New Sex Abuse Arrest

[David CO]

1 hour ago, Rick_in_CA said:

The reality is we really have no idea what happened if anything.

Yes, we really don't know.

Not knowing makes me ponder the question.  Which result would be more damaging to scouting?  Guilty or innocent?  Actual abuse or false accusation?  Makes ya think, doesn't it?

[Rick_in_CA]

59 minutes ago, David CO said:

Yes, we really don't know.

Not knowing makes me ponder the question.  Which result would be more damaging to scouting?  Guilty or innocent?  Actual abuse or false accusation?  Makes ya think, doesn't it?

To many people don't want to hear about "innocent" in situations like this. The issues around child safety (not just in the Scouting context) in our society are taking on the characteristics of a moral panic (just look at the craziness about leaving children in cars). So if this turns out to be a false accusation or some sort of miss understanding, it probably won't make the news (since news outlets are reluctant to report stories that will be unpopular with their readers or viewers). Even if it is reported, people won't internalize it. So the damage to Scouting's reputation is done regardless of the actual outcome.

Look at some of the comments on this forum and elsewhere that basically take it as a given that the BSA was systematically negligent in the past with regards to child abuse issues. Why does this idea exist? I'm not sure, but I don't think it's a fair characterization.

The reality is when compared with almost every other youth organization of the time, the BSA was ahead of the game almost it's whole history. The very existence of the "perversion files" is because the BSA was trying to deal with an issue that almost everyone else (4H, FFA, YMCA, etc) ignored. But it's the existence of those files that is one of the main reasons the BSA is getting hammered by lawsuits and 4H is not.

Could the BSA have done better? Of course. But they were doing better than almost everyone else at the time. But that isn't the perception.