[MR] Queen's Corner

[Nicole Spaun]

bmcellis at yahoo.com
>> I expect any associate to have the goal of becoming a peer one day if they officially associate with a peer/household. 
> 
That expectation is what some people, myself included, consider the problem because that implies the opposite... that if you don't have the official association of a peer/household then you must not have the goal of becoming a peer one day.  So it's perceived that there's a less pressing matter to make them a peer.  And time has shown that it _does_ generally take one X more years to get an award if they're not officially associated with a peer/household.  Not true in every case, but in most.  I find that disturbing.  I've noticed that people generally say those who aren't officially associated are "doing it because they love it, not because they want an award" almost trying to excuse why the unassociated don't get awards as quickly.  One would think they'd be rewarded _faster_ then for getting there on their own.  But, sadly, like many things in life it comes down to being a team player so you almost have to associate with a peer/household for said peers to let you become one of them.  Again, not always but often.  
 
And I'm not pointing fingers at Atlantia; it's an SCA wide thing... though I will swear I've seen Atlantia give out awards light years faster than other kingdoms do so maybe the perception of campaigning for awards is just more obvious here since the timelines are compacted.  I know brave fighters in the East who have been fighting longer, and better, than some squires and yet they make knight later or not at all.  I've known artisans in the West who didn't apprentice so they could learn from many sources equally and remain neutral instead of appearing to be allied with one household or another (ie, avoiding cliques), and they've received kingdom artisan awards later than apprentices displaying similar skills.  So the irony is that many people see apprentices, proteges, and squires as being in it to get faster rewards instead of because they truly love it, but because they are in those positions they actually do get the rewards faster... thus proving that campaigning for an award, well, works.  Wacky reinforcement, that.  I know one independent person who had been busting her arse for years out of sheer dedication to helping and it took her best friend becoming King before she finally received the Pelican she deserved years earlier.  I'm not saying that peers play favorites, but I am saying that they notice and recognize their official associates sooner.    
 
So if a person wants to be, say, a Laurel, they almost have to be apprenticed to eventually get on the team.  Which encourages statements folks make like our Majesty cited, "The only reason they do XXX is to become a peer".  It's a system time that evolved over time by official associations being made and then those associates being rewarded faster.  The phrase "teacher's pet" comes to mind and, since no one likes teacher's pets except the teacher, then there will always be snips about why a person is doing a specific thing.  I suspect the reason it's not challenged as frequently in fighting is because fighters have ways of dealing with teacher's pets and glory hounds- it usually involves miscalibrating  ;)
 
Not a sermon, just a thought,
~Bianca                
~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~ Lady Bianca di Bari, Chronicler for the Barony of Stierbach, Atlantia 'Per bend wavy sable and azure, a comet bendwise inverted and a comet bendwise argent'