Poll of the Day > the boy scouts are filing for bankruptcy due to all the lawsuits.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/18/806721827/boy-scouts-of-america-files-for-bankruptcy-as-it-faces-hundreds-of-sex-abuse-cla

The Boy Scouts of America has filed for bankruptcy, a sign of the century-old organization's financial instability as it faces some 300 lawsuits from men who say they were sexually abused as Scouts.
The organization says it will use the Chapter 11 process to create a trust to provide compensation to victims. Scouting programs will continue throughout.

The Boy Scouts had been exploring the possibility of bankruptcy since at least December 2018, when the group hired a law firm for a possible Chapter 11 filing. Chapter 11 usually involves the debtor making a reorganization plan to keep its business alive and pay its creditors over time.

The filing was made in Delaware and is expected to set a new deadline for victims' claims to be made.
The Boy Scouts also published a carefully worded open letter to victims of abuse. The letter, signed by BSA National Chair Jim Turley, reads in part:

"I am outraged that individuals took advantage of our programs to commit these heinous acts.
"I am also outraged that there were times when volunteers and employees ignored our procedures or forgave transgressions that are unforgivable. In some cases, this led to tragic acts of abuse. While those instances were limited, they mean we didn't do enough to protect the children in our care to protect you.
"On behalf of myself and the entire Scouting community: I am sorry. I am devastated that there were times in the past when we failed the very children we were supposed to protect."

The letter encourages people who were abused to come forward and file claims so they can receive compensation from the trust that will be created.

Amid high-profile sexual abuse scandals in organizations from the Catholic Church to USA Gymnastics, some states have changed their laws to allow more time for victims of sexual abuse to sue their perpetrators. That has brought a wave of new lawsuits from victims whose cases were prevented previously by statutes of limitations.

"For years, organizations like the Boy Scouts counted on these laws protecting them," says Paul Mones, an attorney in Los Angeles who is representing many men who are suing the Boy Scouts. "Now those laws are not there, and the Boy Scouts have fallen under their own weight of these abuse allegations and the potential cases that will be filed."

The Boy Scouts' potential liability is large. Mones points to just one case he won in Portland, Ore., in 2010, where the judgment against the organization was nearly $20 million.

For many years, the Boy Scouts had insurance that would cover sexual abuse claims. But in recent years these carriers have been withdrawing coverage, arguing that the Boy Scouts knew about the abuse and didn't tell the insurance companies. That has left the organization with the prospect of having to fund any litigation and settlements itself.
The Boy Scouts' most recent tax filing shows total revenue of more than $285 million. With significant land holdings across the U.S., the organization's assets in 2018 totaled $1.4 billion.

The national organization might hope that its bankruptcy filing will shield the assets of its local councils, similar to how Catholic dioceses were able to protect their properties and parishes from claims.

BSA was clear on this point in its statement on Tuesday: "Local councils, which provide programming, financial, facility and administrative support to Scouting units in their communities, have not filed for bankruptcy. They are legally separate, distinct and financially independent from the national organization."

Local Boy Scout councils and other affiliated nonprofits separately hold $3.3 billion in assets, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.

At least 20 Catholic dioceses in the U.S. have filed for bankruptcy amid the wave of sex abuse lawsuits against the church. Some victims' attorneys have complained that bankruptcy filings shift the emphasis to the diocese's finances, rather than uncovering documents and information about what church leaders knew.

Mones says the Boy Scouts' case could be a warning for any organization that hasn't properly reckoned with reports of abuse.
"If the largest youth organization by far in the United States can be crippled under the weight of doing nothing about their sexual abuse allegations and covering the problem up, I think it is a warning shot across the bow to all churches and youth organizations and schools that have this problem and don't act proactively to resolve it," he says.

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i would have had the whole thing in quote, but gamefaqs removed indented quotes, so whatever

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Cub Scouts FTW...

pionear posted...

Cub Scouts FTW...

...they're a part of the boy scouts.

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Maybe they shouldnt have been an organization that banned gay kids while at the same time had so many scout leaders that were diddling little boys for so many years

theyd probably be in a better position had they made choices that aligned with the morals that they claim to teach

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Mead posted...

Maybe they shouldnt have been an organization that banned gay kids while at the same time had so many scout leaders that were diddling little boys for so many years

Tbh, while what they did was wrong and will always be wrong, it's possible the gay kids wouldn't have told on them if they liked the scout leaders who diddled kids... Well, who diddled them...
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LinkPizza posted...

Tbh, while what they did was wrong and will always be wrong, it's possible the gay kids wouldn't have told on them if they liked the scout leaders who diddled kids... Well, who diddled them...

Im not saying that the two things are related

only that they did two really shitty things simultaneously

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Too bad the BSA has been morally bankrupt for decades now...

