Secret Scouts

You know how the Boy Scouts of America officially excludes gay people from joining its organization? Yeah, that’s not super.

You know what’s worse?

Recent reports state that the BSA has covered up decades of alleged child molestation that occurred under its roof.

The Los Angeles Times reviewed 1,600 confidential files dating from 1970 to 1991 and “found that Scouting officials frequently urged admitted offenders to quietly resign — and helped many cover their tracks.”

The organization calls them the “perversion files.”

In about 80 percent of those cases, the allegations were not reported to police.

The people “suspected of abuse were allowed to leave citing bogus reasons such as business demands, ‘chronic brain dysfunction’ and duties at a Shakespeare festival,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

Apparently, being gay is more of a crime to the BSA than is being a pedophile.

Perhaps the organization should care more about the members it does allow than the members it bans.

As a country, America teaches children to tell an adult whom they trust when something is wrong. When no action is taken against a terrible situation, what lesson are we teaching them?

The fact that so many cases, a system of files dating back to 1919, have not been reported to authorities is unsettling. They have instituted a way to cover up and shame the truth — for what purpose?

Was it to make the organization look better? Was no one supposed to uncover what has actually happened so that people would continue to put their faith and trust in the group?

Because this has done exactly the opposite.

This paper trail unearthed how awful this organization can be.

What’s worse is that people will, probably while reading this piece, suggest that the entire club isn’t so bad, and we shouldn’t generalize a few slights to turn everyone against the club as a whole.

Well, united we stand, folks. The simple fact that this happened at all ever, anywhere is what’s enough to make people angry at the club. And people should be angry.

People were already angry at the BSA for its discriminatory practices. It makes no sense to ban members due to their sexual orientations. Was the club under the impression that a homosexual person is automatically some kind of sexual predator or threat?

Because clearly it was wrong.

Actual predators were, and continue to be, right under its nose — not even hiding — and it did nothing about it.

Instead of forcing an intolerant system of rules, BSA, how about you focus on standing up for your members, no matter who they are.

Intolerance may be widely spread across our country, but child abuse acceptance should never be.