[Sca-cooks] OP/OT: Wanted: Opinions on Controversial Florilegium article

[Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius]

On Aug 10, 2009, at 11:29 PM, Stefan li Rous wrote:

> Greetings to my fellow SCA-Cooks list members,
>
> Recently I added a new article to the Florilegium and announced it  
> in this month's Florilegium article. I got two, ah, strongly worded,  
> demands that I remove the article form the Florilegium. I have since  
> reviewed the article again and do not find it untruthful, although  
> perhaps it does not always paint the Society in the best light.

I think the last statement quoted above nails it. There's nothing  
really outrageous in the article. The problem would appear to be that  
it puts in SCA terms what should be common sense for teenagers and  
their parents, and reminds us that we're often no better than the  
mundane society we spring from, although we generally try to be, and  
occasionally succeed.

Maybe the author could do a little more to stress the fact that the  
problems are endemic to pretty much all societies, and that the  
problems of a large SCA event are those of any town of 12,000, except  
there's often no permanent infrastructure, and our governing is being  
done by part-timers, sometimes with no experience, some of whom aren't  
elected. We've actually got a pretty good track record, I suspect, all  
things considered.

And the SCA, Inc., could acknowledge the fact that threats against a  
parent speaking the truth to children don't make a case for us being  
better than society at large.

I suspect what we're seeing is part of the SCA's overall agenda to be  
seen as responsible for fewer basic needs of the populace (for  
instance, waterbearing and the chirurgeonate, which aren't what they  
were 15 years ago). This might be interpreted as a sort of security  
disclaimer, or it might be hypersensitive overreaction.

Adamantius






"Most men worry about their own bellies, and other people's souls,  
when we all ought to worry about our own souls, and other people's  
bellies."
			-- Rabbi Israel Salanter