[Ansteorra] Cookies and Management....was Whats happening...

[lizdenpeters at juno.com]

Good Gentles,

I have been following this subject with interest and noting the different
viewpoints.  The following are simply my opinions and, as such, probably
don't need to be taken too seriously.  Also, please understand that I do
not mean to upset anyone but simply to add another voice.

The SCA has been called "the game" and "the dream" and, from what I can
infer from "old time" members, was envisioned as a refuge, if you will,
from the more crass aspects of mundane life, a place where courtesy,
honor and ethics would be appreciated and recognized.  (When did greed
become a virtue?  And when did shopping become a sport?  Etc.)  While
this has never been stated to me directly, the idea is clearly there. 
Why else would the unofficial motto be "the Middle Ages -- not as they
were but as they should have been."  This may give you an idea of how my
attitude toward all this is developing.  

In my (limited) experience, the appeal of such an organization will not
be mainstream as it requires a certain amount of effort on the part of
all participants. (In these days when so many feel entitled to instant
undeserved gratification, this should not be a big surprise.)  Further,
it is based on a love of history and, since many these days denigrate
history as a subject unworthy of interest and research (here again, it
takes effort), the appeal of the SCA is slanted toward those who would be
considered mavericks, individualists, idealists, nonconformists,
bohemians.  As an association of these types of people, I am amazed at
times that, as a group, we can agree about anything at all.  While many
of us (including me) may lack tact, the passion for what we do is
unmistakable.

And now for something that seems to be at the crux of this subject, the
pursuit of "cookies" as I have recently heard awards called.  These
awards are recognition for work done or skills mastered.  In my admitted
short tenure in the SCA (compared to many of my acquaintance), I have
seen many unexpected consequences of awards.  I have seen people start to
learn a skill or do service simply for recognition but develop a love for
whatever it was.  I have seen people learning skills or doing service and
simply burning out without anyone ever noticing they were even there,
much less what they did.  I have seen people receive awards that were
possibly undeserved.  As human beings, we are imperfect and these things
are going to happen in any organization run by humans.  It is just our
nature, imperfect, at best.  

Do what you love and do it with passion.  Recognition will come to you
when it needs to.  And the next time you encounter a "garb nazi" or the
"authenticity police" or a "stick jock" or a "swishy poke" or whoever, if
their criticisms are tactless, forgive them and remember that their words
come from a love and passion for what we do and not from malice. 

Yours in serve,

Lady Fionnghuala the Fair "Nuala" and/or my evil twin, Cedric
"Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a
garage makes you a car."
                              Laurence J. Peter