[Sca-cooks] OT Authenticity Police: since we're castigating extremists anyway...

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Tara wrote:

>>think. It's a fairly long article or I would copy it here. Maybe one of
>>our librarians can find it online someplace?
>>
>
> Somebody posted a url for it to our shire list over a week ago, so the
> article is fairly old.  The url didn't work for the first few days, then
> apparantly the article rolled off and was no longer available :(  But, I
> hope someone can find it again!

I just found it at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14222-2001Sep11.html




>>Not to necessarily start another huge thread on this, and I'm not really
>>asking for a show of hands, but how real are these people perceived to be?
>>
>
> I've never experienced anybody walking up and being rude about
> period-ness.  It's often a topic of discussion, but generally in an
> appropriate context.
>
> I always got the impression that those dubbed "authenticity police" are
> the people who strive to be as authentic as possible themselves, thus
> named by the people who don't want to try to be period at all.  It has
> little or nothing to do with that person's actual attitude or way of
> approaching people.  Usually, these folks are asked questions, and when
> answering in a way that impresses periodness, people who don't care turn
> off.  Like, when asked why they don't take the easy way out and do
> something differently, they say "because it's not period."  The people
> who prefer to take the easy way out then say "Oh, she's a snob."  Or,
> they go to her with a new piece of renn-faire garb and say, is this
> period?  When she says, "Well, it's nice, but no," they say, "Oh, she's
> a snob."  Basically, those called "authenticity police" are the people
> who aim to be very period, regardless of their actual attitudes; And,
> those who name them are the people who're determined to make this more
> fantasy game than history and feel guilty in the presence of those who
> at least try.
>
> I think that the bulk of people are somewhere in the middle - they don't
> snub the more authentic people, and they try to learn and be more
> period, but they don't knock themselves out about it.  At the same time,
> they're a bit more accepting of the "fantasy gamers."  It's the people
> on the two extremes who tilt at each other.  That's where the nasty
> nicknames come from.

For all the heat he's taken for it over the years, one of the best
approaches to this question is held by Cariadoc, who, when in persona,
simply reacts to modernities or incongruities on other people in persona
is to simply treat them as things from outside his experience. This is
not only just about the gentlest reminder imaginable, but an
entertaining challenge to one's own ability to act like a period person.
He'll say something like, "By Allah the All-Merciful, never have I seen
such a bracelet. May I ask where you came by it? It has a beautiful
crystal, and beneath, a sundial that moves? Most amazing!" Or words to
that effect.

Not that I've ever known him to open a conversation that way.


Adamantius
--
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com

"It was so blatant that Roger threw at him.  Clemens gets away with
things that get other people thrown out of games.  As long as they
let him get away with it, it's going  to continue." -- Joe Torre, 9/98