Just a wee bit too little, too late

How's this for a coincidence?

I arrive in Irving, Texas, pick up my sign, and check into my hotel around 5 pm local time. No sooner do I drop my bags on the floor in relief after a long day of travel when my Blackberry buzzes.

Surprise!! It's an emailed letter from the Boy Scouts, sent out just minutes before. After almost two months, I finally get a response, mere hours before my planned protest. Let's see what took them so long to compose, shall we? (My comments in bold.)


December 8, 2008

Mr. Douglas J. Hester

Dear Mr. Hester:

The Chief Scout Executive, Robert Mazzuca, is travelling and has asked me to respond to your recent letter.

He's been traveling all this time, eh? No one's been around to attend to his correspondence at all? That's funny, because every time I called, he was in the office, just "in a meeting". Which story is correct?

You're the patsy that's been picked to try to stop the oncoming freight train of bad publicity, I see. I almost feel badly for you.

Let me assure you that the Boy Scouts of America deeply regrets any suffering or injury that you may have sustained as a result of the actions of David Rankin in 1987. Mr. Rankin was removed from Scouting immediately when the local council learned of his activities.

Well, duh. You mean because he was sitting in jail at the time? Yeah, I know he was removed. It's what your organization didn't do (and still don't do to this very day, as far as I know) for the many victims of pedophile Scoutmasters that's got me peeved.

You have requested that you be permitted to earn an additional merit badge and complete an Eagle Scout leadership service project in order to be awarded the Eagle Scout rank. We apologize if your earlier inquiry was not handled in a courteous manner.

That's one way of putting it, if you count ignoring it completely as being "not courteous".

However, our response must be the same, as there is simply no provision for retroactively completing significant segments of the requirements for the Eagle Scout rank.

There's no reason for you not to change the policies to at least partly compensate documented victims of sexual assault by your members. You merely choose not to do so.

The example you cited in your letter involved paperwork and not the performance of actual physical requirements for the award.

I already explained why I wasn't able to fulfill my requirements. I had to quit, because your organization member was sexually abusing me. If your administration can't see that my Eagle requirements weren't finished for a very good reason, then I might as well quit wasting my breath arguing my position. Where were the administrators, counselors and other people who could have helped me when I was still a minor? Why was my plight, and the similar plights of thousands of other boys, simply ignored by you?

While the Eagle Scout board of review and presentation of the award may take place after the Scout’s 18th birthday, our advancement policy states that all other requirements for the rank of Eagle must be completed by his 18th birthday. We recognize that the requirements for the Eagle Scout rank are stringent; this is why the rank is held in such high regard. Only 5 percent of all Boy Scouts ever attain this rank.

If my campaign is successful, 5 percent of zero won't be much to brag about.

We are sorry to learn of your unfortunate experience. However, we cannot comply with your request regarding the Eagle Scout Award.

That's certainly your prerogative, just as it's mine to continue my plans for protesting outside of your building tomorrow.

I would be happy to meet with you to discuss this issue if you feel that a meeting would be helpful.

Sure, come on out in front of your building tomorrow at about 7:00 am and we'll chat. I'll be the guy with the big black and white sign.

Sincerely,
Bill Evans
Youth Development
Team Leader


If that's the letter the BSA paid the big fancy PR firm to come up with, they were badly cheated.

I didn't come all this way to be deterred by a last-minute, half-hearted attempt to mollify me by some designated lackey. Besides, I don't want to disappoint all of the news organizations who are so interested in interviewing me tomorrow about my story.