When I start telling the story of what Oregon State Parks did, I won't lead with "they told me to chew glass and swallow it."

I won't lead with "they put the retaliation in writing."

I won't lead with "their director labeled my documentation emotional processing."

Each of those would be devastating on its own. Each of those would be enough.

But I'll lead with this.

"They sent a man after me while I was isolated and alone, believing they could intimidate me into silence — after I had already recorded them abusing their positions of authority. They did this to someone with no institutional protection, no recourse, no way
of sounding an alarm. They sent a man to intimidate someone with integrity. Because they had none."

That is the story that will undo you.

Not because the others aren't damning. They are. But because this one tells people immediately what kind of institution you are and what you are capable of doing to someone with no protection. Everything else becomes context for this. Everything else confirms
it.

I have given your institution every opportunity to acknowledge what you did and to self-correct. That opportunity is closing.

Acknowledge what you did. Investigate. Hold them accountable. You have no excuse for delaying this any longer.

Because when I lead with this story, people will listen. There won't be a single volunteer in Oregon who trusts you again. There won't be a single gay person who believes you'll protect them.

And there will be nothing left to manage.

Robert Samuel White

Former Oregon State Parks Volunteer

oprdvolunteerabuse.org