How the far-left took down The Boy Scouts

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They are still among us, but in far fewer numbers. I was never counted among them, even in their heyday. (God forbid that I would be seen in short pants.) They are — or were — The Boy Scouts.

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The Quiet Collapse of an American Boyhood Tradition

For generations, khaki shirts and merit badges defined weekends for millions of American boys. The Boy Scouts of America once stood as a pillar of character-building, drawing one in five boys at its height in the early 1970s, a veritable breeding ground for toxic masculinity.

Today, the organization — rebranded as Scouting America — counts roughly one million members and welcomes both boys and girls. Its decline traces not to a single blow, but to a sustained cultural and legal assault from the far left that reshaped male youth organizations across the country.

Traditional Roots Meet Modern Pushback

Activists on the political left, including feminist groups and "gay" rights advocates, played a central role in challenging the Scouts’ core identity. Founded on ideals of moral straightness, duty to God and country, and traditional male mentorship, the BSA clashed with declining social norms. In the 1990s and early 2000s, lawsuits and public campaigns demanded inclusion of openly homosexual leaders and atheists.

The far left was also offended by the group's whiteness. According to The New York Times, black members made up less than 7% of youth. White members were around 73-75%.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in 2000 that the Scouts, as a private group, could set their own membership standards. Yet the victory proved costly. Major corporations and the United Way pulled funding. The woke left pressure continued, framing the organization as outdated and exclusionary.

Loss of Key Sponsors and Shifting Interests

Traditional sponsors felt the strain too. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) had enough of The Scouts caving to the woke left. The church withdrew nearly 400,000 members around 2019 and launched its own program.

Broader societal changes reduced appeal.

Parents grew wary of overnight trips amid 1980s crime concerns. Seriously? Send your young sons to spend a few nights in a tent with homosexuals? Few were willing to do so. The oddity in my mind is that parents willfully send their sons to be indoctrinated by government schools. Apparently, being seduced during daylight hours is less alarming.

Video games offered easier alternatives to camping and knot-tying.

Abuse Claims and Legal Floodgates

The abuse scandal delivered the heaviest blow. Like churches and youth sports, the large organization with overnight activities attracted predators. To them, it was a godsend. To parents, it felt more like a gift from Satan himself. Internal records documented cases dating back decades. Most led to police involvement, but some handling reflected negligence.

In 2010, an Oregon jury awarded nearly $20 million to one victim in Portland. States then passed look-back laws suspending statutes of limitations for old claims, fueled by the MeToo movement and lawyers lusting after filthy lucre.

In short, The Boy Scouts was a prime progenitor of toxic masculinity, a roadblock to the "woke" vision of a social Marxism.

Bankruptcy and the Claims Explosion

By early 2020, facing tens of thousands of claims, the BSA filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Wilmington, Delaware. What followed was a claims explosion — swelling past 82,000 — driven by heavy attorney advertising.

Legal and administrative costs consumed nearly 10% of the $2.5 billion fund early on, with plaintiff lawyers positioned to claim hundreds of millions in fees. Genuine victims received fractions of expected payouts while the process dragged on for years.

As for The Girl Scouts, they remain relatively safe as an exclusive group. No boys allowing. And rightly so. Sexism, to the far left, is a one-way street. It shouldn't be.

The result leaves a diminished program struggling to preserve its original mission. Critics argue activist demands and litigation transformed a net positive institution into a cautionary tale of institutional fragility.

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Suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Sources:

Boy Scouts of America Bankruptcy Information

Supreme Court Case: Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000)

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