ABUSE IN BOY SCOUTS
Time to face the past and change
We wanted to take a moment and recognize the men who bravely found their voice to say that they had been abused by Boy Scout leaders. Thank you for breaking the silence. The National Foundation to End Child Abuse and Neglect (ENDCAN) encourages us all to do the same — break the silence. By uniting our voices, we advance the effort to end child abuse and neglect. We provide support and grace to help other survivors. ENDCAN believes it’s time to consider the health, mental health and public health impacts of abuse. The Denver Post article mentioned the depression, addiction and substance abuse that many survivors face. Few know other health issues like obesity, heart disease and more may very well be rooted in child abuse. Your story also had an effect on your community of readers and thus, had a public health impact. ENDCAN is just getting started to better understand why. We welcome you to join us. Lori Poland and Richard Krugman, Denver
Surely the Boy Scouts of America will be gone soon after decades of sexual abuse coverup. As an old Eagle, I shed a tear. We had great canoe trips, learned the constellations and CPR, how to camp in zero-degree temps, and so much more your kid is not going to get from sports or video games. My dad supervised my cooking merit badge — I had to shoot it, butcher it and cook it, a great lesson in the value of sustenance. The effort that the scoutmaster, other dads and merit badge counselors put in was incredible, and left a legacy of citizenship to us all. Richard Opler, Parker
I am truly tired of the Boy Scouts again being vilified for what happened decades ago. That issue changed scouting rules in the late 1970s and early ’80s. Today’s Scout troops are very safe for your children. Leaders must have “Youth Protection” training every two years and go through a background check. There are regulations that do not allow any adult ever to be alone with any child. In addition, Scout leaders are also “mandatory reporters” of any kind of suspected child abuse. These stories of sexual abuse from the last century have no connection at all to today’s Scouting. That kind of abuse is just not possible anymore.
Scouting is a necessary addition to educating youths in becoming responsible members of society. Lessons learned here are not taught in schools and churches. Boy Scouts are also involved in many local projects; they clean up the woods, do trail maintenance, sponsor sections of highways, help veterans and the elderly with their living requirements, they do food drives and blood drives, etc. So, instead of bringing up yet another decadesold abuse story every few months, we should support the good things Scouting does for us all. Clark Pickens, Longmont
As a Boy Scout many years ago, and my father before me, we never witnessed the prolific child abuse that is now coming out. If the Boy Scouts really have this type of problem, isn’t the recent addition of girls to the mix just the thing they need to further stir the pot?
Perhaps one of the problems in this changing nation is the fact that these organizations are becoming a thing of the past. The patriotism and character developed by these programs should not be something we lose when we have no viable replacement. William F. Hineser, Arvada