Re: May Acorn, g&pd 6

[hopkins@dg-rtp.dg.com (Edward Hopkins)]

Master Thomas, the Seneschal of Atlantia, in the May issue of Acorn,
writes (in part) the following:

> Since demos are a significant aspect of our public outreach, we must 
> meticulously avoid the appearance of religious affiliation: i.e., avoid 
> long black garb and cloaks, no religious symbols of any sort, use the 
> term "Middle Ages" instead of "Medieval," and use "SCA, Inc." rather than 
> the more cultish term "The Society."  What shall we do about the heraldic 
> devices (such as crosses) some of us display on our shields and tunics?  
> It is my judgement that we should be forehanded in explaining those as 
> historical rather than religious elements of our research in the period 
> culture and that they are not part of our modern-day religious belief system.

I am uncomfortable with the notion certain aspects of our group's character
should be delibrately suppressed at demos, but continue to occur at other
events.  This seems very similar to the practices of actual cults.  (And
I believe that at least some of those cults also term this "outreach").

Therefore the following suggestions are for changes in SCA, Inc. as a whole
rather than merely the demos, but I can understand why some may feel that they
should apply only to demos.

"The Middle Ages"
Although admirably free of the syllables of "evil", this term might be
misinterpreted to make people think that our group is mainly for Baby Boomers.
This might turn away young people that we wish to attract. (I avoid the phrase
"new blood" for obvious reasons).  The term "the Period" sounds ominously
vague, while the fuller term "the period under study" would turn off the less
studious members of the general public.  Does anyone have any suggestions?

Fighting.
There is nothing about SCA fighting itself that should confuse and alarm
the general public, but the *term* "fighting" is a different story.  I
suggest the term "hockey" would help the general public understand the
true spirit of the sticks and protective clothing.

Garb.
Adherence to the _everyday_ fashions of a by-gone era is often a mark of
religious devotion, and I think that there are probably as almost as great
a number of people who dismiss us a cultists because of _any_ garb we wear
as there are of those who only react to the black-robed ones.  Therefore,
we should avoid garb.  This can be accomplish by changing one tiny word in
the Corpora, so that "...anyone who makes an attempt at medieval dress..."
be changed to "...anyone who makes _no_ attempt at medieval dress..."
But of course, the hockey players would still suit up for their games.

The King.
Those same people who think that we are cultists when they see black robes
are the ones who will think that we mean to overthrow the government when
they hear us speak of "our King".  I propose "Most Valuable Player", in
keeping with the hockey nomenclature.

The name.
As Master Thomas points out, "The Society" does sound cultish.  However, the
term "SCA, Inc." also has problems, as it could lead to a dialog such as this:

   "This is a demo for SCA, Inc."
   "What does SEA stand for?"
   "No, not SEA, S *C* A."
   "Okay, what does S *C* A stand for."
   "Well, um, it's the Society for Creative Anachronism."
   "The Society?  That sounds kind of like a cult.  Creative?  Like that
      Maplethorpe fella?  Anarchism?..."

Therefore, I propose that SCA, Inc should be renamed "the Funtime Hockey Club".

Please feel free to respond to my suggestions, either at atlantia-l@netcom.com
or directly to me at hopkins@dg-rtp.dg.com

-- Alfredo el Bufon