SC - General rant (started out as coffee/tea...

[kat]

Cariadoc writes:

> I may have gotten confused about the origin of this thread, but the
> comments of mine to which I think you were responding were not in
> response to someone who said that something was impractical due to 
> cost, but to a post by Mordonnade where she said:

>>I can just see what would happen to me if I did not have the coffee >>and hot
>>tea ready for my fighters when they woke up.  If I offered them a pill
>>instead, I'd be fired as cook.  I agree that coffee and hot tea are not
>>precisely period, but neither is Kydex armour, nor shrinkproof >>cotton.
>>Perfectly medieval might be a joy to contemplate, but it is not >>practical in
>>the Current Middle Ages.  We all do the best we can with what we >>have to work
>>with, and if we do not allow the lack of what we could have done if >>things had
>>been different to ruin the fun we have we actually enjoy this game.

> And I replied:

> "I can well believe that the people you cook for would object to that
> particular element of authenticity, and I agree that, within broad
> limits, each of us has to decide what elements are worth doing.

> I do not agree that that particular dimension of "perfectly medieval" is
> not practical in the SCA, however. Lots of people manage without tea
> and coffee at events. I even manage without diet coke and internet
> browsing.  And, of course, lots manage without Kydex too."

> And I went on, in another post, to argue that while it might make
> sense to do inauthentic things, it did not make sense to conclude that
> being authentic was "not practical" and therefore to stop looking for
>  ways to do it.

> Or in other words, my point is not that the failure to be perfectly
> authentic is evidence you are not trying--none of us is perfectly
> authentic. My point is that explaining the failure to be authentic in
> some particular dimension with "it is not practical in the Current
> Middle Ages" (which is not equivalent to "it is not practical for me at
> the moment") implies that you have given up trying in that particular
>  dimension--and that doing so is a mistake.

> Perhaps Kat could go back and find the post (if it isn't this series), by
> me or someone else, which implied that " Simply because people
>  aren't doing exactly what *you*... are doing  means they aren't trying 
> as hard as you are" and said "that they aren't trying at all, or that
>  they have "given up," or that they are being lazy, etc., etc." Perhaps
>  I am misunderstanding her, but it looks to me as though she is
>  responding to an insult that nobody has made.

>>	And 59 cents for 2 liters is the price of generic soda pop...  :-)

> And twice the cost of sekanjabin.


As I stated earlier, your Grace, not according to the first recipe I was given.

(And <g> since when is it "period" for an eleventh-century Celt to drink a middle-Eastern beverage?  (Trying to inject some humor here...))

I was hoping this thread had been exhausted... if we're going to get any further into it, I think I'd like to take this private, if you don't mind...  no point wasting everyone else's bandwidth.


If I understand what you are saying, it seems that you are making a very subtle distinction between failing to be authentic meaning you are not trying, and explaining your failure to be authentic meaning you are not trying?  Perhaps I am missing your point...

> Or in other words, my point is not that the failure to be perfectly
> authentic is evidence you are not trying--none of us is perfectly
> authentic. My point is that explaining the failure to be authentic in
> some particular dimension with "it is not practical in the Current
> Middle Ages" (which is not equivalent to "it is not practical for me at
> the moment") implies that you have given up trying in that particular
>  dimension--and that doing so is a mistake.

I reread Mordonnade's post, and I don't at all see her as saying that it is impractical FOR EVERYONE in the current middle ages not to serve her fighters coffee.  I interpreted it then, and still do now, as her saying that it was impractical FOR HER in the current middle ages not to serve her fighters coffee.  Perhaps I was mentally filling in the word "always" between "not" and "practical in the Current Middle Ages," but that was my interpretation; and I find her words to be wise.  It is my sincere belief that you and I (and perhaps Mordonnade) have simply come to a semantic disagreement, and I am willing, if you are, to "agree to disagree" on this point, as it were.

But I also think that you misunderstood MY point--which, as I believe I stated in my initial post, had little to do with Mordonnade's post--which was that sometimes there are underlying reasons why we cannot be perfectly authentic and that sometimes those reasons are personal and often painful.  It is much easier for me, for one, to say "this is not practical for me" to people who are relative strangers, than to say, "Well, I can't really afford this," or for someone who is a friend of mine to say, "well, you see, I'm handicapped, and..."  I don't show my checkbook to strangers, and I doubt sincerely she shows off her scars.  

I am willing to admit that I did get slightly ruffled because I believed that you were telling Mordonnade that she "wasn't trying" because she stated that it was not practical for her to serve her fighters anything other than coffee in the mornings.  If that is in fact not what you were saying, then I do apologize.  It is pointless and petty to argue over who was misinterpreting whose statements.

As for the post that mentioned "laziness" as a reason for inauthenticity, I don't presently have time to check back that far through my archives (it was quite some time ago) since I receive this list at my work address...  when I do find it, I will be sure and send it to you privately.  

Please recognize that the stridency of my comments are not solely directed at you.  This actually is not the first time I have felt it necessary to address this topic and to remind list members that the SCA really is a very expensive hobby, and sometimes "expensive" is a relative term...

So if I have at all offended you, your Grace, then I sincerely apologize.  And to anyone else I have offended, my apologies as well.  

My thanks to listmembers for their indulgence; I apologize for the time and bandwidth that I have taken up on this subject. 

	- kat (who is done with this topic and would prefer to be bragging about her menu)


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