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Is this part of the overall scouts thing now? Because I thought they had changed the boy scouts to just be scouts or something to incorporate girls as well. Because if it did and then the whole thing ended, it's a little apropos.

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this evil organization should've been shut down years ago

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Zeus posted...

Is this part of the overall scouts thing now? Because I thought they had changed the boy scouts to just be scouts or something to incorporate girls as well. Because if it did and then the whole thing ended, it's a little apropos.

It's more like they tried to appear more inclusive, but were already in their death throes. What we're seeing in terms of bankruptcy is a result of all that went wrong before the attempt to appear better.

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Zeus posted...

Is this part of the overall scouts thing now? Because I thought they had changed the boy scouts to just be scouts or something to incorporate girls as well. Because if it did and then the whole thing ended, it's a little apropos.

The Boy Scouts of America consists of four organization, each with its own set of ranks and awards. The Scouts BSA (formerly Boy Scouts), Cub Scouts, Venture Crew, and Sea Scouts. There are other organizations but to my knowledge they're like sub groups within these four existing groups. It is the Scouts BSA (formerly Boy Scouts) and Cub Scouts groups that opened up to girls in the past 1-2ish years. The Venture Crew though has been co-ed since 1969ish.

Entity13 posted...

What we're seeing in terms of bankruptcy is a result of all that went wrong before the attempt to appear better.

To my knowledge, membership has been on the decline for a while even before the BSA officially accepted homosexual Scouts and girls. To my knowledge, the BSA officially accepting homosexual Scouts was kinda based on which sponsors we would keep/lose and I don't doubt opening up to girls was a way to deal with the declining membership, especially after the Mormon/LDS church left the BSA. I was told the Mormons/LDS Scouts consisted roughly of 18% of Scouts nationwide.

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I was in scouts for a year, and I never went back.

I don't recall anything weird happening, though years later I overheard my dad saying he didn't like it and took me out. I don't know what he meant, and I never asked for clarification, but it makes me wonder what he didn't like about it.

argonautweakend posted...

years later I overheard my dad saying he didn't like it and took me out. I don't know what he meant, and I never asked for clarification, but it makes me wonder what he didn't like about it.

I can only assume he did not like how the adult leadership ran things. Though nationwide there are certain criteria that each unit must adhere to, each unit and the adults leadership involved have some leeway in how the unit functions. Some units the adults do the leading while some the youth do the leading with the adults acting as advisers. Some units focuses on camping and hiking, some focuses on teaching Scout skills at meetings but rarely going out, some might do too much fundraising to the dislike of the parents, etc. It can vary quite a bit from unit to unit and unfortunately can make or break the Scouting experience if one joins a "bad" unit.

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If I had to guess, without having the ability to ask my dad(passed away a few years back), it might have been because the meetings were at a church and they probably incorporated some level of religion into it all, and my dad seemed very unreligious.

But I can't say. I just hope the answer is something like yours or mine, rather than him seeing/knowing/hearing of child abuse or something. But I don't recall anything like that happening, I was also 8 and really oblivious to the world around me.

As a former scout, this makes me sad, but I'm not too surprised because outdoor activities in general are ignored by gen z.

Its a shame because gen z needs some morals beat into them

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Muscles posted...

As a former scout, this makes me sad, but I'm not too surprised because outdoor activities in general are ignored by gen z.

Its a shame because gen z needs some morals beat into them

Did you even read what happened or

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argonautweakend posted...

it might have been because the meetings were at a church

Meeting at a church/temple is fairly common as most units are chartered by a church/temple. Some by a school, city?, other youth groups, etc. My unit is chartered by a Buddhist temple but we do not include religious teachings in our meetings.

argonautweakend posted...

they probably incorporated some level of religion into it all, and my dad seemed very unreligious.

This does not surprise me though. Some adults leaders might put more emphasis on "A Scout is Reverent" when it comes to the Scout Law.

A fellow adult leader in my unit got his Eagle rank in Ohio in the 80's and was borderline atheist at the time. He told me the Eagle Character Board was not happy with this response about what "A Scout is Reverent" means and almost did not grant him the rank of Eagle. I have read stories of Scouts being denied the rank of Eagle for making it known they are atheist.


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Jen0125 posted...

Did you even read what happened or

I mean the bankruptcy is sad; send all those scout leaders that touched little boys to jail forever, but it hurts the good leaders too, which far and away outweigh the bad ones

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Bulbasaur posted...

...they're a part of the boy scouts.

Wasn't aware of that...are the Girl Scouts part of the same ORG too?

Muscles posted...

