Forum - View topicThe SPJA Needs to Change Its Youth Protection Policy
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Caloris
Posts: 33 |
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I used to staff the largest anime con in Australia (Manifest) for a number of years before financial reasons killed it.
Manifest was in Melbourne, Victoria. Victoria has state laws requiring anyone working in a position where they would be interacting with minors to have a "Working with Children Check". This applies to anyone working within the state such as teachers, day care workers, hospital staff, youth group leaders/coordinators, etc. As Manifest had attendees under 18, and at times, staff and volunteers under 18, Manifest came under this law. As such, all con staff were required to get the WWC Check. This was a background check done by a state government department. This check only applied to staff, not on day volunteers, not guests, not vendors, just staff. Also, as staff were volunteers, they were not charged for the background check (People needing the check for paid work had to pay for it). The only reason Manifest had to do this was because it was legally required to. AX has just decided to do this themselves and it appears that nothing has prompted this to happen other then SPJA heads randomly deciding to. This is far more overreaching then it needs to be. They have surprised people with it at a late stage, after many of them have signed contracts (that very likely have no mention of it). If this is not scaled back to something more reasonable and sane, they are going to have a hard time getting volunteers to help on the day, potential guests will decline/pull out, many artists and vendors won't return next year... It could potentially kill the convention. |
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Tempest
I Run this place.
ANN Publisher Posts: 10419 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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animenewsnetwork.com/editorial Admittedly, we haven't published a real op/ed piece like this since January 2012, so it's understandable that you wouldn't be aware of our practice. But it's pretty strange that you aren't aware that news organizations publish the opinions of their editors in op/eds. -t |
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Nah, their names have already been dragged through the mud when what they've done in the past was made public, and I'm sure they've already felt repeated rejection at major events. I wouldn't trust either of them, or Bill Cosby (or, to a lesser extent, Gilbert Gottfried), in light of what we now know they've done in the past.
Yeah, that's how I feel about background checks: Just another part of post-9/11 life. I was actually genuinely surprised to find out that I'm part of a minority here who undergoes a lot of background checks, as I thought everyone does that. You undergo a background check each time you apply for a job, each time you open a bank account, each time you start a credit card, each time you apply for a government program, each time you get a license for something (like a driver's license), each time you open a business, each time you want to get onboard an airplane, each time you get off an airplane, each time you enter another country, each time something happens where you'd receive insurance money (such as when you're injured or you get into a car accident), each time you buy a gun, and each time you make a big purchase (like a house or a car). I get checked for various things all the time. I was initially bothered by them, but then I spent several years as an adult and got used to them. Heck, I remember a local Hollywood Video rental store, when I was younger, required a current water or electricity bill to prove your identity if you wanted to get a membership card. I never understood why some people get so infuriated when they're checked or their belongings are checked. They're not the only ones being checked. Everyone is. (I'm not bothered at all when I get my hundred-dollar bills checked to see if they're counterfeit. I've seen some cases where people have received counterfeit money as change before, and I'd be annoyed if I did too. But what that means now is that counterfeiters have scaled back on printing Benjamins and Ulysses and are now focusing on the Andrews, Alexanders, and even Abes.)
Huh, is that true regarding Japan? No wonder some of them look so nervous when visiting the United States, and no wonder some of them feel so concerned. This is one of those things I should remember about Japanese culture, akin to them seeing tips as insults. I guess it's part of their idea about being as unintrusive as possible. How do they detect counterfeit bills then? Do they check them when no one is watching? Is there not much of a counterfeiting problem in Japan? Or do they just let counterfeiters get away with everything? Also, aren't they already throroughly checked, searched, and frisked when they come in from the airport?
Regarding bag checks and such, nah, it's everywhere around here. Our Barnes & Nobles bookstores have everyone leave their bags at the front as an anti-shoplifting measure, for instance. My high school installed metal detectors during my later years there and brings armed cops and metal detectors to every off-campus event. (And it works too--I knew someone who was expelled because he concealed a hunting knife in his jacket to a school party. And the cops, at one point, managed to apprehend a local drug boss's thugs who were to commit a hit on a student who owed a large amount of money to him.) As for what background check companies do in the United States, it varies depending on the company. I don't know which one SPJA is using, but I've seen some do exactly as you describe where they report to their clients exactly what they find, and I've seen some just simply say certain people are not okay.
