# First the Catholic Church. Then Penn State. Now the Boy Scouts. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 17, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935 "2012-09-17T03:22:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/1 "2012-09-17T03:22:09Z")
[http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/16/us-usa-boyscouts-abuse-idUSBRE88F0IN20120916?irpc=932](http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/16/us-usa-boyscouts-abuse-idUSBRE88F0IN20120916?irpc=932) > [@](#): > > Boy Scouts face release of damaging child sex abuse files > > By Chris Francescani > > Sun Sep 16, 2012 7:34pm EDT > (Reuters) - The Boy Scouts of America could face a wave of bad publicity as decades of records of confirmed or alleged child molesters within the U.S. organization are expected to be released in coming weeks. > > On Sunday, the Los Angeles Times reported the organization failed to report allegations of sex abuse of scouts by adult leaders and volunteers to police in hundreds of cases from 1970 to 1991. In some cases, the Boy Scouts helped the accused “cover their tracks,” the paper said. > > The story was based on a review of 1,600 internal Boy Scouts case files the newspaper said it obtained that detailed accusations against confirmed or alleged child molesters within the youth organization. > > About 1,200 “ineligible volunteer” files dating from 1965 to 1985 are set to be publicly released under a June order by the Oregon Supreme Court, including some already reviewed by the newspaper. Dammit! I’m now forced to believe that this shit goes on all the time and everyone covers it up. Un-fucking-believable. One starts to lose faith in the human race. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/2 "2012-09-17T03:36:17Z")
So if they covered up rather than dismiss the molesters, that means they weren’t gay but most likely good, upstanding, God-fearing, Christian men who can’t possibly be a danger to young boys. So who’s the more dangerous? ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/3 "2012-09-17T03:41:41Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > [Boy Scouts face release of damaging child sex abuse files | Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/16/us-usa-boyscouts-abuse-idUSBRE88F0IN20120916?irpc=932) > > Dammit! I’m now forced to believe that this shit goes on all the time and everyone covers it up. Un-fucking-believable. > > One starts to lose faith in the human race. You just started? ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/4 "2012-09-17T05:35:48Z")
Next up: The Big Brothers/Big Sisters organizations—or did they already get nabbed and I slept through it? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/5 "2012-09-17T07:20:47Z")
Wait, you mean there’s no badge for Cocksucking? No wonder the other troops shunned us at Jamboree! ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/6 "2012-09-17T12:51:40Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Wait, you mean there’s no badge for Cocksucking? No wonder the other troops shunned us at Jamboree! :o 😃 But seriously, yes - I would expect that any scheme/outfit that involved leaving minors under the care of “trusted” adults would be vulnerable to pedophile presence or just plain abuse, especially if communities were induced to give those “trusted adults” an exalted prestige. In turn, given the historic attitude of social institutions towards “scandal” until very recently – to wit, that the actual incident of wrongdoing is not as dangerous to the institution as the discredit arising from “scandal”, so if to avoid the latter you have to leave the former unpunished it’s a fair trade-off – it will have been often swept under the rug by those in authority. Of course, in a turn of ironic justice the result of that in the last generation has become that you end up with a \*bigger \*scandal and \*worse \*discredit at the end of the road. But for times uncounted the institutions had and have been succesfully getting away with it – shuffle around the miscreants, pay some hush money if necessary, intimidate or punish the victim if it comes to that… it _worked_, for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/7 "2012-09-17T13:07:10Z")
Come on, though. Seriously. Who wasn’t expecting this from the Boy Scouts? ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/8 "2012-09-17T13:23:42Z")
I believe I first learned about this issue in an episode of South Park. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/9 "2012-09-17T13:45:56Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Wait, you mean there’s no badge for Cocksucking? No wonder the other troops shunned us at Jamboree! The Scouts were out hawking something at the grocery store yesterday. I was fully prepared to be an ass and tell them that until there was a merit badge for cocksucking, I would refuse to support their organization. Gay Rights and all that. But they were busy scamming some other poor soul when we left so I didn’t get the chance to make a fool of myself and embarrass my wife publicly. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/10 "2012-09-17T14:08:45Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > So if they covered up rather than dismiss the molesters, that means they weren’t gay but most likely good, upstanding, God-fearing, Christian men who can’t possibly be a danger to young boys. > > So who’s the more dangerous? My psychic merit badge tells me this will be spun as vindication for their “no gays” policy and evidence that they must be even more vigilant to exorcise the deviants from their organization. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/11 "2012-09-17T14:14:28Z")
Seriously, who’s really surprised about this? Stodgy anti-gay male institution is a harbor for pedophiles. Do bears shit in the woods? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/12 "2012-09-17T15:19:19Z")
Nothing like decades of covering up for child molesters to make you want to trust some organization with your kids. Not that there was a chance I was going to let my son join the Scouts anyway, given what we already knew. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/13 "2012-09-17T17:21:36Z")
When men try to repress or subjugate their sexuality, bad shit happens. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/14 "2012-09-17T17:26:26Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The Scouts were out hawking something at the grocery store yesterday. I was fully prepared to be an ass and tell them that until there was a merit badge for cocksucking, I would refuse to support their organization. Gay Rights and all that. But they were busy scamming some other poor soul when we left so I didn’t get the chance to make a fool of myself and embarrass my wife publicly. 😛 Yes - because the kids are responsible. Seriously - don’t be the Chik-fil-a Guy. Regarding the OP - Yet another reason to be disappointed with the BSA ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/15 "2012-09-17T17:53:55Z")
> [@bup](#): > > When men try to repress or subjugate their sexuality, bad shit happens. “Abstinence makes the church grow fondlers” ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/16 "2012-09-17T18:05:10Z")
Ha! Good one. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/17 "2012-09-17T18:07:21Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > Yes - because the kids are responsible. Seriously - don’t be the Chik-fil-a Guy. That was the other reason. The kids were all too young to make a reasoned decision about such things, and there weren’t any adults around to yell at. So once again I failed to make an ass of myself. Guess I’ll just have to keep doing it here. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/18 "2012-09-17T18:14:23Z")
Who wants to bet that the Boy Scouts’ reaction to this is going to be: “See, we told you that you can’t trust gay men with children!” ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/19 "2012-09-17T18:26:17Z")
Interesting that all three of these institutions are on some level homophobic. They invariably are. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/20 "2012-09-17T18:27:45Z")
> [@Tarwater](#): > > Come on, though. Seriously. Who wasn’t expecting this from the Boy Scouts? Me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935.md?page=2)