ANST - BELTLESS PEERS

[jonwillowpel at juno.com]

Dear Master Petruccio
 You have a lot of good points and we can agree to disagree but there is
one thing I would ague with you. The term politics is defined in Social
Science as the way people interact to get things done. Any time two or
more people interact they have to use some form of politics.  It is a
fault in our culture to be so afraid of the term "politics" that we are
always coming up with new terms. For example I am a civil servant who
gets things done rather than a politician.  If we face the fact that we
do politics then we can start talking about which forms of politics we do
not like. What techniques cause more harm than good. 
Yes, knights are political. They hold the reins to the power in our
kingdom. More than likely one of them will be on the throne. They should
be taught to handle that power wisely. Laurels are political  but their
art fields are not necessary political but their job as peers causes them
to be political.  But a Pelican is a special beast. It is someone who can
get things done and still live up to the ideals of a peer. There are 
many political techniques that are not fit for a true peer to used. I am
a student of small group politics and  it doesn't matter if you are going
for power and prestige or a goal you can cause lots of damage if you use
techniques that harm people. Because people do not take the time to study
the ways and means of politic they often make big mistakes. 

Willow

On Tue, 2 Nov 1999 10:41:45 -0600 "Patrick Cuccurello" <pat at adtelusa.com>
writes:
> > Dear people I am one of those Pelicans that think official Protégé 
> are
> > unnecessary.
> 
> I am more than happy to agree to disagree on this point, but lets
> take a look at reasons.
> 
> > 1. I see no reasons to link a fellow politician to my politics.  I 
> get
> > into enough trouble.
> 
> And why is a Pelican a "politician"?  Because they have to move 
> within
> the power structure of the Society?  How is that any different than a
> Knight who is in direct fealty to the King?  Talk about a politically
> charged position!  What about Laurel's who run Kingdom and especially
> Interkingdom Arts competitions?  They not only have to deal with 
> their
> own Crown, but Crowns of other lands.  Nothing political there.  So
> why is a Pelican a "politician"?   I seldom walk around introducing
> myself and shaking peoples hands.  I never kiss babies--unless I'm
> carrying a cloven fruit and she's wearing a particularly nice bodice
> (Hey baby, wanna come over to my pavilion and see my woodcuts?).
> So if Knights are just as political as Laurels, and Laurels are as
> political as Pelicans, and Pelicans are as political and Knights--
> why do we look at Squires and Apprentices differently?  I think the
> reason is because some Pelicans like to equate themselves as 
> Politicians.
> 
> I was taught--and it is specifically part of the Pelican Ceremony
> that I was brought in under-- that a Pelican was the "Good Civil 
> Servant".
> A Pelican was the one you could always count on when things went to 
> hell
> in a hand basket and somehow, someway, pulled it out of the fire.  
> Granted,
> it might be a little charred, but in the end the situation was 
> better.  A
> Pelican was the one who made sure that all the little mundane things 
> were
> done, the licenses, the rent, the furniture, so that on Saturday 
> morning
> we could come in and move back 500 years in a hopelessly mundane 
> world.
> They are also the ones who walk around with 200 safety pins in their 
> basket,
> just in case the seams blow on the Queens dress 10 minutes before
> Coronation.
> Or the one you hear say, "Oh! Here! I have a bottle of Windsor-Newton
> peacock blue calligraphy ink!  No, I don't callig--I just thought 
> someone
> might need it sometime".
> 
> I don't consider that being a Politician.
> 
> > 2. I don't want to be responsible for someone else politics. Any 
> true
> > candidate for a Pelican is knee deep in their own stuff.
> 
> Why?  Knights become Knights without being political beasts.  Laurels
> become Laurels without being political beasts.  In order to become a
> Pelican you have to go about getting involved in the Kingdom 
> politics,
> glad-handing people, winning public support?  If that's what it 
> takes,
> I understand now why mine took so long (see next paragraph).  The 
> very
> statement says that if someone works their butt off on all levels of
> this Kingdom, by their actions they make what we do not only better 
> but
> easier, in all ways conduct themselves as a Peer of the Realm, but 
> refuse
> to get involved in intercene politics, they will never be a Pelican.
> If that is the case, I can see where I'm going to have some sparkling
> conversations in the future.
> 
> > 3. The pathway to a Pelican has usually taken about 10 years. The 
> need
> > for my guidance would be for a max of 3. I think it is unfair to 
> put
> > someone in a Junior position for that long. I would not want 
> anyone to
> > stand in my shadow.
> 
> I received my Pelican in four years.  Granted, during that time I was
> extremely active and built a couple of "better mousetraps" but I know
> many Pelicans who have take less time than the "Ten Year Pin" minimum
> concept.  Personally, I think that a minimum is around 5-6 years for
> someone who is extremely active in the service area.  It just takes
> a long time for many folks to become comfortable the with culture and
> structure of the SCA. I would make exceptions going either way 
> depending
> on the person and their activity and demeanor.
> 
> Granted, a protégé is a student, but I would consider them more of my
> "second" than my "junior".  Odds are, they have skills that I do not 
> have.
> Odds are, they are going to teach me just as much as I teach them.  
> If
> not, I would not have chosen them to be my retainer.  My job is to 
> guide
> those skills to successfully interface with this nebulous thing we 
> call the
> Society.
> 
> Where I may consider my shadow great (especially if I've been 
> drinking:)),
> I would hope that my protégé's shadow would be greater than mine.
> If it wasn't, I would feel I had done something wrong.  I certainly
> would expect them at least to be noticed and not eclipsed by me
> after three years.
> 
> "I reach to touch the stars only because I stand upon
> the shoulders of giants".
> 
> 
> > 4. When I look for Pelican I am looking for someone who
> > stands and thinks
> > on their own. Seeing someone who was a protégé makes me wonder who 
> is
> > doing the thinking.
> 
> When I see a Pelican, I see someone who *can* stand and think on 
> their
> own.  Why would I then believe that they would encircle themselves 
> with
> people who can't?  They have no where else to go--they have reached
> the highest level they can within that area--so now they are going to
> surround themselves with sycophants to prop themselves up?  I would
> think it would be simpler to just move on to other challenges if that
> was what they required.
> 
> > 5. I have seem the system be mistreated. In some kingdoms the 
> squire,
> > apprentice and protégé are used as work horses. People are given 
> the
> > impression that by sucking up to a peer they will be paid off with
> > peerage. I have seen good people mislead  by this concept and
> > waste their
> > time. They would had done better to follow their own projects.
> 
> Yet I see no such argument against either Squires or Apprentices.
> The world is not a perfect place.  That however, is not reason
> to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
> 
> > 6. I burn out protégés. Everyone I had ever make a official
> > protégé has
> > left the SCA and or kingdom. I do have undercover protégés
> > and half of
> > my apprentices have become Pelicans.
> 
> So in essence, you have had Apprentices who have ended up
> being Protégés in hindsight.  You also have others who you
> do not use the term for and appear to be doing well.  Yet
> those to whom you have formally called such have fallen by
> the wayside.  I find that just the power of this word is
> one that we need to attempt to harness for the good of the Kingdom.
> 
> > Willow de Wisp
> >
> >
> 
> Petruccio
> 
>
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