Letter: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Submitted by Karen Meier, Chief Executive Officer – Pacific Harbors Council – Boy Scouts of America.

Most of us, to steal a line from Henry David Thoreau, do not “lead lives of quiet desperation.”  

Most of us lead lives of normalcy, ordinariness, dullness.  Dull is good.  Life as a Tik-Tock meme is only for adrenaline junkies and emotional daredevils.

The rest of us, meh!

Timeless Values

We seek to spend time with family and loved ones.  We seek to raise our children to be responsible and accountable, provide them with a moral compass and solid education and to do well in life.

This is the very solid foundation when the Boy Scouts of America started life in 1910.  To teach young people honor as well as honesty, to provide them with the tools of being a good neighbor, good citizen, and loving parent.  We aim to help young people understand God, whoever we view him or her to be.  We teach them to do the right things right, the first time.

We teach them to be patriots, to honor our flag and to honor our leaders.  We teach them motivation; how to do it themselves and how to help grow others.  We teach them the spirit of teamwork and competition, to respect parents, family, teachers, and friends.

These were time honored values in 1910 as it is now in 2023. 

Scouting is an important iconic fabric of our society

It is no wonder that tens of millions of young people over the years have joined Scouting programs because of the added value of learning to become an honorable member of our society.  Millions more have become Eagle Scouts, the highest attainable rank in Scouting after much hard work, sacrifice and community volunteerism.  These traditions were also the reasons girls rushed to join our ranks when membership in our Scouts BSA program were opened.

The Scout proposition is to always “do a good deed.”  To be kind. To be thoughtful. To be helpful.

What have we done for you lately?

Over the years, Scouts here in the South Sound have contributed tens of thousands of hours to community service each year.  We helped sell War Bonds during 20th Century conflicts, we helped rescue people stranded or injured in our mountains or on our waterways.  We teach first aid in local schools, collect food to help support our local food banks.  

On any given weekend, you’ll see Scouts along our beaches, waterways, and forest trails, cleaning up trash and debris to keep our environment pristine.  

Our Scouts are seen in senior centers bringing happiness and cheer or during holidays, laying wreaths on the graves of our fallen heroes to recall the honor they give to our freedom and liberty; to let their spirits know they will never be forgotten.

A requirement for young people to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout requires for them to produce a community project. Only one-in-six Scouts can make the cut.  

Each year, dozens of projects ranging from rebuilding playgrounds, building tiny homes for the homeless, preservation of historic cemeteries or refurbishing community centers are done from Tacoma to Olympia, from Grays Harbor County to Federal Way and all points in between.

This work requires hours of planning, fundraising and the recruitment of other volunteers to ensure projects are done to exact specifications.

Child Sex Abuse

It comes as no surprise that in recent years, it has come to our collective attention that some children were abused in this process.  

This is disgusting, unfortunate and inexcusable byproduct of society.  

Child abuse and more specifically child sex abuse is a global problem, not just unique to Scouting.  We see it in the churches, our schools, business enterprises, law enforcement, journalism, the health care industry, Hollywood, government, and any place where young people mix with adults.  

The Boy Scouts were sued over this.  

If people thought we would fight and push back, they were wrong.  There is no excuse for debauchery.  And we have tried to make things right for the victims of abuse in Scouting.  This has unfortunately clouded the good that we do in our communities.

The truth of the matter is that many of these cases occurred years ago, long before any of us became adults.  That doesn’t make it right.  What it does is that it causes the spotlight to shine on a universal problem.  It is a shameful history.

Child Sexual Abuse Is a Widespread Problem. 

The United States has one of the worst records among industrialized nations – losing on average 5 children every day to child abuse and neglect. According to the Child Welfare League of America, there were 4,836 victims of abuse or neglect in Washington, a rate of 2.7 per 1,000 children. Of these children, 79% were neglected, 20.8% were physically abused, and 10.6% were sexually abused

A recent Google search turned up more than 9,000,000 news items under the term “child sex abuse.”

In his recent proclamation, President Biden stated that “One of the most important tools to break the cycle and eliminate the tragedy of child abuse and neglect is prevention. This requires that we support and uplift our communities, families, and individuals so that our children can be raised in safe, loving, and healthy environments.”

State of the Art in Prevention

This is what we at the Boy Scouts of America are doing today.  

