I’ll start this off by saying I barely remember Festavo and have no clue who Dionysus is. I have no allegiance, friendship, or any other motivation for this post other than what’s outlined below. I am in no way defending Festavo as well. Let that be clear: I am not defending Festavo or his comments.
This is one time where I feel the admins got it wrong. They bowed to public pressure and didn't stick to the principles that got them to the original decision. That's the exact opposite of what I expect from the admin team, to be honest. When I first read the original decision, internally I thought it was a brave decision, and the right decision, but also one that was founded upon solid reasoning.
The kid obviously grew and matured tremendously, owned up to his mistakes, and wanted to become a positive contributor to the region. We like to talk about tolerance and understanding here, but when a young adult comes back 6 years later, we aren't willing to even consider that they may have grown and changed and aren’t the same child that was.
Look around the region - we need active and willing players. We don't need to be closing the door to players who are eager to be contributors because when they were a kid six years ago behaved in a way that resulted in a ban. That's not to say everyone should get a chance to come back - sexual predators absolutely not. But as far as I can tell, there was never any predation here. Irresponsible, ugly, abhorrent comments? Yes. Made by a kid. Six years ago.
The individual will always remain accountable and responsible for their actions. Giving someone a second chance isn’t saying they aren’t accountable. It is a reputational stain that will last forever. But I don't know that we have any indication that their continued presence in the region presents a safety threat to anyone. Some people may not like him. Some people may not want to be around him. But if he doesn't present a safety threat, which the admin team concluded, then he should be reinstated.
Not everyone is going to like everyone in this world. Tough. That’s how the world goes. Ultimately this amounts to "some of us just don't like him, so he has to go. Administrative ban standards founded on safety be damned."
The admin team always does better when they stick to their principles. Unfortunately, I do not feel they did that in this case. They bowed to public pressure, something I don't think I've ever seen.
Of course, none of this undermines or dismisses the legitimate feelings of those whom Festavo impacted while he was here. Their feelings are valid. It’s just that their feelings shouldn’t be what drives the decision for the admin team. If he doesn’t present a threat, which the admins admit used to be the standard, he should be re-instated. That’s the admins following their own standard.
Now we have entered a new era of Europeia where it remains unclear what the standard is for an administrative ban. Ultimately, Festavo was re-banned because of the feelings of some our citizens. He wasn’t re-banned because he was a threat. He was re-banned because of feelings.
The easy thing to do is say no. The easy thing to do is slam the door. The hard thing to do is give someone a second chance to prove they’ve grown. All we are doing here is sending a message that says “you are who you are, forever.”
Finally, the fact, as Kuramia mentioned, that our admin team is majority LGBTQIA+ and still came to the original decision should hold significant weight for our community. It should also hold significant weight for the admin team themselves in the face of community reaction.
The admin team made the right decision originally. Now we have lost the chance to further influence a young adult into being more tolerant, accepting, and ready to embrace the diversity of the world. And beyond that, the standard for what is ban-worthy has now shifted from safety to community feelings.
The better option would be to proceed with a criminal case for lying on the application. If found guilty, administer the penalty. If he were to return after that, it’s only yet another indication of growth, maturity, and readiness to be a positive part of our community.
But we didn’t do that, and that’s unfortunate.
