub Scouts, nearly 830,000 Boy Scouts, and more adult volunteers than Boy Scouts.
Many men have no doubt had a good experience with the Boy Scout organization, either in their youth or as adult leaders. Still, it’s hard to say what kind of legacy the Boy Scouts leaves when there is also a trail of wreckage behind it — emotional damage from sexual abuse that can hardly be undone.
If the Boy Scouts are struggling financially because they are drowning in debt from having to defend themselves from accusations of sexual abuse, good riddance. Maybe this will provide a semblance of closure and peace for those who suffered at the hands of men while trying to simply be a boy — and may this also keep other boys from suffering the safe fate.
Nicole Russell (@russell_nm) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is a journalist who previously worked in Republican politics in Minnesota.
