The Boy Scouts Filing Bankruptcy After A String Of “Woke” Decisions Caused It To Go Broke

[The Annoyed Man]

A dear friend of ours is (or was) the comptroller for BSA. I need to call her, to see if she still has a job and is going to be alright. She’s the primary breadwinner for her family. She’s originally from Texas, and a graduate of UNT, Denton. She and her husband are very close friends of ours.

[Ruark]

Boy Scouts apparently have put Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico as collateral to help fight or settle sexual abuse lawsuits.

This may trigger Phillips family to take it back.

To those who have been there or have wanted to go this is very sad news.

What’s sad is that the Boy Scouts turned into a liberal organization pandering to the left. This was their downfall.

Looking back over the last 50 years, one of my saddest observations has been the decline of my beloved Boy Scouts of America. I have many memories of our meetings back in the 50s and 60s, learning to tie knots, sharpen an axe, shoot, canoe, splint a leg, use a signal mirror or compass, etc. and took great pride in going to school with my official Boy Scout pocketknife in my jeans. If a kid does that today, he'll be suspended for a week and referred for psychiatric evaluation and anger management counseling.

I still have my old "Boy Scout Handbook." Good grief, it reads like a wilderness survival manual. If we ever have a global disaster event, it's the first book I'll grab before I head out the door.

The pressure was enormous. Huge donors and supporters withdrew their support, adding to tens of millions of dollars, because of BSA's "discriminatory" policies. These included supporters like United Way, Chase Bank, Levi Strauss, Pew Trust, Caterpillar, Lockheed Martin, UPS, Merck, and many others, as well as big celebrity supporters like Steven Spielberg and Bill Gates. Finally, the BSA broke down, they dropped "Boy" from the organization name, and the floodgates were opened.

I often wonder if they should have stood firm in the face of liberal bullying and held to their original tenets. Sure, they may have lost most of their membership, maybe even vanished completely, but at least they would go down with their honor, holding their heads high. Now they're going down anyway, and soon they'll be history. So much for "oaths."

[dlh]

I have fond memories of being a Boy Scout. I made it to Patrol Leader and learned a ton.
I did my scouting up north back in the sixties.
I learned our favorite weekend camping spot was used years later to film Friday the 13'th!
Really saddens me to see the Chapter 11.
With the advent of the internet and computer games I think many kids would
rather spend the weekend goofing around on the internet and playing computer games than camping out.

[Lumberjack98]

I have two sons currently in scouting.

I received the following email from the Sam Houston Area Council today:

Dear Scouting Community,

Today, the national organization of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy to achieve two key objectives: equitably compensate victims who were harmed during their time in Scouting and continue to carry out Scouting’s mission for years to come.

We want to highlight important points that are most relevant to the Sam Houston Area Council:

The Sam Houston Area Council has not filed for bankruptcy. Our Council is legally separate, distinct and financially independent from the national organization.

Scouting programs will continue. This means that unit meetings and activities, district and council events, other Scouting adventures and countless service projects will take place as usual. In short, we expect no changes to the local Scouting experience in Southeast Texas.

Scouting is safer now than ever before. Over many years, we’ve developed some of the strongest expert-informed youth protection policies found in any youth-serving organization. We can also assure you that our volunteers and employees take youth protection extremely seriously and do their part to help keep kids safe.

Restricted donations – past, present or future – can only be used for their designated purpose. In addition, Friends of Scouting (FOS) and other annual donations made to our Council will continue to fund necessary day-to-day expenses that are critical to local Scouting programs.

While we do not anticipate the national organization’s bankruptcy filing will have any direct impact on the local Scouting experience or your involvement with our Council, we understand you may still have questions about these issues and things you will see in the news. To that end, the national organization has established a dedicated restructuring website, www.BSArestructuring.org.

This site includes a helpful Resources page, where you will find a short video explaining what Chapter 11 means for Scouting, as well as a FAQ. The site’s Milestones page will be your best source for the latest updates throughout this process.

