The Rapist and the Enabler

“The time has come,” the TB said,
“To talk of many things:
Of games–and sex–and politics–
Of legal fights–of thieves who would be kings–
And why the players are caring not–
And whether Billy will buy things.”

The Walrus and the Carpenter, loosely adapted from the original by Lewis Carroll (from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)

TB Wright has a forum/blog on the web and I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to mention it and direct people there.  He’s recently started posting again so I’ve taken the opportunity to do so.

His most recent post is a follow on to the discussion of the future fate of MXS Scenario games.  A recap for those who might not be familiar with the whole story:

An anonymous letter found its way to many of the companies and individuals involved in one fashion or another with MXS Scenario games company that made the claim that Patrick McKinnon – Pacman – of that company (and well-known scenario gamer) had been accused and convicted of rape a number of years ago in Texas.  The letter supposedly contained enough verifying information (court transcripts, social security numbers, etc) to lend credence to the claim.

The motivation for the letter being sent seem to be various gripes concerning the business practices of the MXS company, or a partner in the company being jipped out of his share and/or current accusations that other women have been bothered or abused by Patrick while attending various MXS events. 

TB – who is self-confessingly not happy with MXS – claims to have taken up the cause of the aforementioned (supposedly victimized) women, because reportedly none of them are willing to come forward with public accusations.

(This story caused no small degree of issues at 68Caliber headquarters.  It was one of those things that cause major discussion over journalistic integrity – even down to the level of “when is a new story actually a news story?”.  68Caliber’s attorney offered the opinion that the rape conviction was ‘old news’ and therefore not worthy of coverage, which position everyone apparently agreed with.  On the other hand, editorializing on the subject was within bounds.  As a result of writing an editorial on the subject, 68Caliber was accused of being the source of the anonymous letters.  This was of course false and anyone looking at 68Caliber’s track record would immediately know that ’68 don’t play that way’.)

Nevertheless, the entire incident caused a major brouhaha – especially in the scenario world.  Many of MXS’s competitors were quitely pleased with the “hit” MXS was taking (the company is apparently notorious for behind-the-scenes competitive nastiness), as would be expected many MXS fans loudly protested and “Mother” Howe attempted to gain control of the spin by issuing a public letter (while interestingly barring anyone from reproducing it…) and by shutting down the MXS forum accounts of those who were questioning the situation.

The one claim made by Howe that strains all credibility was that she would be continuing to operate MXS sans Patrick.  Excuse me.  That’s like Hillary saying she had absolutely no input on Bill’s Presidential decisions (quick real-politiks aside:  she’s now – Hillary – apparently claiming that she was involved in every last one of his decisions – including his selection of cigars, which is like Howe saying that Patrick didn’t really do anything except stand around at the games and look pretty.  Funny how close analogies can be…)

The issue died down somewhat over the past several months, but has now gotten itself back onto the radar screen.  Seems that Billy Smith of Low Country paintball is considering purchasing MXS – which will put money into Dianne’s and Patricks hands (well, maybe just an allowance into Patricks hands) and is, in this blogger’s opinion, a mistake.

The BIG mistake was made by the company’s sponsors in not running away – far away – the minute that the accusations turned out to be real.  If one runs to hysterical interpretations, sponsoring a company owned and operated by a convicted rapist is tantamount to endorsing the crime and, if the forums and commentary are anything to go by, there’s a sizeable chunk of the scenario game crowd that DOES view it that way.

Billy – you’ve got enough issues to deal with without having to buy into owning a company that’s got MXS’s history.  If you’re buying the company to bury it – great, but PLEASE do yourself a favor and bury it PUBLICLY.  Otherwise, buy their mailing list for no more than 5 cents a name and walk away.

And if you (not you Billy, I’m done with you for now) if you, the collective paintball people, want to find out more about this, visit TB’s website at www.worldoftb.com.