[Ansteorra] group discussion - was - Bad things

[Vicki Marsh]

Xene here:

I hate to say this, but I'm *really* getting tired of seeing this
discussion.

Yes, I know it's important. I have 15 and 16 year old boys whom I raised
in the SCA. Ask me in person what I did right and what I did wrong -
I'll tell you.

Yes, I'm also a teacher and the mother of a Boy Scout, so those policies
are ingrained into the very fiber of my being.

Yes, I've made the typical mistakes of parents and not watched my kids
24-7.

Yes, there have been pedophiles in Ansteorra. I've known one personally,
but he is no longer on this Earth. A background check would not have
done a bit of good on him. Even his wife didn't know.....and it's a
very, very sad story.

My suggestion.....start a yahoo group to discuss this off-line from the
Ansteorra group and/or set up "user group" meetings so that you can
discuss this in person and build on the knowledge that each of you
brings to the group.

Everyone who has posted to this thread has good, valid ideas and are
trying to brainstorm with each other on an important topic. Group
discussions work well in a separate environment or in person. 

One more thing.....

Why do we always have to come up with rules that legislate what should
be Common Sense? Does Zero Tolerance mean lack of judgement?

Do our leaders really believe that we are too stupid for that? Or do
they just have to keep on making new rules to justify their existence?

Lately, Ansteorra (and the SCA) has been becoming so legalistic and
bureaucratic that it is stifling to new growth, new membership, and the
health of old groups. Requiring baronies to take six months for their
new landed nobles selection process, not allowing baronial candidates to
answer questions in a group, requiring parents (instead of appointed and
notarized substitutes) to always be with their children during martial
competitions or fighter practices, even at age 16 and 17 when they can
drive themselves.....And that's just the tip of the iceberg as rules go.


(BTW, my 16 year old has worked for almost a year at a BBQ place with
adults and customers who have not undergone background checks, uses very
sharp knives every day, and deals with hot grills and fryers that can
burn him. I never signed a parental release form, either.)


I'm just afraid that our bureaucracy and fears of litigation will
destroy the Society for Creative Anachronism.

In Service to Crown and Kingdom, 

A Cranky old Pel-Laurel Baroness......Xene Theriane