SC - Arguing with the Crown

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

>     The BoD, which is supposed to act as a check on possible excesses, is so
>ossified and unwilling to actually find out what is going on that they may
>as well be living in the Land of the Lotus Eaters. It's always a sad thing
>to watch people of worth and integrity being reduced to mere bureaucrats.
>Dante overlooked an entire Bolgia, here, or perhaps it's that the soulless
>paper shufflers just weren't worthy enough to rate a place in hell, and were
>to be cast out into the places where good and evil just don't matter, as
>long as the proper forms were filed out.
>
>     Sieggy

I am familiar with several people currently on the BoD, and i know 
that they are sensible, reasonable folks who have been in the SCA a 
long time - some a VERY long time - and have seen a lot of things 
happen. Sometimes the BoD doesn't take action because the problem is 
strictly local or is something that will blow over in a couple 
months. And there's no reason for the Board of the entire 
international SCA to step in to solve local issues, unless they are 
potentially damaging to the whole SCA, or represent problems that are 
common throughout the SCA.

Many problems are problems of individuals - i don't mean a single 
person, but that they are not problems inherent in the structure of 
the SCA. It may be that members of a Kingdom or Principality or 
smaller group need to resolve their local issues - and sometimes 
these are problems that just work themselves out in a few months, 
such as in cases where individuals learn that their behavior is 
causing problems and change it, or perhaps the regional group could 
make actual rules about behavior at events and *enforce* them.

As far as i can tell, the members of the BoD i know are not 
bureaucrats or soulless paper pushers, but active participating 
members of the SCA who contribute a great deal to our Kingdom, 
Principalities, and the smaller units of which they are members 
(Shires, Provinces, etc.). They care a great deal about the SCA, and 
spend a lot of their time thinking about SCA-wide issues. They have 
real lives and real jobs outside the SCA and they are on the BoD in 
addition to all their mundane work, family, social responsibilities, 
in addition to those in their local SCA. Being on the BoD is a 
service they are giving to the SCA, not a method of 
self-aggrandizement, and being on the BoD is actually work - and work 
in addition to whatever they do in "the real world."

I know that the BoD tried to solve some problems a few years back 
that were real and affected numerous kingdoms. In the end, their 
solution was less than ideal and the problem they were addressing 
seems to have gone away as the nature of mundane society, outside of 
the SCA, changes. But i suspect they were trying to do their best. 
Their solution prevented me from attending SCA events as a 
non-card-carrying-member.

Of course, the nature of the Board changes over time and the 
character of some members may be less than perfect, or their solution 
to a SCA wide problem may be one that some members disagree with. 
It's certainly possible that there are people who want to be on the 
BoD to enhance their sense of personal power, but i rather doubt that 
is true of most members of the BoD.

Perhaps you know some members of the BoD who are not as hard working 
and caring as those i know. I only know some of those who come from 
my Kingdom and i know they care deeply about the SCA.

Anahita