ANST - PR and Image

[Valentyn]

At 06:34 PM 5/22/98 EDT, you wrote:
>
>On Thu, 21 May 1998 13:00:30 PDT "Mary Temple" <noxcat at hotmail.com>
>writes:
>>

>While it is true that a new person may get a bad impression, a woman
>would want to know if a man was potentially dangerous, at least I would,
>and I would be open-minded enough not to think that a whole organization
>would be like that.  All we can hope for is that most people are
>open-minded, and try to keep women and children safe.  What kind of
>impression
>would a person get if they were not warned and found
>out the hard way

If you're specifically addressing a case from years past, I confess
I have no firsthand knowledge and will not participate in discussion.
However, the above paragraph appears to me as a general guideline,
thus:

I cannot think of a worse form of vigilantism short of an actual 
lynch mob.  There is no reason why a woman new to the SCA should
need to be warned that "a man was potentially dangerous".  The 
mundane authorities have the means of removing dangerous people
from our midst, and the SCA even has its own (legally enforcable)
banishment processes.

This "warn the newbies" attitude accomplishes two things: a) As
Modius said, it makes potential newcomers wary of the organization
and b) it guarantees alienation of someone who may or may not
deserve it, oftentimes on the basis of a rumor or accusation.  
Claiming to act in defense of women and children hardly mitigates
the irresponsibility of ruining another's happiness without due
process of facts.  

Valentyn Drake
Cadet to Don Miguel


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