Were You A Boy Scout?

[ErosWired]

The Boy Scouts of America is about to begin distribution from a Victims Compensation fund established by the courts as a part of its bankruptcy restructuring. This is part of a settlement with over 82,000 survivors of abuse - a jaw-dropping figure.

I was very briefly in the Boy Scouts after completing Cub Scouting, until health issues made continuing unfeasible, so I wasn’t in it long enough to have seen or experienced anything adverse. Were any of you Boy Scouts, and did you encounter or become privy to any of this? If you are a past victim of such abuse, please feel under no obligation to reply if it would cause you distress. The intent of this question is to gauge the effect the problem had on individuals, and to what extent, not to glorify, fantasize, or fetishize abuse in this context.

[Ieatcumholes]

I was a Boy Scout long enough to earn 8-12(?) merit badges. If anything untoward happened, I have zero memory of it. Considering other history of mine that I've divulged on BZ, if something untoward had happened, I might have instigated it and definitely wouldn't have been adverse to it. So I can only guess that nothing untoward ever happened to me while I was a Boy Scout.

For anyone who was a Boy Scout and had something untoward happen that you didn't want, I hope you have been able to achieve some level of healing and acceptance that something was done to you that you did not want or deserve. Acceptance is not forgiveness though! Whether or not the person who did something untoward to you continues to exist on this plain, I hope you hold the organization that protected that person accountable! 💜💜💜💜💜

[MuscledHorse]

I was in Scouts.  Even went back packing in Philmont and was in Order of the Arrow. I never had any scout encounters (and it's not like i didn't try to). But if I'd been lucky enough to enjoy a fellow scout or scoutmaster I would have welcomed it.

[ellentonboy]

No, I was in something called the "Webelows", which I always thought was a junior version of the Boy Scouts.  I didn't last long, I know we took a bus trip from Philadelphia to Washington, DC, and I had to wear this new, itchy uniform.  I hated it, after that trip I was pretty much done with that........

[viking8x6]

Only did Cub Scouts. It was fairly clear to me by the time I got some distance into those that the authoritarian and religious aspects of Boy Scouting were incompatible with my outlook, so I passed on them. I had no conscious idea at the time that I was queer. I actually regret that decision now - I think they would have been good for me in several ways.

[leatherpunk16]

I was in both Cub and Boy Scouts. Don't really remember the former and try not to think about the latter. I don't think I was a victim of abuse, but I sure wasn't treated kindly. Had a harrowing experience when I was selling Christmas trees one weekend and the trailer caught fire. Since I wasn't taught the value of hard work and taking pride in my work, I was totally overwhelmed by the requirements to move up in ranks and earning badges. After summer camp in '92, I never saw my earned badges or friends from the event again, and changed chapters. In my last group, I met a bunch of guys I went to junior high with, but I was too immature to really fit in with them. The only memorable thing from my brief time with this later group was firing a gun for the first (and only) time. I really lost interest when high school came, and never went back. 

[FelchingPisser]

My brother was a scout.  I went with him to one meeting--and never went back.  Not for me.  

My brother tells me he had lots of sex on the campouts--all consensual and all with guys his age. 

[jmw003]

I was in the Boy Scouts and was never abused.

[Sfmike64]

I am one of those 82,000 people. I was an Explorer scout in 1976-1978/9 and was abused/raped by the scoutmaster. He was absolutely, utterly brazen. He was a graduate student in my father's department (the sponsoring organization for our Explorer Post) at the midwestern university where Dad taught. He knew my father well. Once time on a camping trip when I was 12, in 1976 he sucked my dick after everyone else had gone to sleep. The next day I sucked his and soon we were off to the races. I had an on/off sexual relationship with him until I was about 15. He was the first person who fucked me. I knew this was wrong, but I was a shy, nerdy, fat kid and Rob paid attention to me. He was handsome then (and only 26 when it started).  He was a manipulative person (typical for a sexual abuser/groomer) and I'm SURE he abused other boys. He might still be doing so, though he's in his 70s now. I later met another random stranger when I was living in Boston in the late 80s who had also been abused by Rob. That was a super mind fuck and very strange.