Security guards too, actually. I mentioned it elsewhere, but I remember seeing a security guard harass a young woman, and she was clearly uncomfortable and frightened. I didn't know who to report to, as security is supposed to be the ones who intervene in situations like those.
Because of how sudden this all is, I'll bet it's because someone from the government came in and told SPJA, "No, you cannot run these events until you have these background checks," and AX was first because it's the biggest one in Los Angeles. As for why it hasn't happened to the Comic-Con organization, I have no idea. Maybe it has, and they haven't said anything about it. The fact is, however, that the Californian government is very different than your Texan government. Our government is a lot more, erm, interfering than yours. Part of it is because California culture is very sue-happy (and so you get these warning signs everywhere and on everything), and part of it is because the Californian business law is extremely strict (and there is an extremely large amount of them), to the point where California is a notoriously difficult place to have a business.
Yeah, I'm wondering about that. Such a thing would be illegal and go against the very concept of a contract, especially one that involves exchange of money in advance.
It may be a response, or at least related to, the terrorist shootout that happened in San Bernardino County (Redlands, I think?) November last year, which is so far California's deadliest terrorist attack. Our local news (newspapers, TV news, and online news sources) went into great detail about the two people who did that. They took great pains to bypass any background checks, such as getting a friend with a clean record to get their firearms for them (as the FBI has had their eyes on these two for a while) and that friend getting a sham marriage in order to bring one of them over to the United States legally. It was later discovered that both of them subscribe to Inspire magazine, al-Qaeda's English-language publication that provides information about how to do terrorist attacks, and that they had been planning to kill all of their coworkers at least two years in advance. Redlands is about an hour's drive from the Los Angeles Convention Center, but I know it got a lot of people feeling on edge immediately after the shooting.
They've had a spotty record with security guards though. Over the last few years, I've never been to an AX event where there wasn't some problem caused by the guards.
Because child abductions keep happening in this country. (But as I mentioned on the previous topic, the real people to blame are the parents who don't watch their children properly. And they will fight to their last breaths to not have to watch their children properly. Some of these parents I've met seem to spend more energy and money trying to fight those who insist they supervise their children than actually supervising their children.)
They should. Doesn't mean they will. AX is also an event popular with teenagers who want to find an excuse to get away from their parents for a few days in a row. I imagine they're the ones in greatest danger, but I don't really have any ideas on how to keep them safe without killing the fun for them.
Neglectful parenting is one of the things that infuriates me more than most others, because I see it so very often and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
In addition, there will be many parents who don't want to pay admission in. They're not going to enjoy it, and as far as they're concerned, that's a few days taken off of their own time while paying double price for admission. Parents want to get away from their kids just as much as kids want to get away from their parents. |
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Tempest
I Run this place.
ANN Publisher Posts: 10419 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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Someone at every vendor has to sign a paper saying "all our staff have undergone the appropriate background check." Same for all media (eg: ANN). So you either spend hundreds, or thousands, on background checks, or you perjure yourself.
Last edited by Tempest on Tue May 17, 2016 6:10 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Tempest
I Run this place.
ANN Publisher Posts: 10419 Location: Do not message me for support. |
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So, felony convictions from any of the following can make you inadmissable: 1) Violence 2) Sexual Activity 3) harm to children The policy goes on:
That's a hell of a lot more than "the only things they're denying people for are convictions for crimes against children and sexual crimes." |
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supercalafragilisticjoy
Posts: 95 Location: Chiba, Japan |
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As someone who has lived in Japan a bit, I thought I'd chime in: I feel like the Japanese guests absolutely would get offended and turned off by the background check. Guests are supposed to be treated very very well and with a lot of respect. While it seems normal in the states, suspecting them of such a background would be insulting, especially when they were the ones that were invited.
