[Northern] Rumors - was A plea

[Lori Campbell]

> I recall that you recieved some less than plesant responses
> when you expressed youself in this forum back when this
> round of discussions started.

Yeah.  I'm not afraid of arguing when the occasion calls for it, but
public forums like this almost never present such an occasion.  At
the time I felt the only way to keep the peace - and avoid saying
things I would later regret - was to remove myself from the equation.

> It's a truth that taking a stand almost always carries a price.   But
> not taking a stand often carries a price as well.

I agree.  There was a time I fought and argued for every cause I
believed in, but as time passes I find I have less emotional energy
and a rapidly decreasing tolerance for BS.  Causes that once would
have pushed my buttons now aren't even a blip on my radar.  There is
good and bad in this fact.

These days I decide if the price of taking a stand is higher than the
price I pay if I don't and that decision dictates my actions.  I
received a great piece of advice from Master Lucais during my vigil.
It was about logs and log jams and picking your logs carefully.
After finding myself stuck under piles of logs I've come to realize
what he meant and since then I've been picking my logs much more
carefully :)

> going to annoy someone no matter what you do or don't do.
> And from what I've seen that's doubly true if you're wearing a brass
> hat.

No one, no matter how good a leader they are, will please everyone
all the time.  I think that's true in any organization.

For the record, I really appreciated Robert's recent post about how
we treat our leadership.  It took guts to put much of what he said in
writing and sign his name to it.  The fact is I wish I could
disagree with him, but I can't.

There are a few cut-throat political games people use to achieve
their goals in the SCA.  One of the favorites is assassinating a
person's character through rumors.  I've seen this keep people
from receiving awards, holding offices, expressing their
opinions, etc.  Its sad to find such a thing in a game based on
honor, but the tactic is so effective I'm sure it will continue to be
used.

Ya know, I really can't blame folks for buying into rumors.  I've
done so myself - far too often in fact.  It took Barn winning Crown
(and placing us in the ring as a favorite topic of such rumors)
before I realized that believing (and even sometimes repeating) the
rumors only furthers the cause of the person who started them.  I
guess the tongue really is our most dangerous weapon.

Kat  >^.,.^<