Scouting is mainly associated with the value of honor, but in the United States of America it is associated with shocking stories that make it far from what is intended for it, and this paradox was a topic from which director Brian Knappenberger set out to make the film “Scouts Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America.” Files of the Boy Scouts of America), which highlights that the organization has transformed from an association that helps young people to form their identities and self-realization, to be active individuals in society, to a club that attracts child molesters and uploads their pornographic videos to the Internet.
The film shows examples of these transgressions, and examines their devastating psychological consequences for the victims. This documentary has the flavor of investigative work that goes beyond the surfaces and phenomena of things, to expose what is happening behind the scenes and in the remote camps.
History of the American Scouting Organization...values, principles and scandals
The American Scout Organization established the largest youth association in the world in 1910, that is, only 3 years after the founding of the first Scout organization in England, and set its educational goals, stipulating the necessity of establishing camps to provide young people with good morals and life training, with activities that strengthen their self-confidence and make them useful. To others, loving nature, and empowering them with basic knowledge such as first aid, cooking food, and distinguishing between different plants, and all of that in a fun context full of educational games, so the young man among them makes the scout promise, and pledges to be honest and sincere in the truth, to help others without hesitation, and to be a friendly companion. An animal, obedient to the orders of its leaders.
The distinctive feature of the globally recognized Scouting movement is the official Scout uniform, which is a simple and uniform uniform that aims to hide social differences between participants, and includes - in addition to the movement’s slogan - merit badges that represent a sign of honor and dedication to serving young people and serving the nation.
After a century and ten years (2020), this ancient organization includes about 2.2 million members, between the ages of 5-21 years. It represents the pride of the United States and is of great importance. Presidents of the United States have regularly attended its national scout camps and delivered speeches. At her youth gathering.
But behind these noble values and bright images, she was committing atrocities behind the scenes and in her camps, and the supervisors of this organization were putting her in a black box, hiding her from public opinion, in order to preserve a reputation that days would reveal was stained with shame.
“Michael Johnson”... an agent specialized in investigating children’s crimes
The film begins with the testimony of “Michael Johnson,” a former agent in the Plano Police Department in Texas. She is also a prominent name specialized in investigating child crimes. He was employed by the organization in 2010 as director of the Youth Protection Department, and his role is to work to keep children away from any danger or danger. violation. In addition to his professionalism, he is a former scout, so he was enthusiastic about his new job, and his appointment came in a context in which voices began to rise here and there, pointing to violations suffered by children in the organization that was established to care for them.
Agent Johnson tells us about his experience in the Scouting organization, and his long experience in investigating aggressors and with children and their guardians. He used to provide comfortable conditions for the child victims, and take their trauma into account, so that they would engage in operations to uncover what they were hiding for fear of shame, and would end up with a conviction based on They had gone through the worst experiences in their lives. But officials in the organization always stressed that things were going well.
Michael Johnson wanted him as a front to polish the image of the organization drowning in mud
“Johnson” discovered that the administration was reluctant and did not want to cooperate with him. It was withholding important files from him, and when he insisted, the documents were presented to him in the form of rubble, and he would never finish sorting them. In fact, he asked for accurate documents about the standards of care, until he discovered that The participant in controlling this network of standards of care is Douglas Smith, who is imprisoned in a case of dealing in child pornography, and such a secret was kept from him.
This is a sample of many practices that proved to the investigator that he was assigned to represent a facade that polishes the organization’s image so that it is above suspicion, and that the supervisors are manipulating him to hide the violations, not reveal them.
Poor financial condition... A widow ruins her son's life without knowing it
Members of the Scouting organization dared to break the silence about the sexual violations they were exposed to during their scouting activities. Since then, lawsuits have continued until their number has reached about one hundred thousand, with all of their owners confirming that they were victims of sexual violations committed by the Scout leaders. The organization declared bankruptcy as a result. This was a legal trick that would freeze the compensation requests directed at her and transfer them to a compensation fund.
The film presents a collection of testimonies from the owners of these lawsuits who were seeking justice and who wanted to uncover what was happening in this organization, including “Mark Eaton.” The leader, “Thomas Hacker,” used to show him kindness, and then take advantage of opportunities to be alone with him, but he did not find it. He had the courage to tell his parents, and today he is experiencing the bitterness of what he was subjected to at that time, and the feeling that that harasser had robbed him of his childhood, and since he realizes that he was not wrong, it has become necessary for him to speak out and reveal what he was exposed to, in order to overcome his ordeal.
As for “Douglas Kennedy,” his father died of cancer, leaving him and his brother in his mother’s care, and he was only 13 months old at the time. The widowed mother found it very difficult to support them, and she used the summer vacation to take him to the Young Men’s Christian Association and its scouting movement, to provide He has a luxury that he misses in her company. Perhaps she will compensate for some of his deprivation.
