Fremon Seay of Yelm, Wash. has been accused of child abuse after allegedly punishing his 16 year old stepdaughter by punching her and hitting her with a combat weapon like those commonly used by the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). Pictures of the victim's brusies, allegedly caused by this incident, appeared on CBS News.
The alleged beating took place as a result of the daughter going to a party against her stepfather's wishes. The teen and her two children are now living with other relatives. The teen's mother, Julie Seay, has also been accused as she allegedly bore witness to the incident.
Several LARPers (live action role players) and LARP discussion lists have been active with discussion about this incident. Mainly, some LARPers wonder if this incident is:
- Related to LARP
- Damaging to the reputation of LARP and LARPers
- Truly a child abuse incident
Although most SCAdians (SCA participants) technically LARP, most tend to avoid calling themselves LARPers or associating with the LARP hobby. This attitude seems to occur for several reasons:
- In the United States, most LARPs are fantasy-based, and SCA operates reenactment activities based on historical fact.
- Many (but not all) American LARPs fight with boffer, foam and latex weapons. SCA members fight with rattan weapons and have strict rules regarding weapons safety, armor and combat.
- While some LARPs are large groups with chapters (such as NERO or Amtgard), many games operate individually and vary heavily in quality, content and safety practices. SCAdians pride themselves on having a uniform, organized system.
Despite these fine differences, whenever something happens regarding a "renaissance enthusiast," "reenactment fighter" or "faire attendee," LARPers (including SCAdians) may get blamed by a public who, due to lack of education and understanding about the hobbies, groups all of the above together.
While it seems like Seay may have been involved in organized LARP and/or SCA games in the past, news articles fail to mention a specific group. However, the Seattle Weekly Blog does identify Seay as a LARPer. A LARPer also offered a response, defending the hobby and distancing LARP from Seay's preferred activities.
LARPers aren't the only group of people who suffer from negative media attention. (A soldier, also from Yelm, was accused of using water torture on his foster son in 2010.) However, it's particularly relevant to the commnity when there is already a stigma about LARPers as well as many negative stereotypes. Combine this with the increased amount of film and general media attention LARP has been seeing, and it's understandable why the LARP community is sensitive to mentions such as this.
What do you think about this news? Is Seay guilty of child abuse? Is he a LARPer?
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