[MR] In Defense of...

[adams at coastal.edu]

Greetings to all in the Tavern.

It never surprises me to see the things that people find the energy to disagree 
about, but that doesn't stop me from joining the melee.  One of the things that 
I value about the SCA is its openness to those of us who may be ignorant about 
authenticity, but still want to give it a try.  Some of us do start pretty 
pseudo and get better along the way - that's part of the education aspect of 
what we do, isn't it?  

I have also found that if I want to be authentic, it takes a great deal of time 
and resources - just finding hand spun linen thread and bone needles...oy!  But 
the fact is that if I want to be authentic-ish and still engage in service, 
something's got to give.  I can't make my gown and my shoes and my chair 
authentic and still spend the month shopping for the food for the feast and 
making banners to decorate the hall and figuring out how to make Royalty feel 
comfortable at our site.  I don't think it would be so great to have to 
say, "So-and-so is stunningly authentic at this event, but we don't have a 
feast or any regalia. Sorry"  Maybe somebody is involved with an SCA group that 
is big enough to support different folks to do different stuff, but my group 
sure doesn't.  So inauthenticity in my own gear may just add a whole lot of 
enjoyment to the whole group.  

I guess we could all look at what we do and do it just a bit more authentically 
next time, but that would have to be a priority - and sometimes it just isn't, 
for the good of the group.  

Just my opinion, absolutely free and worth every cent it costs... 

In service,
Lina St Albans



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