[Ansteorra] Results of Vambrace Poll

Lori Campbell countesskat at yahoo.com
Tue Nov 7 07:56:54 PST 2006


> No one has said anything about making us "good little clones of every
> other kingdom." 

Maybe nobody said anything about it *here* yet, but it really has been
an under-the-table topic in this kingdom for longer than I can
remember.  I'm not surprised to see it mentioned and I don't consider
it a bad thing that it *was* mentioned. Counting the cost of proposed
change is a good thing, IMO.

It is hardly a secret that quite a few society officers who have dealt
with Ansteorra's rebellious streak would've dearly loved to pull us
under the "corporate rules umbrella."  Quite a few years ago we had a
huge influx of people moving into Ansteorra from other kingdoms. I
remember all the jokes about it being some kind of supersecret
corporate plot to infiltrate and eliminate Ansteorran southern-rebel
culture. It was hysterically funny, the way some folks played it up. :)


On a more serious note, what Burke said is close to something I've been
saying for years, except that I never would have used the word "sudden"
and I'm usually not shy about naming whatever kingdom I think a certain
change (or proposed change) is meant to have us try and emulate.  

Almost since I was a newcomer, campfire talk in the fighting community
has included lines like "our shield wall needs to be more like that
kingdom over there" and "our fighters need to focus less on sword &
shield and more on (insert your favorite weapon style)" and "our
kingdom's calibration should be more like Kingdom X" and "our fighting
awards need to be more like Kingdom A" or "we should encourage our
fighters to start buying helms like the ones worn in Kingdom Y" and
even (gasp!) "we need to adjust our armor standards to be more in line
with Kingdom Q." And those are just the ones I can think of off the top
of my head.  

The thing about the SCA is that everything is cyclical.  It doesn't
matter how many lessons we learn the hard way (ex. Ansteorrans hit hard
and arms get broken, etc.), someone down the line will want to go back
to the drawing board because they don't realize that the new and better
idea is something we left behind ages ago.  Maybe those old ideas will
work better now.  Maybe they won't.  (please don't mistake me for
someone who cares whether or not vambraces are required)

Would the decision to forgo our own set of rules, independent of those
at the corporate level, make us less Ansteorran?  I don't think anyone
can answer that.  We can predict all we want, but there is no way to
know for sure what long-term effects such a sweeping change would
bring.  Personally, I believe the risk exists.  

I guess if the people with the authority to implement the change feel
it is worth the risk, or they don't believe the risk exists, or they
don't care because less "ansteorran" culture is a good thing (no, I
don't know or care which) we'll just have to go there and see. 

Sometimes change is progress. Other times it's just well disguised
regression. 

Kat MacLochlainn >^.,.^<





 
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