[Ansteorra] just read the link

[Galen Bevel]

Chiara Francesca wrote:

>I have to agree with much of what the good Countess says.
>
>Come on folks, we are known as a fringe group already. Do you not
>see how this is potentially more damaging than helping our image?
>And yes, we are concerned about our image, it is what is used to
>judge us when we try to get a new site for our events.
>
>  
>
 >snip<

Not aiming this at you but this seems a good chance to throw my two 
cents in as to where I see this discussion going.  Perhaps I missed  
something when I looked at  the picture, but I did not see "sanctioned 
by the SCA" printed anywhere on it.  True, some of the news reports 
mentioned that he was a member, but that does not give us an "in" to 
this situation.  This kid was not doing what he did as an official 
representative of the SCA, so what he did as a private citizen is not 
ours to control.   Suppose someone driving home from an event stops to 
have a few drinks after leaving the site while still in medieval 
clothing, then gets into an accident?  Will we all be calling on all 
people to start changing out of garb before leaving events on the chance 
that something they do might make the society look bad?  We do not have 
an exclusive on medieval interests, costume, or recreation, and what 
someone who happens to be a member of our organization decides to do on 
their own is not our responsibility.  Sure, some people out there may 
look at the picture, then read a news report about it mentioning the SCA 
and decide that we are a wacko group of weapon wielding maniacs; welcome 
to life in the modern world. That could happen anywhere at anytime for 
almost any reason.  Bottom line for me is, that although we as 
individuals all have an opinion (on everything, from what I see) we as a 
Society have no dog in this hunt.   So objections to the picture should 
be based on other terms than how it makes "us" look.   If it were up to 
me I would say that yes, the picture should have been refused, but on 
different grounds such as dress code requirements (as others have 
said),  _not_ because of a zero tolerance policy towards weapons.


Graf Galen Kirchenbauer