SCA's NEXT GENERATION

[Lenny Zimmermann]

On Mon, 16 Jun 97 11:32:13 -0500, Clarissa wrote:

>If someone has been in the society for a couple of weeks they know more 
>than the newcomer and can therefore help. By simply saying "Hi!"  and 
>taking them over to someone that has been in longer, they are helping. At 
>fighter practice with so much going on it can be hard to spot the 
>newcomer.  Someone that is good at spotting them and introducing them to 
>others has provided a wonderful service to the newcomers and the group.

If you think it's tough for the experienced members to notice someone
they haven't seen before AND get the courage up to go say Hi to them,
how can we expect someone who's only been in a couple of weeks to do
so? (Heck, I've ben in and highly active for almost 2 years and I
STILL don't know everyone in my Barony, which can be embarrassing if
you treat some wayward Baron as if they were a newbie!) Seems like a
LOT to ask of a newcomer. Admittedly there are those who can, and do,
jump right in like that, but they are quite few, in my experience. So
yes, I think it's great as well, when we have folks like that, but I
don't think it's something we should even remotely expect, or even
ask, them to do.

As to HL Octavia's statements about older crowd being shy and burning
out... I can certainly understand the shy part, I tend to let my wife
do the introductions when she is around and it really can be a LOT of
work to get over that shyness. I can also understand the burn-out
factor in seeing so much time and material goods seemingly wasted on
people who just don't come back. A certain level of caution is
certainly advisable and I prefer to spend time in getting people
clothed in cloth they buy, and by showing them more ways to fend for
themselves, rather than providing a lot in the way of loaner stuff.

I think this is actually a place where old timers simply need to see
if they can train the next generation in integrating new members, so
they can sit back away from those duties and let the new folks do it
while they still have the gusto.

Yet even so, welcoming new people is not easy for many people, and I
may have inadvertently suggested that everyone should be out doing it.
In truth the only thing I would argue for is that each of us should
make some effort to ensure there are some folks who can help and
welcome the new people. If you see a new face, maybe ask a friend who
you know is not so shy to go over and invite them to take a close look
at things. 

I'd also argue that those older folks who are not as interested in
seeing new members and keep an aloof or gruff attitude towards them
until "they've proven themselves" should take a closer look at their
attitude. Perhaps for those people it would help to stop thinking back
on those few newbies who may have "burned" them in the past, but look
towards those people they are proud to say they helped along their way
in the Society. It's gotta be a great feeling to know that you've
helped even one person achieve something wonderful. And I KNOW many of
you experienced members have done this many times, and that it is
still rewarding each time. I know I've been helped along the way and I
appreciated every minute and dearly thank those many people who put in
time and effort with me.


Honos Servio,
Lionardo Acquistapace, Bjornsborg
(mka Lenny Zimmermann, San Antonio)
zarlor at acm.org