NO REVENGE. NO HATRED. JUST ACCOUNTABILITY. BECAUSE WHAT GOES AROUND EVENTUALLY COMES AROUND.
There’s an old saying:
“What you put into this world eventually comes back to you. How you treat others matters. And sooner or later, everyone must answer for their actions.”
Lately, I cannot help but think about those words when I look at what is happening with the Boy Scouts of America Scouting Settlement Trust.
Because what survivors are being put through is, in my opinion, absolutely scandalous.
WE WERE CHILDREN.
We were taught to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, and brave.
We were taught that character mattered.
We were taught to do the right thing, even when nobody was watching.
Yet when we needed protection the most, the very institutions and adults we trusted failed us.
And now, decades later, after finally finding the courage to tell our stories, many of us feel as though we are being failed all over again.
FIRST, THEY TOOK OUR CHILDHOODS. NOW, THE SYSTEM IS TAKING YEARS WE HAVE LEFT.
Think about that.
Survivors spent decades carrying trauma that no child should ever have to endure.
Some struggled with addiction. Some lost marriages, careers, friendships, and opportunities. Some spent their lives battling depression, shame, and memories they could never escape.
Some never survived long enough to see this settlement.
And those of us who are still here?
We have been asked to wait.
And wait.
And wait some more.
We went through the claims process. We told our stories. We submitted evidence. We reopened wounds that had never fully healed.
Some survivors received awards recognizing millions of dollars in damages.
Yet receiving an award on paper and actually receiving meaningful compensation are two very different things.
WHAT GOOD IS A MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR AWARD IF A SURVIVOR DIES WAITING TO RECEIVE IT?
Meanwhile, insurance disputes continue. Legal proceedings continue. Administrative processes continue.
But time does not stop for survivors.
Every day that passes is another day we cannot get back.
Every month of delay is another month someone may be struggling to afford medical treatment, housing, therapy, or simply a little peace.
AND THAT IS WHAT MAKES THIS SO OUTRAGEOUS.
The Scouting Settlement Trust was established to compensate survivors.
Not to become another source of uncertainty and suffering.
Not to leave survivors wondering whether they will live long enough to receive meaningful compensation.
Not to make people who were silenced as children feel powerless as adults.
THE TRUST EXISTS BECAUSE OF US. WE DO NOT EXIST FOR THE TRUST.
Let that sink in.
Behind every claim number is a human being.
Behind every award is a childhood that was forever changed.
Behind every survivor is a little boy who once believed the adults around him would keep him safe.
And behind every delay is a real person losing something that can never be replaced.
TIME.
You can replace money.
You can renegotiate contracts.
You can litigate insurance coverage for years.
BUT YOU CANNOT GIVE A SURVIVOR BACK THE YEARS HE HAS ALREADY LOST.
And that brings me back to the message that started this.
I DO NOT WANT REVENGE. I WANT ACCOUNTABILITY.
I don’t need to see anyone suffer.
I don’t need hatred to motivate me.
But I do believe that how people and institutions treat others ultimately defines their legacy.
And I believe that those responsible for delivering justice should be judged not by their promises, their press releases, or their legal arguments, but by what they actually deliver to the people they are supposed to help.
If you claim to stand for justice, then deliver justice.
If you claim to care about survivors, then demonstrate it through your actions.
If you are entrusted with compensating victims, then transparency, urgency, and accountability should never be optional.
BECAUSE JUSTICE THAT ARRIVES AFTER A SURVIVOR IS GONE IS JUSTICE THAT PERSON NEVER GOT TO EXPERIENCE.
To every survivor still waiting, I want you to remember something.
We were children when our voices were taken from us.
We were children when adults failed to protect us.
We were children when we learned that sometimes the people who preach the loudest about honor and integrity are the very people who fail to live by those principles.
But we are not those powerless little boys anymore.
WE HAVE VOICES NOW.
And those voices deserve to be heard.
We have every right to question this process.
We have every right to demand transparency.
We have every right to insist that the people managing this settlement recognize the urgency of our lives.
And we have every right to be angry when a system created to provide relief leaves survivors feeling abandoned.
WE ARE NOT BEGGING FOR HANDOUTS.
WE ARE DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY FOR HARM THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED.
To the Scouting Settlement Trust and everyone involved in this process:
Remember who this settlement was created for.
Remember the children who were betrayed.
Remember the survivors who have already died.
And remember those who are still here, watching the years slip away while waiting for meaningful justice.
Because history will not simply remember the dollar amounts announced in this settlement.
History will remember how the survivors were treated after those promises were made.
And that is a legacy every person involved should think very carefully about.
What goes around comes around!!
Not because we seek revenge.
But because actions have consequences, truth has a way of surviving, and accountability matters.
WE HAVE ALREADY PAID A LIFETIME PRICE FOR WHAT WAS DONE TO US.
WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO SPEND THE REST OF OUR LIVES FIGHTING TO RECEIVE THE JUSTICE WE WERE PROMISED.
The little boys we once were deserved protection.
The men we are today deserve dignity.
And the survivors who are no longer with us deserved better than to die waiting.
NO MORE EMPTY PROMISES.
NO MORE TREATING SURVIVORS LIKE NUMBERS.
NO MORE FORGETTING THE HUMAN COST OF DELAY.
WE SURVIVED THE ABUSE. WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO SURVIVE THE SETTLEMENT PROCESS TOO.