ANST - More from the Chemical De-peanut Gallery

[Evan Paul Langlinais]

On Thu, 30 Apr 1998, Dennis and/or Dory Grace wrote:
> Salut Cozyns
> Lyonel aisai
> Theudegisklos quotes Prince Barn's response to:
> >> >Drinking at events is a long-standing tradition.  
> >> Yes, drinking at events is a long-standing accepted practice, though I
> >> wouldn't call it a tradition.  
> And replies:
> >Speak for yourself, Your Stellarity.
> >:P
> Uh, he *was* speaking for himself.  That's what the "I wouldn't" phrase
> means, that he's stating an opinion.  

And the colon-p is a tongue-in-cheek Smiley, which is exactly the mode in
which that comment was delivered.

> I, on the other hand, am going to be quite pedantic and speak for a larger
> community of English speakers:  drinking at SCA events is a *practice*, not
> (in the principal use of the term) a *tradition*. 

And I must reemphasize that this statement is entirely too broad.  The
Sweinbrothars have been around for quite a while now, long enough to have
established behaviors which can only be described as traditions.  There is
not a one of them that does not involve alchohol, the least example being
it's mention within a ceremony, the most dramatic being the ritualized
beer baptism at a Sweining.

If drinking is not a tradition for the Sweinbrothars, then I need a new
definition of tradition.

> Folks who drink at
> events do so for personal comfort and pleasure, not in order to fulfill
> customary obligations. 

This is also ill-considered.  Much like someone earlier in this thread, I
am not a drinker but a taster.  You will never find anyone to who would
attest to my being drunk at an SCA event, because in the seven years I've
been playing, I've _never_ been drunk at an SCA event.  They call me "The
Sober Swein."

But for a Sweinbrothar not to partake of the Swein Stein when it is passed
around would be rude, and a violation of my customary obligations.

> Anyone who says to her/himself, "I'm going to have
> a beer because it's my duty to the society to uphold this fine tradition,"
> is in desperate need of intervention.

In the past year I have bought two, count 'em, _two_ six packs of
Guinness.  That's it.  One of those was for an SCA event.  I gave all of
them but one to my brothars.  The other one lasted me two months.

Now either your definition of desperately needing intervention is
different from my own, or you are disagreeing that the Sweinbrothars are a
fine tradition and an asset to the society.

Are you looking to open that can of worms?

|   |   |\ | | | ) Theudegisklos "Skwid" Sweinbrothar of the order Teuthoidia
|/| |\  |/ | |X| ( SKWID, Vulture V4 pilot       (   The Humblest Mollusc
  | | | |  | | | ) Evan "Skwid" Langlinais       )        on the Net
"BOO!"--The Man in Gray                     http://www.utdallas.edu/~skwid/


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