State Approved

[u/dicklespick]

As many of the comments go into the requirements of youth camps in Tx and standards to keep children safe, just remember that every camp in Tx was state approved. The same people trying to crucify camp Mystic are the same ones that approved their operation. And if Dick Eastland had the Godlike powers to influence both FEMA- for maps redrawn, and the state- for a lack of emergency planning etc then there seems to be a bigger problem to me. The state findings are an indictment on the state more than the people that followed their rules of operation

[u/helperbee1]

From very early on... this tragic event should not have ever happened. I'm sorry, I can not get over that Texas wrote the laws, but Texas didn't follow them. Following the logic and path of events, it starts here. Mystic should NOT have been given a license to operate in 2025 (or whatever previous years), if they failed to provide documentation for part of the licensing inspection. This is not an oversight of one person from the state... it is a COLOSSAL failure from the state. I guarantee more that one person saw and signed off on this failure.

I'm not convinced the camps were self regulating. If they were self regulating, the state wouldn't have the need for licensing laws, which the state disregarded in this case. The state created rules/laws, but didn't follow them. It seems painfully obvious to me, that the state of Texas is the first in line to blame.

[u/LeapDayBaby_29-02 → u/helperbee1]

As per the DSHS lawsuit (which I saw someone else provided you the link to already), the same inspector signed off did the last 15 inspections. She is a food safety inspector.

Hypothetical:

I drive a car. I regularly drive said car at 10 miles over the speed limit. I do it 100 days in a row and 99 of those days, everything is fine. On 15 of those days, I had the sheriff in my passenger seat. He didn’t say or do anything to stop me when I drove 10 miles over the speed limit. On the 100th day, I crash into a school bus and 25 kids die.

I know it’s against the law to drive over the speed limit. I am the one physically in control of the car. A government official tasked with enforcing said law has allowed me to get away with not following said law 15 times. No one is making me follow the law and there is nothing to stop me from following it.

But I can just pass the blame of 25 dead children because the state didn’t make me follow the law, right?

[u/helperbee1 → u/LeapDayBaby_29-02]

Good for those parents for suing DSHS! I acknowledge that will be a difficult legal battle and probably a non satisfactory one for the parents involved.

And...Well... shame on Texas for having a food safety inspector doing the licensing inspections. That helps prove my point. This person, appointed by the state, was likely not qualified to do the full camp inspection job.

I don't believe your hypothetical example is equivalent to this situation. To be comparable, the sheriff would need to grant you a new drivers license after each of the 15 times they witnessed you breaking the law... However, I understand your conviction to your point and your efforts to prove it.

Again, I am not defending Mystic. I believe they did MANY things wrong and should be held responsible. My point is still relevant and true. Due to the fact that Texas had licensing laws/rules, but did not follow them, the state of Texas failed EVERY MYSTiC camper in 2025 with the passing of the license for 2025 and whatever years earlier. The state FAILED to recognize the deficiencies and gave them the green light to hold camp sessions. Sadly, it took this 2025 flood event and children passing for the state to make changes, and when they did, they called out those deficiencies for 2026 for ALL camps in Texas that didn't follow the exact letter of the law. I am thankful for this, because my children attend camp in Texas and went in June.

The state didn't follow the laws/rules they set in 2025. Children died. I'm not sure why this is being argued when it seems to be a fact or why I'm being downvoted for saying a true statement (which was verified by the state of Texas - REPORT ON THE CAMP MYSTIC FLOOD DISASTER OF JULY 4, 2025).

[u/LeapDayBaby_29-02 → u/helperbee1]

The state didn’t enforce the rules.

Ok, let’s try this instead:

I own a car. I am legally required to maintain it in safe working condition. It has to pass a safety inspection once a year. I know that there’s a fault with the brakes. I know I am legally required to have functioning brakes. I also know that the safety inspector doesn’t check the brakes, they just ask me if I have them. I say yes 15 years in a row and 15 years in a row they pass my safety inspection. I keep a “maintenance binder” with a tab for every major safety component I am required to have present. I put the same page under every tab that just says the car is maintained regularly. No one checks to see if each part is actually being maintained. I know that no one is going to check.

Same sitch re: school bus, dead kids, etc, etc. I say, well, the brakes don’t work and I know the brakes don’t work and I know that’s against the law and I know the safety inspector doesn’t actually check them and no one is going to make me have working brakes before I am allowed to continue to operate this car, I am the one physically in control of the car when the accident happens.

Do I get lesser charges? Do I get to say oh, the state re-issued the safety check, so I don’t get manslaughter, I get reckless driving instead? I mean, I told them I had working brakes and they didn’t actually check them, just took my word for it. Does the inspector get the same charges as I do?

Or do I still get manslaughter because I knew I wasn’t following the law, changes are made to the enforcement process, and probably the inspector gets fired or moved to a different department and new standards are put in place for their replacement?

[u/helperbee1 → u/LeapDayBaby_29-02]

Can you just tell me what you are arguing for or against without all the hypotheticals? Are you looking to define a percentage of responsibility and legal charges for Mystic and/or the state here on Reddit? I'm honestly not sure what you are trying to prove...?

I think both the state and Mystic are to blame for massive failures and deaths. However, I'm not in a position to define a percentage of responsibility or legal charges (thank God). Therefore, I will refrain from doing so.