[Ansteorra] The settlement

Mungentuya TirMedoin mungentuya at yahoo.com
Sun Feb 5 15:27:20 PST 2012


"In a Society that believes in personal responsibility and honor..."
I would like to point out something that I've seen in various SCA personas and posts since I've been a member of the SCA, and at times an officer.  Just because we go to events and meetings, dress up and do what we can to live our personas and fulfill our dream, doesn't mean that the present world in which we live in isn't going to come in and poison what we're trying to do.  A Society that believes in personal responsibility and honor doesn't mean that people who are in the SCA are going to shed who they truly are when they come into the game.  Just like rhino hides who don't call the good shots on the list field when they're honor bound to call good shots, child molesters and thieves will NEVER stop being what they are just because they go to the gate and sign themselves up to play with a group that expects higher things from them.  This situation is a prime example of why the society is starting to get bogged down in rules.  Are some of them
 ridiculous?  Yes, and at times it made me question my own membership.  However, some of the rules needed to be in place because the 21st is rampant with people who are going to try to place the blame on other parties when it is actually there fault, and unfortunately, the SCA is going to pay dearly for it.  This was one of the first societies in years that I was involved in that didn't have a safety net in place for this situation.  Yes, the parents should be shot for allowing their kids to be alone with one adult for a long period of time with no other supervision, and now their kids are going to be the ones that have to live the rest of their lives suffering for it and it's up to us to ensure that it doesn't happen again in Ansteorra and the SCA.

I was at the Great Officers of State meetings when Pug (who was Kingdom Seneschal at the time, I think 2007) first announced the court case, what was happening, and the safety precautions the society was putting in place to make sure this horrible incident doesn't happen again.  I'm a supporter of the background checks for the people who are officers and around kids, and I do believe that the officers of Ansteorra are trying to do everything to keep the kids safe in the kingdom in case a questionable person comes around again.  Did the Society learn?  Time will tell.  

As far as the court case goes, it's done and now we have to hope that the Society can recover its losses and repay the groups what they're going to lose.  Us putting blame on the parents, the kids, or on the way the situation was handled is not going to help the situation and is counter productive.  What we need to do is figure out how much Ansteorra is going to have to pay to cover the losses, and then brace ourselves in case there's more problems in the future with the court case against the insurance company.  From the stories I've heard, the game has had it's trials before, but the question is whether we are going to stand united to protect the dream that many of us have invested our skills, money, and time into.   I don't think it will be easy for a while, but I'm willing to fight for it.

Borijigidun Monggulun


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