If you have any questions about local Scouting, you can always feel free to reach out directly to our Deputy Scout Executive Thomas Franklin at Thomas.Franklin@Scouting.org.

Through your engagement and dedication to Scouting, the Sam Houston Area Council will continue to bring adventures, values and lifelong benefits to youth and our communities for generations to come. Thank you for your trust and support as we continue this important mission.

Yours in Scouting,

Clay C. Williams
Chair of the Board

Forrest J. Bjerkaas
Council Commissioner

Thomas O. Varnell
CEO/Scout Executive

[chasfm11]

Like many others, I have fond memories of the Boy Scouts. I joined in New Mexico and hiked the Sandias. I ended up as an Eagle Scout with Silver Palm, Order of the Arrow and I held ever position in both Scouts and Cubs except Scoutmaster. Many of skills that I have today came from my years with various troops and I'm grateful for the many leaders who taught us. I had several outstanding Scoutmasters.

We lived next to one of executives at National HQ and I listened to some of the stories that he told. He was in charge of all of the land holdings like Philmont. My view after listening to him was that the National organization was in trouble and that was 20 years ago. Like the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts had their opportunity to forthrightly confront sexual abuse and apparently elected not to do so. The environment could easily be a magnet for those who favor young boys and a difficult place to identify those people and promptly and effectively deal with them. I never saw anything out of line either as a Scout or a leader. If the local organizations were properly run, it would have been hard for one person to be alone with boys and take advantage of them.

Today's bankruptcy was described on the news as a way to perpetuate the organization in the face of the lawsuits. The lawyers involved were reported to say that this would extend the outcomes by many years. In spite of the past benefits that the organization offered, it might have been better to just allow it to be dissolved IMHO.

[philip964]

In 1993 the Boy Scouts of America had a very strong system in place to prevent the abuse we have heard about.

This included a requirement for all adult leaders to take a 4 hour course on how to detect and prevent abuse of scouts.

Once completed the adult leader received a pin they were required to wear when in uniform.

That was 27 years ago.

These lawsuits must be from before that time.

The men who are suing must be 35 years or older in age.

Levi Strauss in San Fransisco was one of the first to take action against scouting.

I have not bought a pair of Levi’s since that moment.

I will continue that boycott till I die.

My boycott against Nike will continue as well.

Michael Bloomberg is an Eagle Scout. Unfortunately he has taken a very strong stand against guns. I hope he loses.

[The Annoyed Man]

I texted my friend in California, who works for the Boy Scouts.

[Chaparral]

Wall Street Journal also discussed this and I am a big fan of the Boy Scouts but the reason that they may be facing bankruptcy is declining numbers as well as lawsuits from sexual abuse allegations. The lawsuits are probably the main reason.

Yes, this seems to be the main issue, and it goes back decades.

[philip964]

https://disrn.com/news/boy-scouts-of-am ... agle-scout

New merit badge is now required to become an Eagle - diversity and Inclusion.

[Take Down Sicko]

I very much dislike the AARP political agenda. They used to send me endless mail. I told them to kiss off.

[Tex1961]

In 1993 the Boy Scouts of America had a very strong system in place to prevent the abuse we have heard about.

This included a requirement for all adult leaders to take a 4 hour course on how to detect and prevent abuse of scouts.

Once completed the adult leader received a pin they were required to wear when in uniform.

That was 27 years ago.

These lawsuits must be from before that time.

The men who are suing must be 35 years or older in age.

Levi Strauss in San Fransisco was one of the first to take action against scouting.

I have not bought a pair of Levi’s since that moment.

I will continue that boycott till I die.

My boycott against Nike will continue as well.

Michael Bloomberg is an Eagle Scout. Unfortunately he has taken a very strong stand against guns. I hope he loses.

In September 2018, Levi Strauss announced three actions aimed at advocating for gun violence prevention, including establishing $1 million in funding for gun control advocacy and forming a partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety, a group founded and funded by Michael Bloomberg.

[eyedoc]

Wrangler jeans only for me for several years now. I can not support Levi's liberal agenda. No Nikes either.