Marines Club (Themiclesia)

The Marines Club (冗人會, njung-njing-kobh) is a social club founded to improve the social standing of the Themiclesian Marine Corps, imitating the many social clubs that have sprung up around officers in other regiments. It was founded by Lord Ghor-′an in 1857. The club currently has a membership of 152.

Controversies

In 1979, the club was reported on various newspapers for refusing to admit Mew L′ang, a well-decorated Marines officer, while inviting Daw Pjuk, a renowned television show host. Daw spoke about receiving such an invitation on his show and a willingness to join the "esteemed club" but felt encumbered by the club dues. On the other hand, Mew learned of this fact and published his frustration on The Spectre, the Themiclesian Marines' newspaper, criticizing the club for playing favourites. A handful of other columns commented on this matter and turned the focus towards social class.

The club initially made no response but later published a statement on Jan. 2, 1980, saying that the club's rules, "very regrettably, preclude Mew's inclusion." They point to Article 2 of the club's Charter, which provides that members must be "individuals of recognized background and decent standing in society", and say that Mew's family history could not be traced further than the birth of his maternal grandfather in 1879. Later, it was leaked that the Club's admissions committee blackballed Mew because his paternal grandfather might be born out of wedlock, an undocumented migrant, or both, which disqualifies him as an individual of "recognized background". Furthermore, Mew was neither a peer nor a "person of remarkable reputation", which would overcome the foregoing limitation.

On the other hand, Daw was invited to join because his great-grandfather was Captain-general of Marines in 1892 – 98 and because he was well-known in journalistic and media circles. Perhaps more informatively, the great-grandfather came from the gentry of Lem Prefecture and was son-in-law of the 5th Lord of Ran, the less-than-successful son of the 4th Lord of Ran, Prime Minister of Themiclesia from 1833 – 37. Daw later wrote that the reasoning of his invitation was made quite clear in the invitation letter he received and that he felt regret for discussing this matter in public when it should have been confidential.

Despite Daw's efforts to suppress the issue, cancelling his show for two episodes, the editors of The Spectre went into mouth-foaming rage over it and published numerous philippics about the club. They uncovered 41 previous refusals to other marines who applied (usually officers at retirement) and published interviews with 30 of them, seemingly representing indignation across the marine corps that "a club founded and reputed for their betterment" could "so infamously disregard them". However, The Capital Correspondent and The Wall re-interviewed the 11 whose response were not published and discovered a countervailing narrative. These interviewees stated that the Club was there to advocate for social recognition in favour of the Marines, and it was "no use to admit people who don't have clout." A senior NCO who was discharged in 1930 said that "if people like us were allowed to join, the Club would lose all prestige and be unable to fulfill its purpose".  

The Wall also approached a few of Marines officers in 20s and 30s, who all seem to think The Spectre was unreasonable.  In response to The Wall’s reporting, The Spectre told them to "stick to foreign policy". On Feb. 4, 1980, The Wall’s editor called The Spectre "editorially unconscionable and dishonest" and "ironically disregarding the freedom of the press as a member of the press." Next week, The Wall printed that it "stood together with 14 other university presses and 8 news agencies and calls upon the Kien-k'ang Journalistic Association to censure The Spectre." The Army Academy's Dippy Library also officially stopped subscription of The Spectre as it is "not currently a credible source of information," but The Spectre actually saw its subscriptions rise by 4% due to the unfolding drama. Ultimately, the Association was moved to give out only its fifth punative ruling, ordering the editors of The Spectre to pay $4,000 each in fines for exaggerated reporting.

In other regimental presses, several took a neutral position towards the issue. The Echo, the newspaper for the Fourth Division, wrote that "dishonest reporting, which we are convinced has transpired, is to be censured; nobody benefits from a lying press." But it also wrote that "The Spectre is to be credited for bringing a poignant issue to the fore and fearlessly arguing for an unorthodox position" and that "the club's rules are arcane and does not reflect the values of modern society." They say that their position is tenable without resorting to fraudulent reporting. The Liberal newspaper The Times of Themiclesia commented that the club is "a private club, founded on private initiative and private money; and so it should be autonomously governed and not subject to journalism bordering libel." The Review wrote that while many regimental clubs have become officers' veterans associations and are chartered this way, Marines Club has not; as such, it should not be compelled to admit new members on regimental grounds.

See also

• Themiclesia