ANST - If You Only Knew...

[C.L. Ward]

Tadhgh said:
>No, it's not. I know Gunnora well enough to know that 
>this is just hypocritical cant on her part. I object 
>to hypocrisy even more than I object to vice.

I'm virtually certain, Tadhgh, that you don't know me at all, other than via
the posts in this forum.  You might be able to pick me out of a lineup, but
I know for a fact you haven't interacted with me anywhere near enough to understand
my beliefs. You simply haven't been active enough, except electronically, to
have any reasonable measure. And without that understanding I don't think you
can make an accusation such as hypocrisy.

There is no hypocrisy in stating the facts -- that SCA awards don't mean a thing
-- what does mean something is that someone, or many someones, cared enough
about you to recommend you for it.  

Let's see, what else might be being labelled hypocrisy -- that if you do what
you love, and concentrate on having fun, that in all likelihood eventually someone
will hang a peerage on you?  Well, obviously that does happen. 

You may also be ignoring the fact that I've been talking about the best plan
of action -- which is to concentrate on having fun, doing what you love, and
aspiring to live as a Lion.  If you're conflating that with what *actually does
happen*, which is that people *do* fight and squabble and scratch to get awards,
then I can understand your confusion.  I'm saying that people will be much happier
if they ignore the awards altogether and just work at having fun.

What makes the SCA worthwhile, and why we do it instead of attending karate
tournaments or juried art shows etc. is that the activities and the social interactions
*are*, in and of themselves, rewarding.

I've fought since around 1980 -- and I guarantee you I don't have any awards
for fighting, and no likelihood that I'm suddenly going to get enough better
to become a Centurion or a Knight after all these years.  The reason I fight
is because it's fun -- the same reason I like rollercoasters.  It's its own
reward.  I don't even much care if I win or not (well, mostly), because I have
fun just stepping onto the field and knowing that I look good.  Plus I know
that I die well, and that people are entertained when I fight, at least for
the brief while before I get killed.

I'll tell you what else -- I never pursued the Laurel, either.  I was never
an apprentice, though I was blessed with friends who were Laurels who were willing
to share their arts.  I do artwork because I am creative and I like it.  I knew
virtually from the time I first joined the SCA that I'd grow up one day to be
a Laurel, because I could no more quit doing art than I could quit breathing.
 I also like to compete in A&S events, because I do have a competitive streak,
and I occasionally still do so, especially as I'm still taking up new artforms.
 

I have a Thistle and an Iris and of course the Laurel -- because my friends
in my local group, because the Laurels who saw my work, agreed that I should
have those awards.  It was neat getting them -- but only because I knew it meant
that people who I loved and admired believed that I should have them.  If I
had none of those awards, or resigned them today, I'd still be doing the same
things I do now, with the same people I do now.

And service -- let's not skimp the third leg of this tripod.  I never worked
for service awards, either.  I held offices in Bjornsborg and worked at events
for lots of years.  It wasn't until Ivar Runamagi happened to be perusing the
OP and noticed that I didn't have a Crane that I got my first real service award,
and that was at least two years after I'd been a made a Laurel, and more than
15 years since I started in the Society.  I never felt the lack -- like most
of the people I play with in the SCA, when something needs doing, you just do
it.  Half the time you can't even get your head up to see if someone's noticing,
because the creek's a-rising and stuff has to get done.  

I will confess that I probably got my AoA in part for my service as chronicler
-- though I took the job without any ulterior motive than knowing I could do
a better job than the previous chronicler or two had done.  And like many other
really young folks in the SCA, well before the point at which I got the AoA
I thought I *should* get one, and I agonized over it.  Eventually I got past
being excited about it, metaphorically shrugged my shoulders and got on with
having fun.  And maybe a year after I quit listening for my name at every court,
I got that AoA.  Which went a long way towards helping me formulate my views
on awards and what one's attitude towards them should be.

I've never said that awards don't matter -- there's nothing better than being
able to recommend a deserving person for an award, except perhaps seeing the
surprised look on their face when they get it.  It's pretty cool being surprise
dby an award as well. But I still say that you shouldn't worry about getting
awards -- worry instead about having fun.  Others will worry about what awards
*you* should have.  Why, there are even some of us who will make award recommendations
for people we dislike or even detest because we think that the person should
have them.

Don't call me a hypocrite without knowing me better, Tadhgh. 

::GUNNORA::
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