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I am a (physical) abuse survivor. I cannot emphasize enough that members of the tech policy community must abandon the "think of the children" line of rhetoric

I am a (physical) abuse survivor. I cannot emphasize enough that members of the tech policy community must abandon the "think of the children" line of rhetoric to weaken the internet. I don't want to think about your children. I don't want to interact with your children. I've met people who have. People who don't just go out onto the internet to be disagreeable, but truly believe what they are saying. That context collapse of "oh, you're serious?" paired with my sincere view that those folks can get in the ground with Jeffrey Epstein, has been quite the journey. (I crafted the above sentence after extensive therapy, to make it clear: I will not hurt someone just because of their "sexual preference".) But there's a Breaking Bad episode that shows what happens when someone who is not your caregiver decides not to interact -- you will choke on your own vomit and die, or otherwise come to some end that wouldn't have if you hadn't been all alone. (I'm on the autistic spectrum, and a huge prestige TV geek.) You can engineer society to coerce folks, you can invent ever creative reasons to monitor folks who the data shows have always tried to give folks autonomy to make decisions paired with accurate data, but then... well turn on the news. You will what you voted for. Power outages because your independent grid minus federal money rotten then got hit with a superstorm. Condos collapsing because no one did the checks. And the bridge the local tech savvy at risk youth called for help from under may literally fall down. What "civil" society needs to do is believe victims. Testimony is evidence. Value it as much as... computer stuff. Or own that if you decide otherwise, there may be civil unrest. - Greg, from Cub Scout Troop 262.

MerelyMortal 4y ago
Hi Greg, I'm sorry that you were abused. I assume because you put "Cub Scout Troop" by your signature, that you were abused in Cub Scouts? I imagine there are a bunch of parents that read HN that have their kids in Scouts. So this never happens again to any other kid in Scouting: they should know that the BSA has Youth Protection Training (YPT) which has clear rules that state there should be no private one-on-one contact between adults and children. If anyone's Pack, Troop, or Crew is not following that simple rule, they need to report it. First start at the unit committee, and if that doesn't work, contact the Council. Of course if you suspect abuse and not just a violation of the rules, contact the authorities. Anyone can take YPT (you don't have to be a member of the BSA), just create a "My Scouting" account and take the online training. Additionally, if the unit is chartered by a church, make sure everyone is also taking that church's version of youth protection training as well (The Catholic Church calls it Safe Haven, the Episcopal Church calls it Safegaurding God's Children, etc). As a parent, you should make sure every parent and adult volunteer in your unit is trained. When everyone knows the rules, then we can make sure they are being followed to prevent abuse from happening. The sad fact is that ever since the BSA came out with YPT in the 1970s, children are more likely to be abused in churches and schools than in Scouting. (I'm an adult volunteer in Scouting, and I take this issue very seriously. I want to help make the future a better place, and that starts with our children.)
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- hedora 4y ago
  This happened in the SF Bay area: https://www.sonomanews.com/article/news/boys-girls-club-settles-sexual-abuse-lawsuit/ https://www.sonomanews.com/article/news/boys-girls-club-sett... It was up in Sonoma, but the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley's CEO is arguably worse: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2021/12/02/ebay-ecommercebytes-stalking/ https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2021/12/02/ebay-ecommerc... (read the last few paragraphs first, or you might think I linked the wrong story)
  - MerelyMortal 4y ago
    That article about the athletic director is really bad. The BSA rules also state that adult volunteers cannot have relationships with the Scouts outside of Scouting where grooming could happen. Additionally, all communications (text messaging, emails, etc) have to follow the no private one-on-one rule. I don't have any experience with any other youth organizations (as a youth or adult), but I hope they all have or adopt similar rules. (I am Eagle Scout, and I still like to go camping and help others, and volunteering with my old Scout troop is a great way to do that.)

MerelyMortal 4y ago

Hi Greg, I'm sorry that you were abused. I assume because you put "Cub Scout Troop" by your signature, that you were abused in Cub Scouts? I imagine there are a bunch of parents that read HN that have their kids in Scouts. So this never happens again to any other kid in Scouting: they should know that the BSA has Youth Protection Training (YPT) which has clear rules that state there should be no private one-on-one contact between adults and children. If anyone's Pack, Troop, or Crew is not following that simple rule, they need to report it. First start at the unit committee, and if that doesn't work, contact the Council. Of course if you suspect abuse and not just a violation of the rules, contact the authorities. Anyone can take YPT (you don't have to be a member of the BSA), just create a "My Scouting" account and take the online training. Additionally, if the unit is chartered by a church, make sure everyone is also taking that church's version of youth protection training as well (The Catholic Church calls it Safe Haven, the Episcopal Church calls it Safegaurding God's Children, etc). As a parent, you should make sure every parent and adult volunteer in your unit is trained. When everyone knows the rules, then we can make sure they are being followed to prevent abuse from happening. The sad fact is that ever since the BSA came out with YPT in the 1970s, children are more likely to be abused in churches and schools than in Scouting. (I'm an adult volunteer in Scouting, and I take this issue very seriously. I want to help make the future a better place, and that starts with our children.)

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
hedora 4y ago
This happened in the SF Bay area: https://www.sonomanews.com/article/news/boys-girls-club-settles-sexual-abuse-lawsuit/ https://www.sonomanews.com/article/news/boys-girls-club-sett... It was up in Sonoma, but the Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley's CEO is arguably worse: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2021/12/02/ebay-ecommercebytes-stalking/ https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2021/12/02/ebay-ecommerc... (read the last few paragraphs first, or you might think I linked the wrong story)
- MerelyMortal 4y ago
  That article about the athletic director is really bad. The BSA rules also state that adult volunteers cannot have relationships with the Scouts outside of Scouting where grooming could happen. Additionally, all communications (text messaging, emails, etc) have to follow the no private one-on-one rule. I don't have any experience with any other youth organizations (as a youth or adult), but I hope they all have or adopt similar rules. (I am Eagle Scout, and I still like to go camping and help others, and volunteering with my old Scout troop is a great way to do that.)