ANST - sighh....

[Marcus]

At 02:39 PM 5/5/99 , you wrote:

>in this game, everyone is assumed to be a equal nobility, right? and that 
>being the case *everyones* opinion must matter equally ... last i checked
it was 
>purchased on the merit-badge system that seems to be the norm, and frankly 
>merit badges never had meaning for thsi one. 

Perhaps I am mistaken, but I always understood that we were considered
landed nobility at the start of the game, and it was then our option to
achieve higher if we wished to put forth the effort. Rather like the
constitution saying we are all created equal, but where we go from there is
due to our own works and efforts.

>free speech and expression of personal opinion is a RIGHT in this culture 
>not a PRIVALEGE earned or given by self-imposed social superiors ... 

While it is true that the 'government' shall make no laws abridging my or
your right to free speech, there is no such guarantee on the Internet, nor
on this list. Again, I may be mistaken, but I am under the impression that
pug owns the list, and has graciously allowed us to use it. And at any time
he may at his whim and discretion stop any topic he feels is detrimental,
and he may also remove any member as he see's fit... regardless of payment
to Milipitas.

>to my mind, attitudes such as yours reflect a darker aspect of the SCA and
are 
>often stated common contributing reasons why people burnout, get fed up, and 
>choose to leave or allow themselves to be driven out.  from many young 
>people i speak to, it's often reason given why they decide to bail after
finding the 
>group.  it's a reflection of the unofficial social caste / clique system 
>inside  the the SCA  that many (self included) find so reprehensible. 

Why does this attitude bother you so much? That you should be part of the
work and participate in the trenches before you are allowed to stand up and
speak out on the decisions regarding the results of that effort seems like
a natural course of events, and not some dark aspect of the SCA.

I have been part of many clubs and groups before, and it has always been
policy that while anyone can come in, sit, and enjoy the hospitality of the
group, it was still left to those that had done the work to sit together
afterwards, iron out the problems and see what solutions could be made.
This reminds me of the movie "A Bugs Life" my wife brought home recently.
The ants would work all year long, and then the grasshoppers would come in
and decide what would be done with the efforts of that work, and how best
for the ants to work harder next year so that the grasshoppers could enjoy
everything more.

>what it boils down to, if you measure your worth by your level of local 
>service, awards, merit badges, political position, whatever  ... more
power to 
>ya'.  i don't and never have.  dosn't make either right, dosn't make either 
>wrong ... but both have to co-exist.  i value your opinions and would hope
you 
>are wise enough to listen to mine ... you might find some value in them if
you 
>listen.

Maybe I missed it... but I haven't seen anyone spell out their alphabet
soup yet in defence of their idea.

Marcus
(Alphabet soup available on request)


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