Re: His Highness's New Clothes

[Henry Best <jstrauss@gmu.edu>]

Poster: Henry Best <jstrauss@gmu.edu>

On Tue, 2 Jul 1996, E L Wimett wrote:

> Some of you have been upset that Tibor or anyone else "corrected" Logan
> in a manner which you considered discourteous.  If the correction 
> was discourteous, it deserved rebuke --- not because Logan is now the 
> Prince of Atlantia, but because it was discourteous. 

Discourtesy is always bad. I wish I still had a copy of Tibor's post. I 
remember thinking that it was factual and even-handed. I was glad to see 
this, as Tibor has a reputation, of old, for deeply cutting retorts, as 
he has mentioned. 

I was surprised when he posted an apology. I can't help but think that,
had Tibor's reply been aimed at someone other than a "hat", no one would
have thought anything of it. 

And I feel for Logan, placed in a bad position: He didn't take offense. I
bet he was glad to learn the straight dope. But others, doubtless with
good intent, proactively took offense on his behalf. I'm not sure how I
would handle that and I'm glad I don't have to. 

> Still others took the position that Logan had LESS freedom to express 
>opinion in this forum precisely because he is Crown Prince. 

 Well, it's a sad and depressing truth; but it's true. Logan _does_ have
significantly less freedom to express his personal opinions, in _any_
forum, precisely because he is Crown Prince. That's just the way things
are. For the duration of this reign and his own, anything Logan says will
be noted. For good or for ill, someone will overhear pretty much anything
he says and pass it along as pravda. If he exhibits human failings and
misremembers a fact, if he says something (however innocently) which can
be misinterpreted as a slur, it will come back to haunt him. I remember
guarding my tongue as seneschal and paying dearly every time I failed to
do so (which was way too frequently). It sucks; but there isn't much that 
can be done about it. It's inherent in human nature. But, he knew the job 
was dangerous when he took it, to paraphrase "Chickenman".

If the king feels strongly that "Rapier sucks", he doesn't really have 
the freedom to say so. Up to the point he won Crown, saying "rapier 
sucks" would have been _merely_ extremely discourteous. But, from that 
point on, such a statement would have far-reaching consequences for his 
reign, all of them highly negative. 

> 
> Derrick Solomon and/or Logan Ebonwoulfe has the SAME RIGHTS as every 
> other member of this forum/list/whatever-you-wish-to-it.  (I very 
> nearly "shouted" this.) 
> He has the same right to speak his mind as you or I. 

Certainly he does. His rights remain untouched. But the consquences of his
actions are now greater. His responsibilities have grown, in a way that I 
suspect one cannot really appreciate unless one is in that position.

You or I cannot shout "FIRE" in a theater. Logan needs to be cautious 
about being misoverheard inquiring about where the fire extinguishers are.
It's enough to make a guy avoid fighting in Crown, I tell ya. Damn 
thankless job with a very poor effort/reward ratio.


 -------------------------------------------------------------------
| Ld Henry Best		| "People don't quit playing because they   |
| John Strauss		| grow old. They grow old because they quit |
| jstrauss@gmu.edu	| playing." 	    -Oliver Wendell Holmes  |
 -------------------------------------------------------------------


=======================================================================
List Archives, FAQ, FTP:  http://sca.wayfarer.org/merryrose/
            Submissions:  atlantia@atlantia.sca.org
        Admin. requests:  majordomo@atlantia.sca.org