I mean the bankruptcy is sad; send all those scout leaders that touched little boys to jail forever, but it hurts the good leaders too, which far and away outweigh the bad ones

the organization is shit and tried covering up incidents for decades

that doesnt get offset because not every scout leader tried to diddle boys

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pionear posted...

are the Girl Scouts part of the same ORG too?

No. The Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of America are two separate organizations with their own ranks, awards, standards, and ideology but their history is a bit connected. This is just for the United States though. Most other Scouting programs in other countries are combined and co-ed.

Muscles posted...

it hurts the good leaders too, which far and away outweigh the bad ones

Mead posted...

the organization is s*** and tried covering up incidents for decades

that doesnt get offset because not every scout leader tried to diddle boys

I do find it unfortunate that the actions and inactions of those involved yay back may have a negative effect on the Scouts of today. I take an online Youth Protection course every year as a Scout volunteer and the online Safes Sports course when I certified as an archery instructor. According to the courses, incidents usually goes unreported because the families and units involved did not want to cause a scene or think they might make a mistake and ruin someone's life over an allegation.

I do not recall when the BSA started doing background checks on adult volunteers but I can very well imagine a Scout leader yay back getting caught, possibly not arrested but kicked out of the unit, moving elsewhere, and joining a new unit who has no idea what he has done with the previous unit. And now those youths are at risk because of the lack of protection back then.

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InfestedAdam posted...

No. The Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of America are two separate organizations with their own ranks, awards, standards, and ideology but their history is a bit connected. This is just for the United States though. Most other Scouting programs in other countries are combined and co-ed.

I do find it unfortunate that the actions and inactions of those involved yay back may have a negative effect on the Scouts of today. I take an online Youth Protection course every year as a Scout volunteer and the online Safes Sports course when I certified as an archery instructor. According to the courses, incidents usually goes unreported because the families and units involved did not want to cause a scene or think they might make a mistake and ruin someone's life over an allegation.

I do not recall when the BSA started doing background checks on adult volunteers but I can very well imagine a Scout leader yay back getting caught, possibly not arrested but kicked out of the unit, moving elsewhere, and joining a new unit who has no idea what he has done with the previous unit. And now those youths are at risk because of the lack of protection back then.

Unfortunately, much like the Catholic church, there was a lot of high level involvement in keeping these incidents quite in an effort to protect the reputation of the Boy Scouts.

"This decision is consistent with Boy Scouts history of protecting sexually abusive scout leaders, as documented in thousands of BSAs Ineligible Volunteer or Perversion files. In 2012, a court order unsealed hundreds of files created between 1960 and 1985, revealing allegations of child sexual abuse by adult leaders that resulted in BSA removing the leader from Scouting, but doing nothing else.

These publicly available IV files (https://documents.latimes.com/philip-l-warner/) reveal decades of official BSA policy to quietly push child molesters out of the organization, without informing law enforcement, the community, or even the parents of Scouts that the man had abused children. File after file shows an intent to cover up the problem in order to save the good reputation of the Boy Scouts. This successful plan of concealment meant the Boy Scouts knew they were setting sexual predators lose in New York and communities across the country, with apparently clean backgrounds and the ability to volunteer in other youth-serving organizations."

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-the-boy-scouts-are-lobbying-against-children_b_5936181ae4b0c670a3ce67d2

rjsilverthorn posted...

Unfortunately, much like the Catholic church, there was a lot of high level involvement in keeping these incidents quite in an effort to protect the reputation of the Boy Scouts.

"This decision is consistent with Boy Scouts history of protecting sexually abusive scout leaders, as documented in thousands of BSAs Ineligible Volunteer or Perversion files. In 2012, a court order unsealed hundreds of files created between 1960 and 1985, revealing allegations of child sexual abuse by adult leaders that resulted in BSA removing the leader from Scouting, but doing nothing else.

These publicly available IV files (https://documents.latimes.com/philip-l-warner/) reveal decades of official BSA policy to quietly push child molesters out of the organization, without informing law enforcement, the community, or even the parents of Scouts that the man had abused children. File after file shows an intent to cover up the problem in order to save the good reputation of the Boy Scouts. This successful plan of concealment meant the Boy Scouts knew they were setting sexual predators lose in New York and communities across the country, with apparently clean backgrounds and the ability to volunteer in other youth-serving organizations."

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-the-boy-scouts-are-lobbying-against-children_b_5936181ae4b0c670a3ce67d2

How does somebody lobby against children?
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Revelation34 posted...

How does somebody lobby against children?

Not that difficult when you consider how few children are members of Congress. They're terribly underrepresented

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Far-Queue posted...

Not that difficult when you consider how few children are members of Congress. They're terribly underrepresented

Same reason why animals have so few rights.

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Zeus posted...

Same reason why animals have so few rights.

Children are tasty?
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Wouldn't know, haven't tried them. >_>

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