[Western] Our Situation - it's long.

[gail young]

Very nicely put.  I'll see you at the BoD meeting.
gwyneth



----- Original Message ----
From: Chris England <drachenhohle at suddenlink.net>
To: "Western Region of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <western at lists.ansteorra.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 9:38:56 AM
Subject: [Western] Our Situation - it's long.


I haven't commented on this out in a public forum yet so here's my two cents on it.
 
When I was told about this I was taken outside and told from a range of ten feet and reluctantly.  With good reason.  I raged.  I screamed.  I cried.  I cursed my enemies (real and imagined), total strangers, and dear friends with the same vile tongue.  I composed an elaborate conspiriracy theory involving crowns, great officers, blackmail, revenge, cowardice, and cast of hundreds.  A little to much bureacracy for Shakespeare but a compelling plot nonetheless, best told at night with dramatic lighting(hot cocoa optional). Like all such theories it was compelling, lined up with all known facts, made sense with the personalities involved, and couldn't be proved or disproved either way.
 
So other than some emotional catharsis and a basis for a bard piece what did I accomplish?  Nothing.  Nothing wasn't going to do anyone any good.  I may have felt better but was that going to fix anything?  Was pointing at whoever I blamed this week and calling them a Son of a Bit** going to save Blacklake, the other groups, the west?  No.
 
No one feels good about this.  No one should.  No one that I have met, talked to, corresponded with, or discussed with likes what is happening.  No One.  That is the fact of the matter.  I won't say that someone somewhere isn't doing a happy dance.  Human nature allows for serial killers and child molesters so there may be someone who is happy about whats going on, but if there is I dont know them.  So stop the blame game please.  It's not accomplishing a damn thing but making everyone more angry and bitter.  When bad things happen those that survive it feel guilty.  Ask a shrink and they will tell you all about it.  They will also tell you about the tendency of those that are victims to lash out at those that are not.  'What makes you better than me?  Why me?  You must be part of it!'  I believe it's called Transference.  In period we would be burning people at the stake or hanging them for being witches and making a pact with the devil so that evil
 things wouldn't happen them but to everyone else.  Instead we spread rumor and write nasty emails.  Flame them on the internet instead of at the stake.  A fine distinction worthy of the SCA, modern materials for a period activity.
 
Pug isn't the devil.  Nor is Ulsted, Aaron, Julia, Chaing, Kainin, Gavin, the shire of Trelac, the Barony of Bonwicke, the Great Officers of State, prominent members of other shires in the west, or anyone that wants the money from Gothic.  Or me.  I'm sweet, cuddly, and generally well loved.
 
So where does that leave us?  Well it leaves me without a villain for my bardic, but besides that it leaves all of us in the same place.  Work the problem.  
 
Everyone involved screwed up to some extent and now we need to fix those mistakes.  Everyone get up and move.  If one of the problems is how we are doing the paperwork call the regional/kingdom officers and get a time you can sit down in person or over the phone and go over every line.  You may think they are putting to much emphasis on that but get real.  This is a kingdom that covers more inhabited landmass than almost any other(I believe it's the third)  and has about 5000 people playing at any given time.  Those reports are all they have to go on in some cases.  To think that they can run it in the same casual way we run our local groups is wrong, bordering on stupid.  Go hold a kingdom office if you don't believe me.  That difficulty goes up by an order of magnitude at the corporate level.  The paperwork isn't more important than the people.  At that level it almost IS the people.  Thats unfortunate but it's what has to be.  Don't like it? Join the
 BoD and then go get to know every single person in the SCA.  I'll wait.
 
Let me also say this.  I-20 is a two way street.  There's some construction around Eastland but it's not bad.  No more complaining about none of them coming out here till we get out there more.  BTW I'm going to Squires and Cadets and Steppes Warlord in May if someone wants a ride.
 
Do some demos.  Population is a big concern and one demo a year isn't going to cut it.  We should also talk to everyone that comes up and call those who are interested, dont wait for them to call you.
 
In April the BoD is meeting in Dallas.  We are on the agenda and will have time to speak with them.  Show up.  Show up in hope.  Show up willing to roll up your sleeves and work for what you love.  Show up in humility knowing that we did make mistakes (and we did, deal with it).  Show up proud in that no matter what happens we will continue to be who we are and can overcome whatever comes our way.  Show up and be counted as one people willing to do whatever is needed to convince them that we should exist.  Again, I'll be there, let me know if you need a ride.  Oh and if you're going to rant, rave and call people names, do us all a favor and stay home.  Makes torches to run through the streets and wave in the air.  It's period and at least we'll have some torches.
 
Gerrold Von Drachenhohle


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