# 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:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/61 "2012-09-21T10:47:23Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > I’m not shocked - well, I am, but I guess it’s not a total surprise that this sort of thing was covered up. > > In fairness, BSA has fairly strict policies nowadays, regarding child safety - as in, an adult may NEVER be alone with a boy who is not his own son, and may never tent with boys not his own sons even if there are others around; there are annual training sessions to remind the boys of what is acceptable and when to tell an adult that something is going on. And very few of the men who do this sort of thing would identify themselves as gay, from what I understand - they like children, not men. > > Girl Scouts have similar “can’t be alone with a Scout not your own daughter” rules. It seems to me that organizations that keep doing this–making stricter and stricter rules about adult/child contact–are really missing the point. The appalling thing isn’t that child molestation happened. It’s probably going to happen. The problem is the cover-up afterwards. Honestly, all the safeguards probably make it worse: I think the first thing people say to each other when they perpetuate these cover-ups is "Well, we won’t leave him alone with kids. We will make sure it doesn’t happen _again_. Then, when it happens again–“Damn, those rules weren’t strict enough”. Pretending that the problem is too much access to kids and that if only the protocols were better it would be okay is at best a red herring. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/62 "2012-09-21T14:49:59Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > getting “botted” Well now, that bit of slang just added a whole new level of horror to the bot fly. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/63 "2018-12-13T21:33:41Z")
Updating this thread: > [@](#): > > The Boy Scouts of America could be bound for bankruptcy. > > Facing mounting legal costs from defending itself against lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of boys, the venerable nonprofit organization is considering filing for Chapter 11 protection, The Wall Street Journal is reporting. > > The BSA has reportedly hired the Sidley Austin LLP law firm and released a statement on Wednesday saying that it was “working with experts to explore all options available to ensure that the local and national programming of the Boy Scouts of America continues uninterrupted.” > **[The Boy Scouts of America may file for bankruptcy due to costs of sex abuse...](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/boy-scouts-america-may-file-bankruptcy-due-costs-sex-abuse-n947576)** > > The group said in a statement that it was "working with experts to explore all options." Wall Street Journal article if you are a subscriber: [https://www.wsj.com/articles/boy-scouts-of-america-considers-bankruptcy-filing-amid-sex-abuse-lawsuits-11544649657](https://www.wsj.com/articles/boy-scouts-of-america-considers-bankruptcy-filing-amid-sex-abuse-lawsuits-11544649657) ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/64 "2018-12-14T02:06:50Z")
Meh. Another irrelevant artifact bites the dust. Good riddance. Hope the Girl Scouts follow soon. Maybe one day they can be replaced by organizations that are actually relevant _and_ safe. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2018, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/65 "2018-12-14T04:05:52Z")
> [@JB99](#): > > Meh. Another irrelevant artifact bites the dust. Good riddance. Hope the Girl Scouts follow soon. Maybe one day they can be replaced by organizations that are actually relevant _and_ safe. Just to be clear, Chapter 11 is reorganization, not liquidation. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/66 "2018-12-14T04:21:13Z")
My scoutmasters did not abuse any kid that I know of. The guys in my patrol were too busy abusing each other. How did I get the gay patrol? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/67 "2018-12-14T04:33:29Z")
The national organization might be kaput. But seriously, who pays any attention to National? The individual troops are pretty much completely independent. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/68 "2018-12-14T04:42:21Z")
Interesting. A bunch of people were so worried about the Girls Scouts USA suing Boy Scouts of America for trademark infringement that they forgot about this. I said that BSA was adding female scouting to make more money, but others said there was no way since BSA was richer and had other types of built in funding. One guy even predicted that BSA taking on female scouts would spell the end of GSUSA. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2018, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935/69 "2018-12-14T05:35:17Z")
(I’m doing this for my Rambling Anecdote merit badge…) As a kid in the 50s, Boy Scouts was the best way to get out in the wilderness (and play Lord of the Flies, of course…). Our leaders were not only our fathers, but they were all ex-military, most of them recently back from Germany or the Pacific. I honestly think if there was even a rumor of inappropriate contact, the guilty party would’ve been on the receiving end of a canteen of whoop-ass. Later, in Explorer Scouts, we had girls and their moms involved, and we had a gay leader. Who was great! In later years, every time I ran into an old Scout friend, I asked them about Mr. Fabulosky (obv. not his real name) and no one had anything but unalloyed praise. I even asked my Staff Sergeant Dad (who’d been on all the campouts) if he’d known we had a gay leader. He said “Of course! We all knew. But he was up front about it, and knew that if he’d acted on it with any of the boys… we’d have known and remedied it before anything happened.” _"Remedied_ it?" “Instantly. Strongly… Permanently.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-the-catholic-church-then-penn-state-now-the-boy-scouts/634935.md?page=3)