US media have paid attention to the organization’s scandal-plagued crossover scout accomplishment
Rebecca McCreight, a Kansas High School student has achieved every Boy Scout merit badge. She is one of the very few American Scouts who can claim them all. In a moment when Boy Scouts of America is in deep scandal, McCreight’s achievements are being honored across the nation.
McCreight made national news showing off her merit badge sash to local media, complete with 138 badges – “All of them.,” she made sure to remind reporters. Her father, Scout Master David McCreight, bragged that “It took 23 months to complete what an average scout would take eight years..”
Despite her father’s deep involvement in scouting, the younger McCreight cited her mother as her motivation for getting involved in the activity.
“Get out there and try your best,” she told local media, suggesting other girls follow her into the Eagle Scouts. “You can do it!.” She admitted accumulating the merit badges wasn’t easy, stating, “They take a lot of hard work.” and sharing a story about catching hypothermia while attempting to earn her small-boat sailing badge.
In 2017, the Boy Scouts of America admitted girls into their ranks. This was in the middle of an ongoing sexual abuse scandal that involved thousands of Scoutmasters and lasted several decades. The organization sought bankruptcy protection in 2020 in order to pay off thousands of victims but continues to recruit boys and girls alike, avoiding public mention of its financial and moral troubles and seemingly relying on the good PR generated by scouts like McCreight and the organization’s wholesome image to draw in new blood. After allowing homosexual boys to join the organization in 2013, it also granted permission to open its doors for girls.
Court testimony from 2019 showed the organization was aware of 7,800 former scouting leaders who had abused over 12,000 children, though one of the victims’ attorneys suggested those numbers far underrepresented the size of the scandal, arguing it could be bigger than the troubles facing the Roman Catholic Church.
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Boy Scouts sued Girl Scouts because they are too gender-inclusive
It’s not just ex-scouts who are being sued by predatory leaders of Boy Scouts. The Girl Scouts sued the group in 2018 for allegedly confusing potential members by opening their ranks to females, arguing the group’s marketing to girls would lead parents to believe that the erstwhile Boy Scouts now had sole purview over all scouting activities. It was alleged that the suit involved trademark infringement and unfair competition.
The Boy Scouts’ ranks have declined precipitously from their 1972 peak of 6.5 million members, plummeting to just 1.12 million in 2020 despite opening their doors to girls.
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