Winning at Gulf War

Scott White swhite at cimedia.com
Sat Feb 22 13:49:50 PST 1997


>I have some concerns about the language I've been seeing
>on the list in the last week that amounts to "Ansteorra Must Win at Gulf War."

Aw jeez, I had a feeling when I wrote my little 'call to arms' yesterday
that it'd be misconstrued ... 

I just thought I'd take a few minutes after work last night to share some of
the enthusiasm that Estrella awakened in me, and share some of the lessons I
learned in the Estrella battles with the fighters who I'll take the field
with at Gulf.

I NEVER said: "go out there and rhino it up and win no matter what."

What I DID say was: We need your bodies and your enthusiasm at the war. And
we really, really need spearmen and archers if we want to compete on level
ground with the Trimarans -- because, I'm told, they're bringing more
spearmen and more archers than we are.

Basically, I was trying to inspire people who were teetering on the edge to
ATTEND and inspire those who have a little free time between now and then to
make arrows and spears and learn how to use them. That's all.

>For each of our chivalrous fighters,
>PERSONAL HONOR should be what's important.

Absolutely agreed. But:

>Isn't that why you joined the SCA? 

Truth be told, no.

The SCA simply interested me, and frankly, honor is no more prominent in the
SCA than it is in Cub Scouts, 4-H, the Texas Newspaper Association the
Interactive Communications Society or any of the other academic, social and
professional societies I've belonged to throughout my life. I looked at the
SCA and thought, "wow, there's some interesting folks doing interesting
things." It wasn't "oh look, an honorable club."

It's great that honorable conduct is encouraged in the SCA, but no, it's not
WHY I joined the SCA.

We carry on for months in this forum about people who are so afraid of
pretend nobles that they hide in their tents ... about pretend 'laws' ...
people screaming about 'ethnocentric hatred' when someone made a joke about
Calontir ... people 'threatened' for 'insulting' a pretend household. And
you know what? Few of these topics ruffle my feathers at all.

Maybe in part because I don't view my life outside of the SCA as 'mundane'
and because I don't see the SCA as the source of my personal honor.

Yesterday's post was meant to be enthusiastic and inspirational, not
cut-throat. Sorry my pretend game didn't coincide with yours, Gunnora.

Gnith
<swhite at cimedia.com>




More information about the Ansteorra mailing list