I take some pleasure that Rob did not age well and now looks like a very ugly toad. He absolutely did NOT identify as gay. Clearly his orientation was pubescent boys. His LinkedIn Profile says he's an "inspirational speaker." Excuse me while I throw up.

I spent a great deal of time and money on therapy dealing with these issues (mostly in my 20s) and have put them to rest. Filing for the compensation has brought up some ugly memories but it will also literally pay for that therapy, retroactively, 30 years late. 

If you have any questions please feel free to ask. I'm pretty open about  what happened to me and long ago put it away emotionally. The compensation fund has been set up, but there may still be appeals against the bankruptcy court decision by insurance companies who don't want to have to contribute, but it seems likely that people will begin getting compensation in the next year or so.  The BSA itself is  putting in money, as well as an array of insurers, the Mormon Church (the largest sponsor of scout troops, their money will only fund kids who were abused in Mormon sponsored groups), and local councils and maybe some other churches. The list was long. There will have to be a lot of real estate sold in order for the fund to get some of its money.

[evilcoyote]

I was in the scouts and did have sex with a few others. I wasn't abused even though I often watched the troop leaders shower during summer camp. I got caught a few times with no repercussions. I quit as I was entering high school because it didn't feel right to me as someone who knew he wasn't the religious type. 

 

I have heard, and now read above accounts of people being abused. I hate that people were subjected to this on what should have been a safe space. 

[austin_submale]

I was in boy scouts but never had any adult leader ever try to do anything inappropriate with me.  I did hear of such things, but never experienced it myself nor did anyone I personally know ever.  It was kind of just a rumor as far as anyone I knew said.

I did have some other boys make some advances, and I know some sex probably happened.  But I wasn't on that page in those days so I never took part in anything.

I have great sympathies to those who were abused.  It was wrong.  It shouldn't have happened.  I wouldn't have allowed it to happen to anyone I knew.  I don't condone any sexual contact between minors and adults, even if it isn't non-consentual.  I'm sorry if some don't agree with that, but that's the way I feel about it.

Boy Scouts was mostly a positive experience for me, although I do admit that I wasn't very good at it and I wouldn't have stayed in it if my dad hadn't been really insistent that I kept with it.

[onlyraw]

I was in cub scouts and then Boy Scouts, all the way through HS (although in HS I spent more time doing plays with the HS drama guild than doing troup stuff - but I sold most of the Christmas writhes that were our major fundraiser each year so the let me stay in tge troupe) so from about 1966 to 1973

I can’t say I really enjoyed it - but stayed in because my older sisters we were very active in Girl Scouting so it was just assumed that i would do scouting too

i can’t say that I enjoyed camping (I like to say that my idea of roughing it is staying in a hotel without room service) but I did get to go to the Boy Scouts Jambree - and that was actually kind of a fun road trip from Wisconsin out to Idaho 

On one of my early camping trips I was taught how to jerk off by one of the older boys (older by maybe 2 years) and it was not at all abusive - and then while I was in Jr high I did fool around with two or three other boys (as in giving each other hand jobs) - but I never saw any indication that any of the adult leaders were doing anything 

So I managed to survive the weekend camping trips with no flush toilets and no showers - and come out with a few happy memories 

Sfmike64 - I am very sorry for what you went through and I do hope that the settlement helps you heal 

[hntnhole]

I was a Cub Scout too (and my mom was "Den Mother" 😒), as soon as Webelos came along (I'd forgotten all about it until Ellentonboy jogged my memory), and it was sort of a introductory contrivance into the actual Boy Scouts.  My mom had had enough, and I had experienced more than enough.  I guess I'm not cut out to go camping, thank Whatever.

[Ieatcumholes]

2 hours ago, onlyraw said:

i can’t say that I enjoyed camping (I like to say that my idea of roughing it is staying in a hotel without room service)

💯 x 💯! I tell people all the time, "I was a Boy Scout. So I've done the whole sleeping on the ground in a tent thing and don't ever have to do it again!" Although with climate change and natural disasters, I may have to modify that to be "don't ever have to willingly do it again!"

[LittleCumSewer]

yep. and I sucked at least one cock at literally every overnight camp.