[Steppes] Hanlon's Razor and an Insult to a Veteran

[William Meriic]

I wish to present you with a short story of an insult paid to a US Veteran
in front of 200 fellow prior and active servicemen this Memorial day to
hopefully illustrate a key adage that when taken to heart can improve any
situation, help stave off the negative politics we so often find in our
society, and make us generally happier.

 

For those of you who don't know, the Scarborough Renaissance Festival is
open Memorial Day (and the weekend of).  On Memorial Day they outfit all
prior and active service patrons with yellow baldrics and invite them to
march as the center point of the midday parade.  It is an enormously popular
event, as was evident by the 200 or so soldiers who marched this week.  They
even randomly choose patrons to hold the various service branch flags, and
an additional ten to carry the large US flag.

 

This was my first year working at the fair.  To my surprise I met many
others in the same situation.  One young gentle in particular was eagerly
waiting for this day all season.  He served eight years in the Army back in
1995, but yet this was the first chance he had to be included in a Memorial
Day celebration.

 

Being new to the fair, and not knowing too many, he found a home with the
Scottish Regiment; the only renaissance fair group in the US to be allowed
to march with open live steel.  They take their formation and their marching
very seriously.  He would spend his hour break each Saturday marching the
parade with them.  

 

Because of the closing festivities this Memorial Day weekend, he was unable
to march Saturday or Sunday.  He desperately wanted to march one last time
with his kinsmen.  He figured Monday would be ideal since most of the
regiment were also active or prior military.

 

When the day came he was heartbroken when he was told that all veterans had
to march in a separate formation.  Disappointed that he could not march with
his friends, he was still excited to march as a veteran and so he eagerly
jumped into the fourth or fifth rank as the soldiers started to form up.

 

As he was standing there, he listened to the regimental field commanders
scramble to find one more Scott to hold the eighth pike.  Remember most of
the regiment is now marching with the veterans.  Acting almost instinctively
to help fulfill the needs of his regiment, the young man yelled to his
commander and said, "I will do it!"   This was a blessing; a chance for him
to once again march with his brothers.  And, as a pike holder, he would have
the chance to cross arms over the veterans as they marched through; paying
homage to his fellow servicemen.  The sergeant looked at him and gleefully
replied, "Get up there!"  

 

And so the man jumped out of formation, ran around front, and grabbed the
remaining pike.  As he proceeded to the front of the formation, a man
watching this from the regimental base proceeded to yell, "Veterans do not
carry the pikes!!!  The pikes are secondary to the veterans!!!"  The
gentle's expression sunk as he looked back at the sergeants.  He had no
choice but to yield his pike lest he create a disruption on this day, which
is really about those lined up in the formation behind him.

 

So there his stood before over 200 fellow soldiers from over six different
wars and "police actions", relieved of his weapon and embarrassed.  He then
had to walk down the side of the long column of troops to fall in at the
very back, his embarrassment getting worse with each step.  By the end of
his journey, devastated he was turned off the idea of marching altogether
and left.

 

This incident invokes one of my favorite adages; Hanlon's Razor:

 

"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by
stupidity."

 

I always thought the word "stupidity" is a little to harsh in today's
language.  Consider it to mean "ignorance".

 

Why did this soldier, a veteran, a participant of the fair, and a comrade of
the regiment, not take the pike and proceed to insert it into the man, who
told him he could not march with the Scotts?  Fortunately, he was told just
the day before that marching with the Veterans is considered in this culture
to be a higher honor than any other post, including that of the Scottish
Regiment.  The loud man was really trying his best to ensure that vet was
getting his due honors.

 

There is a philosophy that states we each have within us two beasts; a noble
white wolf of virtue, and a spawn of the devil; each locked in eternal
struggle for control.  The one that will win is the one that is fed.  This
razor is our tool to redirect food headed to the devil-spawn towards the
wolf.  So, when you see or experience something upsetting, such as being cut
off, or someone being rude, consider first that they might be distracted or
just having a bad day rather than having intent to upset you personally.

 

There is also a side lesson here.  The loud man had absolutely no reason to
open his mouth.  He has no affiliation with the regiment.  Furthermore, the
field commanders handling the situation knew full well the customs of the
land (they have been there for decades).  The commanders were dealing with
this as a special case.  The loud man, while he was operating with only the
best intent, ruined a man's day because he spoke when there was no need to.

                                  

In a family as close as ours, it is common to overhear other conversations
and exchanges.  If a situation seems to be headed down the wrong path, we
often with best interests in mind jump in with a correction.  However, since
in these situations we often do not have the complete story, such an
interruption can be anything from a mild annoyance to an event which ruins
someone's day.  Before presenting a correction, perhaps it would be a good
idea to consider all parties and remain uninvolved if any would already know
what we are about to add.

 

For those who are curious as to the results of the story above, disappointed
I went back to my office for a while to relax.  Even with the fact that the
loud man was acting with the best of intentions, I was still pretty tweaked.
I decided that it was probably best that I did not march, since I had to get
to a set right after the parade normally finishes and this one was likely to
run late.  Eventually the parade started off.  I headed down to an empty
spot on the parade rout, stepped up to the edge of the path, and when I saw
the colours come over the bridge I came to attention and rendered my best
salute.  As the troops past, I could tell from their responses that this was
probably more meaningful to them than a pike anyway.

 

Lord William Meriic