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HeeroTX
Posts: 2046 Location: Austin, TX |
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From my experience (I am not Japanese, but have travelled to Japan multiple times) there is a LOT that is just "assumed" to be so based on public trust. Just using myself as example, on one of my trips during mad-cow scares Japan was being very "restrictive" of meat products (including things like beef jerky), they were contraband and not to be brought into the country. There were big posters about it and what not. At customs, I was asked if I was bringing in contraband and said "no" (because I couldn't read the Japanese posters and didn't realize the issue with the meat products that I'd brought as gifts for friends). I was waved through and merrily went on my way. Later when a friend came to the US from Japan and took the same type of products back, they were confiscated. Considering that Japan is generally xenophobic, I can't imagine I was given the benefit of the doubt for being foreign, my understanding is he honestly reported what he had and it was seized. (this was "confirmed" by another friend noting I could maybe "smuggle" some to them later on a return trip) My "joke" when travelling to and from Japan is that Japan makes travelling EASIER for their nationals while the US makes is HARDER for our own citizens. This is because (IMO) Japan loves its own citizens and hates foreigners. OTOH, the US loves foreign TOURISTS and hates it's own citizens. But long story short, there are DEFINITELY a fair number of things in Japan that work on the "honor system", there's plenty of stories about how if you leave something (like a laptop or even a wallet) sitting alone in a public place, your odds are pretty good for it to be there (or turned in to authorities) when you return rather than stolen, as would be the expectation here in America. Isn't their tax collection for NHK even based on "self-reporting"? |
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supercalafragilisticjoy
Posts: 95 Location: Chiba, Japan |
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It is - though they have been known to incessantly knock on your door even if you don't actually have or use a TV to collect money. But your items being safe from thieves is generally pretty accurate. |
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ResistNormal
Posts: 117 |
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My friend was in Japan and had his bag stolen with his laptop in it. It was moneys who did it though. Damn dirt apes, no honor at all. |
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HeeroTX
Posts: 2046 Location: Austin, TX |
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Serious question, how "reliable" or extensive would a background check be for foreigners? I assume a background check for AMERICANS would be pretty simple and straightforward, but it seems like it could be pretty complex for foreigners, and honestly I'm not entirely sure if (just to use Japan as example) they WOULD even give information for a random American request.
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Hoppy800
Posts: 3331 |
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Macacs stole your friend's stuff? Let me guess, it was near or at an onsen and/or at or near the monkey park. He shouldn't have left his laptop unattended or better yet in the hotel. |
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Cptn_Taylor
Posts: 925 |
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They're no different from any other TV collection agency in the world especially if the system is "honor" based. After many decades for instance Italy shifted from the Japanese system to a new system : everyone is guilty by default and has to pay the tv license fee. And you cannot evade it since it's billed as part of your electricity bill. So it's upon you to demonstrate to the State that you have no tv hence no need to pay the tax. Every single year. |
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Huh, that's interesting. I'm not used to living a life that isn't full of background checks, searches, frisks, and all that. It's pretty clear that people trust each other a lot less in the United States, though it does make sense as the United States has long had a history of violence in all sorts of ways (but the one on most people's minds is terrorism, as terrorists try to be as covert as possible), whereas people in Japan, from its culture, seem to be a lot less prone to outbursts of violence. It must be something of a jarring experience for people who move from Japan to the United States for some time, like to go to college. I actually feel safer when checks and searches are done to me, because I know they're being done to everyone. Even the idea of checks and searches being done is enough to scare off some people. I remember hearing on the radio an interview with a retired CIA agent who specialized in catching terrorists. He was asked why they're primarily targeting Europe now instead of North America; his response was that Europe as a whole is a lot less on guard and a lot less protected against terrorist attacks than the United States, Canada, or Mexico. In other words, they're easy targets, just like how a bicycle thief will try to look for a bicycle that's not locked or locked improperly. That being said, I'll be coming as an attendee, and I'm certain if, on the very very slim chance a terrorist is going too, they'll most certainly be coming as an attendee too. |
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Agent355
Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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Hey guys, New York Comic Con just announced a "fan verification registration" process. People hoping to purchase tickets to the con get about two weeks to complete a profile. Forty eight hours before tickets go on sale, you will receive an email with a proprietary link. Use that link to buy tickets through the NYCC website. You can then buy 1 ticket per person, per day. Tickets are not transferable, refundable, or resellable! Tickets are sold on a first come, first serve basis (months before any scheduling or guests are announced, I'd like to point out) This should be fun!
I'd also like to point out that San Diego Comic Con does random Identification checks at the con itself. Both cons use tickets with RFID chips containing your personal information. Obviously, all these measures are (supposedly) in place to eliminate scalpers, not for "security", but I can't help making the connection to this article, since everyone on the boards have pointed out that attendees at AX don't need background checks or I.D. Yet. Welcome to the Orwellian future, folks! Last edited by Agent355 on Tue May 17, 2016 1:57 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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leafy sea dragon
Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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Nah, it's most certainly because of a few bad people making it difficult for the rest of us.
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