YHWH

[Corun MacAnndra <corun@access.digex.net>]

Poster: Corun MacAnndra <corun@access.digex.net>

I wish to thank all those who wrote me publicly and privately with the
correct information regarding YHWH. There were so many of you that I'm
making this public declaration of thanks rather than write each of you
individually.

This actually proves my point. Education is good, and the details are
important. We can no more generalize about our hobby than we can in the
mundane world. Our children are our future, and we have the skills and
the technology to make them smarter than we. Lowering scholastic standards
is not the way to do that. The same applies in the SCA. Too often have
I heard Laurels, folks who had been in the SCA since mud was a feasibility
study, complain that they give their knowledge and get accused of being
authenticity Nazis. I tend to think these are simply isolated cases,
based in part on the attitude of a given person, either the one listening
or the one teaching. I do not believe that it is the case with the
majority of the SCA, and I firmly believe that it is the duty of anyone
with knowledge and experience to pass that on, either locally in small
groups, or globally at University or inter-Kingdom events (such as Pennsic),
regardless of whether they are a Peer.

We complain and whine about the vampires and the elves and the goths and
the bondage groupies who are running rampant in the SCA these days, mostly
among the younger members. And all anyone wants to do with them is take
them to the local swimming hole and drop them in tied about with heavy
weights (ok, that's a gross exagerration, but you get my point). Instead
we should be trying to teach them. There will be those who will welcome
such teaching, and those who will not. The latter will, after time,
come around and ask to be taught, if only to fit in better, or they will
go away looking for a game more suited to what they want to do. We can
hope that those who do remain do so out of a true interest in a given
aspect of the Middle Ages. In those cases we've won, and the prize is
great indeed.

We look, more often than not, to the Peerages for this teaching and for
the examples, for they are, or should be, exemplars by virtue of having
attained the Peerage. But they can't do it all, and they in turn look
to the rest of us who are not Peers, but who might one day attain that.
They teach and groom a few, and those in turn go out among others and
teach. Thus do we all benefit and the quality of life in the SCA improves
for all. Pity the Peer who hides their light under a bushel so that none
benefit from it. Pity also the Peer who, upon attaining the Peerage,
selfishly goes away upon attaining the prize. Praise the Peer who gives
of their time, knowledge and experience to others.

I am not a Peer, but I do recognize duty and obligation, what is called
in Japan giri. We all have that to one degree or another. Let's make
the best of it while we can.

Sorry for the long rant. Sometimes I just go on ad nauseum (having once
been accused of being "intense" by a dear Lady down south <g>). This
was meant as a thanks to a few, but I guess it turned into a thanks to
many as well as a soapbox. Guess I'll go wash up now.

In service,
Corun

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