Chapter 11 Announced - Part 5 - RSA Ruling

[mrjohns2]

4 minutes ago, Eagle1970 said:

Fair enough.  Put disclosures to parents in all promotional material to inform them of the risk of abuse, because many really don't know.  My parents did not or I'm sure my mom would have steered me away from BSA.

Well, there is info in every handbook. It is required to be covered in every cub rank and at least 2x in Scouts. It goes on and on about how abuse happens and how to prevent it.

So, other than putting it on all flyers, it is pretty well covered. 

100-015.pdf (scouting.org)

 

[Eagle1970]

1 minute ago, mrjohns2 said:

Well, there is info in every handbook. It is required to be covered in every cub rank and at least 2x in Scouts. It goes on and on about how abuse happens and how to prevent it.

So, other than putting it on all flyers, it is pretty well covered. 

100-015.pdf (scouting.org)

 

I respect that and I'm sure disclosure is better, as my story is from long ago.  But sadly it is going to need to be like on the pack of cigarettes before it is fully realized.

[vol_scouter]

8 minutes ago, Eagle1970 said:

Fair enough.  Put disclosures to parents in all promotional material to inform them of the risk of abuse, because many really don't know.  My parents did not or I'm sure my mom would have steered me away from BSA.

 

And schools, sports teams, churches, etc.  

[Eagle1970]

1 minute ago, vol_scouter said:

And schools, sports teams, churches, etc.  

Yes, and when I say "Sadly" I mean it.  Even children need more education on the topic.  Had I been thoroughly warned, I "may have" been able to reduce my abuse.

[ThenNow]

1 hour ago, Muttsy said:

This was not a conspiracy but it was an agreement the effect of which leaves 50,000 victims out in the cold. 

I am N.O.T. saying it’s so, Joe, but this has been part of my drip, drip drivel and fear. I’ve said it a number of times. I believe the TCC has sincere intentions to see it doesn’t happen, as per the Shading of the Map, but...

“Come here little boy. It’s safe to come out of your warm, cozy house. Tell me about your fears and nightmares and the bad, bad man/men. I will give you popcorn and candy. You’ll feel better, I promise. That’s it. There we are. I know it’s hard but...”

*SLAM*

* CLICK*

“Oh, oh. So very, very sorry. You’ve gotten yourself locked out, haven’t you? Terribly sad. Now, the Child Catcher has your secrets. Oh, my goodness.” (More like, extreme badness.)

Again, I am N.O.T. alleging this, but it has been my fear. As I said early and often, if the Shades of Gray fellas in high socks and long shorts are kicked out into the dark woods, shame will be on someone’s head (or several someones).

[David CO]

40 minutes ago, Eagle1970 said:

more education on the topic. 

Yep.  More education will do the trick.  Like promoting covid vaccinations.  Just tell the people what's good for them and they'll do it.  

[ThenNow]

5 hours ago, MattR said:

My understanding is that parts of our brains, the older parts, are wired towards loyalty towards community. So that part of the brain is keeping the victim from leaving the situation. The newer parts of the brain, including the parts that control reason and speech, you might think would just say "hey, this is a bad situation, leave!" but the two parts don't really talk to each other very well. Consequently there's a huge tension, words and reasoning don't work, and the result is PTSD and all the things we've been told about by the victims on this forum. My impression is that a compassionate community is probably the biggest type of help for the victims. The trauma makes a lot of changes in the brain and, again, just my impression, but it takes a lot of effort to rewire the brain.

There so much more to this and I know it’s been suggested to go elsewhere with this topic/thread. I’d love to do that, if anyone else is interested. MCVAStory has posted other great stuff, as I recall. For what it’s worth to anyone:

(Excerpt. See link that follows the quotes section.)

How Does the Brain Change from Sexual Trauma?

During the traumatic experience, your sympathetic nervous system releases stress hormones throughout your brain, preparing to fight, flee or freeze. During sexual assault, your mind and body are in survival mode, trying to get through the event and process later.

But it’s the “after” part where your brain undergoes biological changes similar to that of a combat fighter or first responder struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

These changes start with the continued activation of the sympathetic nervous system.

In less extreme circumstances after a stressful or threatening situation, the parasympathetic nervous system takes over to reduce stress hormones and bring your brain back into equilibrium. In cases of traumatic sexual abuse, though, the sympathetic nervous system continues to release stress hormones, fatiguing the body and mind.

The brain also undergoes changes in two key parts of the brain: the amygdala and the hippocampus:

The Amygdala – After trauma from sexual abuse, the amygdala, an almond-shaped mass deep within the brain, becomes overstimulated. It associates your traumatic experience with specific emotions and falsely identifies seemingly harmless situations or individuals as threats.

The Hippocampus – Opposite from the amygdala, the hippocampus actually becomes less active after a traumatic experience. Stress hormones from the sympathetic nervous system kill cells in the hippocampus, weakening its ability to consolidate memories and recognize that the traumatic experience occurred in the past and is no longer a threat.