We have one of the strictest youth protection programs in force today.  This has been recognized by some as the state of the art in protecting our children in the 21^st Century.  These policies include:

• Two-deep leadership. Two registered adult leaders or one registered leader and a parent of a participant, one of whom must be 21 years of age or older, are required on all trips and outings. 
• No one-on-one contact. One-on-one contact between adults and youth members is not permitted. In situations that require personal conferences, such as a Scoutmaster’s conference, the meeting is to be conducted in view of other adults and youths.
• Respect of privacy. Adult leaders must respect the privacy of youth members.
• Separate accommodations. When camping, no youth is permitted to sleep in the tent of an adult other than his own parent or guardian. 
• Proper preparation for high-adventure activities. Activities with elements of risk should never be undertaken without proper preparation, equipment, clothing, supervision, and safety measures.
• No secret organizations. The Boy Scouts of America does not recognize any secret organizations as part of its program. All aspects of the scouting program are open to observation by parents and leaders.
• Appropriate attire. Proper clothing for activities is required. 
• Hazing prohibited. Physical hazing and initiations are prohibited.
• Junior leader training and supervision. Adult leaders must monitor and guide the leadership techniques used by junior leaders and ensure that BSA policies are followed.

Scouting is safer now than ever before

The safety of the children in our programs is the BSA’s absolute top priority. That’s precisely why we’ve developed some of the strongest, expert-informed youth protection policies found in any youth-serving organization.

Scouting programs will continue to serve youth, families, and local communities throughout this process and for many years to come.

Unit meetings and activities, district and council events, other Scouting adventures and countless service projects will take place as usual.

Studies prove and parents agree that Scouting helps young people become more kind, helpful and prepared for life.

As our nation’s foremost youth program of character development and values-based leadership training, we have an important duty to keep children safe, supported and protected while preparing them for their future. We have every intention of continuing to fulfill these responsibilities.

Our Commitment to Provide a Safe and Welcome Environment for Young People

These program elements came about because of the lawsuits and eventually bankruptcy of the Scouting organization.  In the coming weeks, the Boy Scouts of America will emerge from these legal entanglements a stronger organization than before.  

As the Chief Scout Executive for the Pacific Harbors Council, it is my responsibility both as an agent of BSA and as a parent to have a zero-tolerance policy toward allegations of abuse, the immediate reporting to law enforcement of any suspected abuse occurring within our program and to ensure Scouts and adult leaders all undergo mandatory youth protection training on an annual basis.

Thought experiments

The fact of the matter is that the abuses that have occurred reflect a fraction of the mostly positive experiences Scouts have going through the BSA program over the years.

It is not a normal experience.

Any Scout will tell you of the great times and great friends they make.  

Just ask some of the people who have been Scouts, like former Governors Dan Evans or Gary Locke, former CIA Director and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, captains of industry such as former Alaska Air CEO Brad Tilden, McCaw Cellular’s Wayne Perry, or Boeing’s Phil Condit.  Ask Olympia’s favorite Eagle Scout and Astronaut Casey Stedman or the Eagle Scout who rescued people from that 2017 train wreck in DuPont, Dan Konzelman.  You can even ask any of the 12 young women who were among the first in the nation to become Eagle Scouts from our Council; they are now entering their junior years in college, studying medicine, science, engineering, and other professions.  They know they can and will make a difference in our communities.

These experiences get drowned out by the peculiarities of today’s technology-driven hedonism. 

In addition, it’s been reported a significant number of abuse claims may be fraudulent; a different kind of abuse taking advantage of the legal system, victims and Scouting.

We live in a world where bombastic lawyers, loudmouth politicians and Twitter tantrums often command our attention.

Two thought experiments:

• First, think of the 100+ people you spend enough time with each year to appraise their character and values. I bet almost all are good, sane, worthy friends.  Some of them may have even been Scouts.  We’re everywhere.
• Now, think about your family. Maybe one loud uncle who slams one too many whiskeys who dominate family get-togethers. That’s social media! And it’s not reality.

The chief reason so many people seem nuts or unhinged is because Twitter, cable TV and TikTok amplify the drunk uncle.

And because the uncle gets liked, followed, and invited back, he has an irresistible incentive to get nuttier.

This loop creates the false impression that more people than we think are crazy or abusive.  It is the same with Scouting. We are much better at doing good deeds than what has been painted by opponents on behalf of the victims in legal proceedings.  Even the bankruptcy judge agrees with this observation.

Here are three stats to consider when you think the world has lost its mind:

• Most of us want to lead normal traditional lives.
• 75% of people in the U.S. never tweet.
• On an average weeknight in January, less than 1% of U.S. adults watch controversial, partisan or exploitation programs.

The bottom line: We’re all too busy being … normal. And your kids are all too busy being kids.

That is why dull is good as we focus on the fundamentals of helping our children become better versions of themselves.  Scouting continues to lead the way on ethical and character development. As the popular rock anthem says, “don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.” And we for more than a century, have not.

Karen Meier is the Chief Scout Executive and Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Harbors Council of the Boy Scouts of America. The Pacific Harbors Council covers Scouting units from Federal Way to Chehalis and from the Washington coast to the Cascade foothills. Karen is a Washington native, a graduate of Washington State University and an Eagle Scout mom.