SCA vs Mundane

[Dieterich]

Allysyn wrote:
>I would like to start a new topic, if I may.
>
>I have recently been innundated with rude comments from mundanes about how
>"very unrealistic and silly  I  am being for getting into such a fantasy
>world."  For example, I recently made a neclace with a beautifle letter A on
>it (persona name) and I display it proudly around my  neck.  A 'friend'
>says, "why don't you use your REAL name, and be more realistic?"
>
>"That group has nothing to do with reality."
>"Why don't you sew REAL stuff?"
>"If you spent as much time working on normal things..."
>"The only people who participate in organizations like the SCA are crazy
>fanatics." (yes, this one was told to me in church!)
>
>
>I realize that part of the problem is that I live in an overly  conservative
>town, and out of 52,000 people, there are 119 churches--mostly Southern
>Baptist.  (After all, you "MUST be a Pagan if you get into that sort-of
thing!"
>
>But before I douse the burning cross in my yard (or is that our Pell?) I
>will scream loudly, VIVAT ANSTEORRA!
>
>Enough ranting,
>
>Allysyn
>
>

Dieterich hier,

I would like to point something out that I think is being overlooked here...

Allysyn has a very real problem with her community and none of the posts
that I have seen are very condusive to bettering either *her* relationship
with them or *our* relationship with them as a group.  In a perfect
scenario, there should be a way to allow your community to not only accept
you, but also embrace you as a beneficial element.  Here are ways that I
have both seen this done and have done myself:

1.  Have your shire/barony/whatever do some sort of community service
*outside* our normal go-show-the-little-kids-what-armor-looks-like demos.
One of the best examples that I have seen of these types of activities is
adopting a portion of highway for trash patrol.  Not only does the community
see you all in 'regular' clothing, but they know who you are because you get
a sign posted on the piece of road you police.  Doing any type of
fund-raising activity or widely publicized community service (battered
women, big brother/sister, blood drives) where the- pardon my generlization-
'church wives', KoC, Shriners, etc. will see and hear you helps a great
deal.  Make sure that you make AT LEAST radio coverage of these events to
help make you a regularly heard name.*****NOTE- IF YOU DO THIS YOU WILL
INEVITABLY WIND UP WITH MORE NEW SCA MEMBERS...BE PREPARED FOR THEM WITH
FLYERS*****

2.  I gather from your post that you are a Christian churchgoer and the
complaints you list from that end are common.  I am fortunate to have a very
strong and experienced Christian friend who has dealt with these problems
VERY successfully.  Here are a few of the things I have seen him do that
help Christians who are not SCAers understand that we are not fanatics or
pagans:

        a.)  He involved himself in an artform within the SCA that has
religious, if not Christian connotations and let his Church see the
beautiful things he has made that glorify God.  With the Catholic Church as
the single common theme in Western Europe in the middle ages, it is _easy_
to find one of these artforms that you can both enjoy as well celebrate your
Christianity with. These include Calligraphy and Illumination (do the Lords
Prayer in the gothic style and donate it to your church), Painting (same
type of project... and be sure to donate it), Iconography (for all you Greek
Orthodox folks... but not *just* you), Music or Song (perform for your
church... most ministers will let you, even in the more conservative
churches), or even Sculpture or Woodcarving (donate a handcarved cross done
in a period style).  Talk about your chosen artform and most importantly
*where you are learning about it*.

        b.)  Research the beginnings of the Church within the SCA.  Find out
the whys and wherefores of the ceremony in your specific religion and
discuss them with your minister.  Although 'I' am not Catholic, Dieterich is
and so I am learning about things like rosaries, common prayers, a pinch of
latin... things that not only give my persona depth, but also help me
understand more about the Church itself.  Ministers love people who are
genuinely interested in Church history so discuss what you find with him...
heck, he may take up a cloistered persona himself- I HAVE SEEN THIS HAPPEN.

        c.)  The last thing I have seen work is by far the most difficult to
prepare for and I do not recommend it to anyone who is not willing to
immerse themselves in preparatory research first.  In a conservative church,
such as the Baptist Church, Assembly of God, and Pentacostal, it is common
practice for anyone to give 'witness' or 'testify'- note: I am not an expert
on these churches so if I bungle this one, please forgive.  What I am
talking about is for an individual to teach a lesson based on scripture with
a midieval example. A common example of this would be to relate a saints
story to the congregation and relate it to the days lesson.  What my good
friend is doing is preparing a testimonial based on scripture with visual
aides; namely a full suit of period Roman Armor.  The basic pretense is to
give an idea of what a piece of scripture (namely, Ephesians 6:13)
*actually* means; to show their eyes what the written word means.  Its one
thing when they _hear_ about the 'breastplate of righteousness' but when
they actually *see* what the genuine article that Paul was writing about
looks like it helps them better understand how serious the words are.  Once
again, however, I do not encourage this road unless you are VERY prepared;
this is the one that is most likely to backfire on you if someone in the
congregation is more informed than you are on the given subject; i.e.
"Mildred, can you _believe_ he thought St. James was boiled alive??? I mean
*everyone* knows he was shot to death with arrows!!  Just goes to show you
those SCAers are ignorant nutbars- harumph!"

3.  The last major issue I'll deal with here is the 'fantasy' issue.  To
help others understand why we take personas/other names I usually start by
relating the idea of 'living history'.  For brevitys sake- too late
Dieterich- Ill sum up: we learn as much about people in the past by actually
making and using their tools/clothes/weapons etc. as we do from the actual
excavation of said materials.  The most prominent example of this is the
Wisby remains with injuries to the back of the heads- were they running
away?? No. We found out- through re-creating the fighting style with similar
weapons that it is easy to injure a mans back while standing in front of him
by throwing what is known today as a 'wrap'.  Personna is just another way
to help us distance ourselves from our 'moderness' and allow us to study
more easily.
    I usually follow this point up with the idea that what we are doing is a
form of theatre.  To quote a friend:"Court is theatre, and good courts are
good theatre.  Bad theatre is  why arsonists begin their careers."  Stress
to them the fun of playing a role well.

I hope this helps you.

Dieterich Kempenich von Eltz