Re: Pennsic Letter

[Denise McMahon <baroness@stierbach.org>]

Poster: Denise McMahon <baroness@stierbach.org>

Julien de Montfort wrote:
 
> Well, we'll have to agree to disagree then.  "Paint job" seems more to me
> like using innapropriate fabric or lime green color -- exscusable, because
> the person in question is still making a reasonable attempt at pre17th
> century clothing/atmosphere.  Bikinis, fangs and elf ears are, IMHO, most
> definately NOT the consequences of making a reasonable attempt at pre17th
> century clothing/atmosphere.

(And now a sarcasm warning!)

And I still think custom would be served if the Chirurgeons banded together
and went roaming around offering free ear docking or corrective dentistry 
for anyone so afflicted to help them acheive a more cosmetically normal 
appearance while at Pennsic. (see large grin here!) 

Let us also remember that the Irish had canvas that looked much like denim,
brass rivets and that they actually wore breaches, trousers, whatever you want
to call
them (check with your nearest Authenticity Expert)- had they thought about it
they very well may have made something we'd call jeans, although they may 
have been decorated to a degree that would have given a 60's Flower Child pause.

There are several ways of doing things- you can put your foot down with a stomp
that gets everyones attention and crushes whatever is underneath it, or you
can put
your foot down gently so that everyone else notices and goes on with the
dance.  

It's a question of remembering that everyone likes to be treated as well as
you would 
like to be treated- or have we forgotten our basic commonality here and in the
Midrealm? 
Wearing bunny fur or cabaret style belly dancing gear is not a deliberate
attempt by anyone
to demean, belittle, invalidate or otherwise threaten us as a Society. I am
sure there were
folks back then who were upset or scandalized by what others wore or didn't
wear in
public but I don't think that it meant that they necessarily thought the end
of the world
was at a hand- well, actually in some cases they did, but look how silly we
think they were
looking back on them now? 

Here's an idea!

Bring extra garb from your groups' loaner closet and dress those poor
individuals who cause 
such a distraction to your day! It is your duty as a person of noble birth to
provide for those less 
blessed in textiles! It's the civilized medieval thing to do, don't you agree?
(insert more grinning here)
And think of the merit you'll gain in heaven! 

Everyone's human- let's try to remember that and act accordingly. What
distresses me 
most is reading the latest version of the "rules and regulations for proper
Pennsic attendance"
every year and seeing how it's starting to drift towards something more akin
to a Penal Code. 

Having written a few HR handbooks for a *few* companies I have found that when
there are
more negative consequences mentioned than positive consequences that there is something
out of kilter with the corporations management, outlook, or culture. Usually
that company
doesn't last long because the creative types tend to leave in droves- and it's
usually the creative 
types that make the money for the company in the first place.  

It would serve us as a Society (in my humble opinion) to question what it is
we are trying to
acheive by writing a rule- and then attempt to address that need in as a
respectful and courteous way
as possible and carefully avoid the Them and Us mindset of most "rule makers"
attitudes.  We 
might want to try to incorporate the idea that the "rules" are guidelines, and
that they are for 
the benefit of the "rulemakers" as well as for whoever the "Them" are that we
feel we have to 
"correct". 

This is my opinion, and only my opinion. Your mileage may vary and probably does.
However, let's try to keep our sense of fun close at hand.


Rowan Berran
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