concerning the ana/barry stuppler/acg debate

[michael]

does the outcome make the ana look better as an organization?

 

did they handle this correctly? did they make a big deal out of something/nothing?

 

was the verdict just the usual bunch of political nonsence? business as usual for the ana?

 

is there something stinky in denmark? or as the saying means no intergrity or just plain skullduggery?

 

any comments?

 

sincerely michael

 

[chrisfuccione]

It shows that they are willing to stand up to ACG even though thet got that donation from them. They probbaly lost more from members that were upset over it. CHRIS

[jtryka]

I for one am disheartened by many of the things that go on in our hobby, and I know that we as individual collectors can do more. I am not even a member of the ANA, and to be honest I'm not sure I want to be. After reading the stories about ACG, which I already knew were bad, I was shocked and dismayed. We need to stand up for what's right in our hobby, perhaps it's time to form a new ANA-type organization for collectors only, to stand up to dishonest dealers and fight purely for our interests. This is something that the ANA is supposed to do, but my fear is that the influence of the big-money dishonest dealers has distorted this goal. A pure collector organization could also endorse dealers, and such an endorsement would be far more meaningful given the lack of conflict of interest in such a group. I am open to any other suggestions, except any suggestion to do nothing.

 

michael, I applaud your use of the work "skullduggery!"

[nwcs]

I think the ANA handled this very well. I think they were professional and showed that they will follow their rules. Considering how many lawyers seem to be collectors, I'm sure they got plenty of advice on how to handle it.

 

You know, I bet the ANA never thought that there would be the reaction they got from receiving the ACG money. To them, it was probably just ordinary money. No different from anything else. And it was given political meaning by other people. To put it another way, gangsters and drug lords used to give Mother Teresa millions of dollars. Some people said she should refuse the money because of where it came from. Her reply was that the money can be used for good, it was a blessing and that it took money out of the criminal system. And I believe she said that if those people thought they were receiving absolution, it was their problem and mistake.

 

Neil

[gmarguli]

Given the evidence, the ANA should have suspended the membership of Hager until the matter is resolved in the courts of law. If what was said is true, then I expect them to be going to jail for a LONG time.

 

The ANA could have taken a stronger stand and expelled Hager. They could have done a lot to protect the novice collectors. They didn’t.

 

While I think the decision was OK - not great, they still have a long ways to go before becoming a reputable organization.