Where Danger Lurks

This feature article is going to be a little more sobering than a lot of the ones that I normally write around here, but given recent events, I felt it was needed, no matter how uncomfortable it is to write.


Many of you out there may be aware of the situation that has recently come to light in the state of New Jersey, where the organizer of an after school Lego program has been charged with molesting four young girls, it's a terrible situation and one that has rocked the adult Lego fan community to its very core.

Past the cut we will discuss how adults with unique hobbies can protect both themselves and the young people we come into contact with on a regular basis.



As an adult I am accutely aware that a number of my hobbies cross age lines [Anime, Lego, Airsoft, and of course the SCA] and that there are times where I will find myself in the position of being involved either physically at events like conventions, or virtually with things likes forums and chats, with young people under the age of 18. These interactions can be great things, and lot of fun, but there is also always a voice in the back of my head telling me to be very careful how I act and how I go about my business so that in no way can anything that I do be misunderstood or put me in a dangerous position.

I think the first thing we adults need to take into account are times when no matter how innocent, the situtation would look very bad, case in point: I teach medieval fencing as part of the SCA [Society for Creative Anachronism] I was approached by a young girl of 16 about coming to a private practice that I hold once a week, I was more than happy to have her join us, as long as her parents dropped her off, and we weren't the only ones there. Her Mother was fairly surprised at this, and even told me not to worry, they knew what she was there for, I explained that I felt that it was in both of ours best interests to make sure that nothing could ever be taken the wrong way.

The second thing would apply to virtual/online contacts, I have made friends through my Anime/Manga fandom that it has taken some time to find out were minors, always think about the discussions that you have with them once you know. Topics should be kept pretty high level, talking about the night at the bar carousing with some cute little blonde, probably not the best idea. Again, this isn't because we are TRYING anything, its because the appearance can be just as damaging, and dangerous.

These are only a couple of ways of protecting ones self against a situation that could get rapidly out of hand, I advise all those reading this, to think and tread very carefully when dealing with our minor aquaintances, no one wants to see more situations like the one in New Jersey where someone preyed upon those too young to know the difference.