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patgund(This is an edited version of a rant I posted on the Caid mailing list. To a certain degree, the same comments are quite true of fandom as well)
There is a lot of joy and wonder in the SCA. But too often then not that joy and wonder blinds people to the very real problems and flaws that remain. Too many people see their experiences - good and bad - as the norm. And as such, they either see the flaws as non-existant, or not able to be repaired.
For all that we try to hold ourselves to a higher standard of courtesy and respect, too often then not the creeping rudeness of the mundane world has started to taint us as well. One of the worse offender being that construct of "SCA Standard Time". When people *expect* events to start 2,3, even 4 hours late, they show up later and later - and the delay snowballs bigger and bigger as a result. People treat it as a joke, instead of the very real and serious problem - and rank rudeness - that it is.
Another being the award system. You point out a good fact, that ill-planning can turn a day of joy into one of personal embarassment and shame. The old metaphor of "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" comes to mind. And too many people assume too often that if someone has done x, y, and z and been in for mumble-mumble years, then they have such and such an award.
Does anyone here know how horribly embarassing it is to be called by a title you don't have? Does anyone here know what it's like to have someone critisize you for not wearing an award you've never been given???
It's horribly embarassing. And after a while, it also makes one bitter and angry. So when the award is finally given, when that person's service or art or skill or whatever is finally noticed *officially*, that bitterness and past embarasment taints what should be a day of joy and honour.
How many people have we burned - or burned out - due to ignorance or discourtesy? Far, far more than we should have. For an organization founded on chivalry and honour, there are times that we *all* fall far short of those ideals - and the dream suffers.
And in some cases, dies.
Many times you can find two daggers in the dream's heart. The first dagger is "my experience has been wonderful, so everyone else's is and I don't see why people complain". The second is "why bother, the SCA is cliquish and stuckup and nobody with any power want to change or fix things."
What kills the dream for many people? Those who don't see the flaws, and those who think the flaws cannot be fixed. People with influence seeing their experience as the norm, and people without influence see their experience as the norm.
There is a video game called "Katamari Damacy". In it, you start out small and roll up things smaller than you are. In time as you grow, you roll up bigger and bigger things, until you're rolling up houses, cities, etc. While the game is quite enjoyable, it can also be used to illustrate those creeping discourtesies.
The little rudenesses - starting later than planned. Discounting other people's feelings or experiences. Making assumptions that aren't true or fair. All of those add up in time. They start out small, but roll up bigger and bigger until people are overwhelmed by them.
And the SCA *as a whole* suffers that loss.
There is a lot of joy and wonder in the SCA. But too often then not that joy and wonder blinds people to the very real problems and flaws that remain. Too many people see their experiences - good and bad - as the norm. And as such, they either see the flaws as non-existant, or not able to be repaired.
For all that we try to hold ourselves to a higher standard of courtesy and respect, too often then not the creeping rudeness of the mundane world has started to taint us as well. One of the worse offender being that construct of "SCA Standard Time". When people *expect* events to start 2,3, even 4 hours late, they show up later and later - and the delay snowballs bigger and bigger as a result. People treat it as a joke, instead of the very real and serious problem - and rank rudeness - that it is.
Another being the award system. You point out a good fact, that ill-planning can turn a day of joy into one of personal embarassment and shame. The old metaphor of "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" comes to mind. And too many people assume too often that if someone has done x, y, and z and been in for mumble-mumble years, then they have such and such an award.
Does anyone here know how horribly embarassing it is to be called by a title you don't have? Does anyone here know what it's like to have someone critisize you for not wearing an award you've never been given???
It's horribly embarassing. And after a while, it also makes one bitter and angry. So when the award is finally given, when that person's service or art or skill or whatever is finally noticed *officially*, that bitterness and past embarasment taints what should be a day of joy and honour.
How many people have we burned - or burned out - due to ignorance or discourtesy? Far, far more than we should have. For an organization founded on chivalry and honour, there are times that we *all* fall far short of those ideals - and the dream suffers.
And in some cases, dies.
Many times you can find two daggers in the dream's heart. The first dagger is "my experience has been wonderful, so everyone else's is and I don't see why people complain". The second is "why bother, the SCA is cliquish and stuckup and nobody with any power want to change or fix things."
What kills the dream for many people? Those who don't see the flaws, and those who think the flaws cannot be fixed. People with influence seeing their experience as the norm, and people without influence see their experience as the norm.
There is a video game called "Katamari Damacy". In it, you start out small and roll up things smaller than you are. In time as you grow, you roll up bigger and bigger things, until you're rolling up houses, cities, etc. While the game is quite enjoyable, it can also be used to illustrate those creeping discourtesies.
The little rudenesses - starting later than planned. Discounting other people's feelings or experiences. Making assumptions that aren't true or fair. All of those add up in time. They start out small, but roll up bigger and bigger until people are overwhelmed by them.
And the SCA *as a whole* suffers that loss.
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Date: 2006-06-06 07:28 am (UTC)