Posted on 03/20/2018 7:03:17 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts
A Utah man is suing the Irving-based Boy Scouts of America after the organization voided every merit badge his son — who has Down syndrome — has earned, blocking the 15-year-old's path to becoming an Eagle Scout.
Chad Blythe of Payson, Utah, filed the lawsuit last week in the state's 4th District Court, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. He claims the Boy Scouts and the Utah National Parks Council engaged in "outrageous and reckless conduct" and that his family has suffered emotional distress because of their actions.
Logan Blythe had been planning to create kits with blankets and onesies for infants with special needs as his Eagle project, his father said. The kits would then be given to hospitals.
But after local Scouting officials submitted the project to the national office, the Boy Scouts determined that Logan hadn't followed the exact requirements to earn his merit badges. Boy Scouts must earn 21 merit badges in addition to the Eagle project to attain the rank of Eagle Scout.
Chad Blythe said Logan's chapter had made accommodations for his disability to help him earn merit badges during his years as a Scout.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
What's next? Marines who cannot shoot straight?
If the BSA had issues with this, they should have been straight up with the kid and his Troop Leaders from the get go. Shame on the Troop Leaders for not thinking ahead and coddling this kid from the start.
Merit badges should not be altered to fit abilities. Earning First Class or Star on your own is much more valuable that being handed Eagle.
> they should have been straight up with the kid and his Troop Leaders from the get go. <
Agreed. Once the kid is awarded a badge, he should be able to keep that badge. No disrespect to the Boy Scouts, but we are talking about merit badges here. We are not talking about gold stolen from Fort Knox.
What happened? Did the kid refuse to have sex with his scout leader?
Incidentally, the merit badge requirement approval process had been getting lax and a complete joke for many years, including when I was in in the early 70's. It should be tightened up so that even non-disabled boys are held to a higher standard.
Don’t want Down’s Syndrome kids, but they love sodomite scout leaders. It’s just as well for the little guy to stay far away from the Boy Sodomites.
I’m no longer involved with BSA and don’t have a dog in this fight. We left when they lost their moral compass in 2013. But, from the articles I’ve read, this young man did what he was told to do, to the best and maybe over his abilities.
I’ve always been told that once a badge is earned, it cannot be stripped away, nor can rank. The leaders and the council, in their zeal to mill out as many Eagle Scouts as possible ignored their duty and this kid pays the price.
Too many adults in that organization shove kids to Eagle. It is something to be earned, not granted.
One of my sons is an Eagle Scout. He earned it every step of the way. He didn’t go to special camps for his badges. He worked on badge work almost daily. There’s a photo of me and another leader on the day of his project leaning on the truck drinking coffee. Except for driving the truck, that’s literally all we did.
My other son earned the Trail life USA Freedom Award. Same thing. He earned it himself. That also entails a service project. He had to actually lead and couldn’t do much of the work himself. He broke his elbow a few weeks before and wasn’t real mobile.
Council screwed up with this kid. The national office needs to award this kid his badges and fire the council executives who allowed it to happen.
BSA would not do that IF the kid self-identified as a Tranny.
Being gay? Bend the rules.
Being an atheist? Bend the rules.
Being a girl? Bend the rules.
Being a transgender? Bend the rules.
Being a Down syndrome boy? Shoulda been aborted.
Yup they’re a leftist organization alright.
Although I think suing is idiotic - if the alternatives the scouting group offered can be achieved in an easier manner (and they probably are) then it’s a life lesson to the kid about how life works. Suing to reinstate his badges is the wrong lesson.
Probably.
There is also due process. The kid was stripped off his medals without being accorded a defense.
The BSA violated its own procedures and policies. They deserve to lose.
When he went before the council to interview for Eagle and present his work, they actually grilled me for a bout 5 minutes to ensure that all I had done was to drive the vehicle to transport bags of concrete, etc. and had done no lifting or loading.
To my son's credit, he took pictures of me just sitting in the truck and photos of himself and his team doing the loading while the Home Depot staff just stood by after dropping the pallet with a fork lift.
That’s just MEAN!
In 1961 when I became an Eagle Scout, advancement in rank was totally merit-based. Before you could obtain First Class rank, you had to show proficiency in Morse Code, which definitely limited the numbers of those obtaining Star, Life, and ultimately Eagle. Also there were requirements for vigorous outdoor activities, swimming and lifesaving, plus proving mental proficiency in merit badge requirements like citizenship, first aid, etc. Oh, and you had to have a certain amount of time between ranks to advance. Today, the BSA is only a shell of what it once was. ‘No standards, anymore.
The boy with Downs syndrome worked to the best of his ability, bit did not meet the actual standards of the Boy Scouts. So what’s the problem with awarding him and others merit badges with maybe a different color edge, and they would be merit badges with accommodations?
Eagle scout is a very respected level, and shpuld not be given out without great thought, but even this could be awarded if noted that accommodations were granted.
Kids with mild disabilities could opt for regular merit badges or with accommodations merit badges.
This isn’t difficult.
> this young man did what he was told to do, to the best and maybe over his abilities <
Yep. In a way, I see this as a contract situation. The kid was told that if he did A, B, and C, he’d get D. Well, the kid did A, B, and C. No reason not to give him what the contract promised.
They did provide accommodations for his disability.
They can’t prevent him from becoming Eagle Scout solely because he has Downs’ Syndrome.
That’s a violation of federal civil rights law if he was treated differently from other kids in similar circumstances.
By that I mean they ran afoul of the rules.
Agree.
Perhaps there could be some sort of separate track for boys in this child’s situation.
>>It should be tightened up so that even non-disabled boys are held to a higher standard.
It should be made uniform. When was a Boy Scout in the 70s, my troop followed the rules to the letter (former Marine Officer who fought in Korea was scoutmaster). Merit badges were hard to get and most of us topped out at First Class or Star.
Meanwhile, 5 miles away was Troop 164, which was an Eagle Mill. They guaranteed that your son would be an Eagle in 3 years if he attended all troop functions. They’d have merit badge parties where the scouts would all receive a merit badge or two in a single Saturday.
The correct method was somewhere in between.
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