There is also research that suggests that sexual trauma can impact the brain’s ability to recognize and feel sensations. In a study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, researchers found that sexual abuse changes the brain’s somatosensory cortex, the area of the brain responsible for creating sensations and perceptions from input from the body.

This can lead to decreased sexual sensation and desire and even chronic pain in the areas of the body that were involved with the abuse.

https://www.fountainhillsrecovery.com/blog/sexual-abuse-and-the-brain/

 

[Eagle1970]

1 minute ago, David CO said:

Yep.  More education will do the trick.  Like promoting covid vaccinations.  Just tell the people what's good for them and they'll do it.  

Having experienced the pure joy of Covid last year, it didn't take anything more than disclosure and availability to get me over to Walgreens.  

[CynicalScouter]

1 hour ago, Eagle1970 said:

BSA compensates ALL abuse victims without regard to SOL.  AND, should they be unable to accomplish that within legal framework let's see them reach out to EVERY State Legislature and ask them to offer a window.  THAT is what they should do if they really cared.

Even if every statute of limitations were lifted tomorrow that doesn’t suddenly generate more money. 
 

BSA has only but so much.

local councils only but so much.

Insurance policies have caps and limitations that cannot be suspended or rewritten by a court.

There is no scenario here in which 82500 victims each get $1 million+ settlements.

[Eagle1970]

Just now, CynicalScouter said:

Even if every statute of limitations were lifted tomorrow that doesn’t suddenly generate more money. 
 

BSA has only but so much.

local councils only but so much.

Insurance policies have caps and limitations that cannot be suspended or rewritten by a court.

There is no scenario here in which 82500 victims each get $1 million+ settlements.

I don't argue for more money.  And I don't need the money.  I am arguing for equity and fairness in compensation based on abuse and not on politicians and lawmakers.

[yknot]

58 minutes ago, mrjohns2 said:

Well, there is info in every handbook. It is required to be covered in every cub rank and at least 2x in Scouts. It goes on and on about how abuse happens and how to prevent it.

So, other than putting it on all flyers, it is pretty well covered. 

100-015.pdf (scouting.org)

 

There is no waiver or disclosure however that discusses the unique risks in scouting. There is nothing that says despite the highly promoted scout oath and law we still have scouters who are not trustworthy, etc. Other organizations do not make any such promises or promote themselves as moral organizations.  

[Muttsy]

4 minutes ago, ThenNow said:

5 hours ago, MattR said:

 

There so much more to this and I know it’s been suggested to go elsewhere with this topic/thread. I’d love to do that, if anyone else is interested. MCVAStory has posted other great stuff, as I recall. For what it’s worth to anyone:

There is remarkable research by Harvard Med School professors that involved MRI brain scans of adult survivors of sexual abuse that show how the developing brain was altered by the stress hormones. I’ll dig out the article. 

[yknot]

1 hour ago, vol_scouter said:

And schools, sports teams, churches, etc.  

Why? Other than the Catholic Church, they are not subject to hundreds of lawsuits and a nationwide bankruptcy case. In the public arena, Boys Scouts is the organization with the problem.  And I would argue there are unique risks in scouting. 1) It aggressively uses morality as part of its marketing to help entice membership and 2) there is no other organization where the main part of its program is having unrelated adults take children into remote locations out of the public view for multi night stays. It is a program designed to appeal to predators. 

[Eagle1970]

1 minute ago, yknot said:

Why? Other than the Catholic Church, they are not subject to hundreds of lawsuits and a nationwide bankruptcy case. In the public arena, Boys Scouts is the organization with the problem.  And I would argue there are unique risks in scouting. 1) It aggressively uses morality as part of its marketing to help entice membership and 2) there is no other organization where the main part of its program is having unrelated adults take children into remote locations out of the public view for multi night stays. It is a program designed to appeal to predators. 

Catholic Church, Marianist Schools and sports programs, BSA.  Of the 3, BSA has had the greater issue to me, because of the overnights.  But the church and school programs had a similar issue and opportunists found a way.  We had "retreats" in school and church.  And though my issue was in BSA, many others were abused through those organizations.  Education and disclosure are necessary in all organizations with opportunity for nefarious behaviors.  Now, of course, I will have nothing to do with any of them.  Again, sadly.

[vol_scouter]

9 minutes ago, yknot said:

Why? Other than the Catholic Church, they are not subject to hundreds of lawsuits and a nationwide bankruptcy case. In the public arena, Boys Scouts is the organization with the problem.  And I would argue there are unique risks in scouting. 1) It aggressively uses morality as part of its marketing to help entice membership and 2) there is no other organization where the main part of its program is having unrelated adults take children into remote locations out of the public view for multi night stays. It is a program designed to appeal to predators. 

Because papers have identified that 9.6% of school children are abused by graduation from high school whereas the identified number for the BSA is 130 M / 82,000 = 0.06% [Both numbers are fraught with problems but it shows orders of magnitude differences - even if there are ten times more victims in the BSA, the rate is still just 0.6%].  Sports are being revealed as are other organizations.  The Southern Baptist Convention is dealing with reports of child abuse.  I have colleagues in other youth serving organizations that are bracing for the same kind of lawsuits that the BSA finds itself now embroiled.