[MR] ISO of the Perfect SCAdian

[Towey, Brian]

>  I seek reassurance. Yet I am not sure there can be any. 
> And what I've read here is really no different than I've seen at 
> groups of other types, where those who came before (old-timers) 
> are so unhappy with the newcomers who just don't get it, or get it right.

My dear Richikha,

This whole fracas, like so many on the Merry Rose, was by, for, and about
long-time members.  It was never aimed at newcomers, who should always be
nurtured and never scolded.  By the time someone is fighting in tournaments,
not just practices, he or she should have learned to cover up blatantly
modern items such as Coke cans and hockey pads.  That is why the rule was
carefully aimed at tourney contestants, not at newcomers.  A narrowly
tailored solution, you might call it.

Some have worried that this sort of rule will lead to broad restrictions on
the general populace.  I think that our leadership is wiser than that.  By
the time someone aspires to be King by right of arms (or Queen by right of
arms, as sometimes happens), that person is essentially claiming to *be* the
Perfect SCAdian.  The next logical step, if there ever is one, would be even
more narrowly tailored: to ask entrants in the Crown List to *replace* their
plastic, not just hide it.  Even then, it would not affect newbies or
catapult fodder, but only that elite that seeks to rule.

Does that help?

Your servant,

Charles Fleming
YMMV - Your Millennium May Vary