Steve McGua Nothing to worry about, things are under control
But the camp director knew his need to live there, so he took advantage of his fear and inexperience, and relied on his power over him and his inability to resist, so he stormed his tent. What hurt him most - now that he was old - was that he was unable to tell his mother anything before she died, because she was suffering from cancer, so he preferred not to hurt her, despite his great need to reveal it to her, in order to alleviate his pain.
The consequences of the ordeal: a tragic end for the child and the family
The story of “Richard Schulnes” seems more tragic than others. He lives a tragedy of remorse, because he was unable to protect his brother “Christopher Schulnes” from the ordeal of rape. The family took them in 1977 to the Catholic school in Assumption Church, and Brother “Edmund” was its guardian. So he began to approach the family to gain their trust, and took their two sons to a local scout camp that he supervised, to lure “Christopher” there.
The boy did not bear the situation for long. After psychological crises, hallucinatory attacks, and epilepsy, he ended his life one day in 1978. After the priest fled from one state to another, the family was ostracized by churchgoers and accused of insulting representatives of the faith and the Scout organization.
The film presents the consequences of harassment, and details aspects of the suffering of its victims, such as severe psychological trauma that makes them deny their bodies, feelings of helplessness and injustice, loss of self-confidence, and living in a state of terror, tension, and frustration. Victims are often unable to reveal the secret, and at the same time they are unable to overcome That stage of their lives, and this is what transformed scouting from an element of self-building into a factor of self-destruction, in an undeclared alliance between sexual deviance and the lust for money.
“List of unqualified volunteers”... an umbrella that protects harassers
The Boy Scouts' preventive measure is to not accept any banned leader into its membership again. In addition to the legal consequences, the harasser is registered on a black list called the “Warned List,” but the organization’s supervisors tampered with the procedure and the naming, so they registered the harassers on a list with a neutral designation, which is “ List of unqualified volunteers,” and the file remains internally confidential and is not accessible to everyone.
Richard Schullen's rapist brother committed suicide and his family was ostracized on charges of insulting representatives of the faith
One of the molesters of these children was Commander Thomas Hacker. After his case was exposed, he was ordered to be imprisoned and paid $500,000 in bail on charges of assaulting three children from his squad. But the scandal will be doubled, when we know that the name of this molester was included in the list of unqualified volunteers, as investigations have proven. Later, he was a serial harasser, and his victims numbered in the hundreds, including Mark Eaton, whom we mentioned earlier.
“Thomas Hacker” used to assault young scouts, and when he was arrested and registered on these lists, he pledged to undergo psychological treatment, and the officials concerned with preserving the reputation of the organization turned a blind eye to him, so he moved to another town, joined the organization again, and so on..
“Patrick Boyle”... journalistic research exposes shocking deviations
Serious attention to the organization’s deviations began when journalist Patrick Boyle published his book “The Honor of Scouting.” Research into some of the accusations against the organization prompted him to access the archives kept away by his own means, and then he discovered that they contained much more dangerous data than he had thought.
Although the media accused him of exaggerating matters, and of working to discredit the organization, due to their strong trust in it, his insistence reveals flaws and transgressions that shock American public opinion.
After the organization went bankrupt, we know that “Hacker” was one of dozens who were protected by the organization. Officials were keen to ensure that parents had sufficient reassurance when they sent their children to the organization, and to erase every blemish that might affect its reputation and its financial resources in particular, as it is, in the end, Al-Mataf is an economic institution that sells a money-generating product.
Logo of the American Scouting Organization
With the organization’s collusion with the harassers, it turned into an element of attraction and a haven for these deviants. They now knew that they would escape punishment because of this cover-up system. When the judge asked the harasser, “Thomas Hacker,” why he chose the organization’s members and not others, he replied that they were making the matter easier for him, and there he would be. Is safe from legal repercussions.
Seducing deviants...a behavior rooted in the organization’s history
It is true that the matter is related to the nature of Scouting itself. It has become clear since its inception in England that it tempts those who are sexually attracted to children, and that its structure makes it difficult to spot them and expel them from its organization. But these transgressions are also due to the lust for money, as they make supervisors trample on all the values of Scouting. To earn more revenue.
Steve McGua - an advisor at the highest level in the organization, which is Eagle - denies all the accusations directed against the organization, and hopes that it will resume its work again, without providing exceptional safety standards. After about 100,000 complaints from those claiming to have been subjected to sexual violations, and after all the evidence presented in the film, Steve expresses his shock at what is being promoted, as there is nothing serious that deserves his concern.
The film reveals very complex data, the first of which is that perversion and crime are a reality in various societies, and the second is that societies that respect the supremacy of the law are able to confront these deviants and protect their victims, but the third - which is the most dangerous - is that transforming money into the most prominent value in societies pushes many to trample them. On all noble values to achieve it, and the scandal of the Scouting organization in the United States of America is the best example of this.