lifestyles .... RE: [Ansteorra] Lighten up and Where has all the fun gone.

[Yeates, Jay]

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synchronicity at work ... self and V.SirSeanMF were discussing
similar matters last night at our weekly bar meet, as they relate to
SCA, pagan, and "other" similar sub-cultures ... and the one of the
main questions we were mulling over was - when does a inclusive
sub-culture evolve/devolve into a exclusive cult, and what is the
mechanism for this ???

onwards ....

- -----Original Message-----
From: ansteorra-admin at ansteorra.org
[mailto:ansteorra-admin at ansteorra.org]On Behalf Of Baronman at aol.com

* Baronman:
* ... To many individuals within the SCA-this is their way of life.
All their energies and devotion go into the SCA.  All of their
societal values are wrapped up in the structure of the SCA.  The SCA
is not a game to be PLAYED-but a way of life.  To these people the
SCA is a career.  They live it, breathe it and love it.  They go to
great length to be seen with the right SCA people.  They are always
working for the Kingdom not for the awards but because the find all
that they need within the SCA.

Yeates:

this is a particularly meaty subject that has some excellent
discussion potential.  who will join me at the table for the feast
(g)

i ask a question to the rank & file, is this approach to the SCA,
where it is 100% your world ... a healthy thing?  in my opinion (as
is others of my circle) it is *not*.  remember one of the first
lessons learned in any zen training - first and foremeost you must
live in the world.  the SCA is not the world, to make it the world is
a unhealthy escapist mindset.

hobby and fantasy are fine adjuncts to reality, but if/when they
become your reality, dosn't that begin to border on the textbook
definitions of mental illness??? (or perhaps i've just dated too many
psych professionals in my time ... grin)

opinions / comments ????

(note: along these lines ,... and last nights bar discussion, anyone
got a URL for a "cult evaluation frame" - tool used to evaluate
degrees of "cult-ness" ... can't find the ones i stashed away in the
past)

* Baronman:
* ... So please don't fault these people who are so immersed in the
SCA way of life. ... Please be tolerant and try to understand where
these people are coming from.

Yeates:

that is definitely a two edged sword ... many have noted and
commented on a marked increase these last few years in a level of
rising intolerance of anyone who dosn't play the game 24/7, at the
higest level possible (the more periiod than thou syndrome), enjoys
the scadian world as a hobby/diversion, and/or has non-outside
interests/obligations that they place in front of scadian ones.

more tolerance is never a bad thing, but it has to come from both
sides or it's meaningless.  unless it's unilateral, it often becomes
a subtle weapon to enforce compliance to someone elses particular
norms.  "raising the bar" (most common excuse given for these
changes) is one thing, but to use it to club people over the head or
enforce compliance is yet another

'wolf
... why do i sense a pending auto-de-fey, guess that's what happens
when the subject of religion is broached (g) .... on the other hand,
fire is good - it burns away the dead & diseased, tempers the
healthy, and prepares the ground for new life.



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