"Scout's [Dis]Honor"

The excuses for tolerating the sexual abuse of children and not acting, promptly and effectively, on information about it are, frankly, untenable. Now, the Boy Scouts in Oregon have had to pay over a million dollars for keeping the perpetrator around - although demoted - giving him the opportunity to molest other boys. As in the case of the Catholic Church worldwide, one has to ask why would an otherwise respectable organization proceed in such a callous and indifferent way towards the safety and well -being of children and young people who are entrusted to them. Either they thought that this wasn't something terrible or they thought first and foremost of their image and reputation, and wanted to sweep these things under the rug.

But, now, these organizations are forever tarnished, not because these things happened, but because of the way they were handled. The Boy Scouts were not "prepared" to do the right thing, nor did they show much "honor" in this grave matter.

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