How Do You Solve a Problem Like...

This is why I made no promises on this site. I have had a couple busy weeks. For the sake of categorization, I'll split this into two posts.

Over Thanksgiving, Ottawa had an Anime Convention - Naru2U. I was not involved in this convention, nor would I ever really want to. There is history there that is a little bitter, but I have moved past that. What ever.

Something happened at the convention that caused a bit of a mess. I'm not going to go into details because it has been covered in other spots and the details aren't really important. I am head of an Anime club that is supposed to be an umbrella organization for other Anime clubs in the area, so I feel a bit of responsibility when things go wrong. That said, I usually let the other club heads deal with their own issues but offer my assistance should they ever ask for it.

One of my staff was working at the convention, not as my staff. During the ordeal, he said some things and possibly crossed a couple lines he shouldn't have. Jen and I tried to step in as far as we could without crossing boundaries to talk reason to this person. Then things turned nasty. If I thought my staff member went too far, the convention staff went way beyond. Things started getting really ugly and I believe even went so far as hate speech. I have managed to get my staff member to stop (as far as I know), but now legal issues have popped into the mix.

Here is my dilemma. Both sides have asked me for help. The head of the convention has asked me to do something (discipline?) about my staff member. My staff member has asked me to help stand against the other convention staff. In the end, I feel I don't really have anything to do with anything except as a witness to an explosion. My staff member, in no way shape or form involved my club, which does not involve me in a professional sense. My staff member hasn't done anything I can officially call foul on.

On the other hand, I have built an unsteady understanding between the groups. Also, some of my own staff are very unhappy with the way he behaved. How do I deal with this person who seems uncontrollable?

Sigh. It's times like these when I consider retiring from the Anime club.