[MR] Census...Long

[Trey and Janine Sutter]

Topics:
1) Royals
2) Peerage
3) Newcomers

Greetings-I tried to give you a table of contets so you could just skip to 
what interests you :)

1) Royals- I have had the pleasure of serving in this office once.  I take 
exception that there are people who think that Royals are only concerned 
about who is bowing and scraping and serving them or that they think that 
the pointy hat is the most important thing.  You could ask my retainers how 
many times they had to tell me to Stop walking backwards to talk to them as 
they followed me around.  As they told me, "Our Queen does not walk 
backwards.  WE are your retainers and it is your job to be the Queen, NOT to 
entertain us"
       A)  The reality is....being a royal is ALOT of work.  It requires 
organizational skills, the ability to deal with difficult people, and more 
money than the travel fund provides.  The pointy hat is a perk, but I have 
rarely met a previous royal who thought the new title/coronet was the 
reward.  For me, the reward was the HUGE number of people I met whom I had 
not known before; the looks on people's faces when we were able to reward 
their service, art or fighting, and the pride of our army kicking butt on 
the field at wars (My tears and speech at Pennsic..."Y'all Rock" might not 
have been medieval, but I was SO PROUD!).  People do not generally become 
King or Queen because they need a cuter hat.  They do it because they love 
their kingdom and want a chance to serve in this way.
        B)  We are in a MEDIEVAL society.  That means when someone of higher 
rank walks by, you should give a bow, curtsey or some other sign.  This is 
NOT modern America we are re-creating.  PLEASE try to remember that.  The 
number of comments on the Merry Rose lately about "having to bow", "people 
feeling they are higher than you", etc have been many.  If you think about 
the actual middle ages.....well, of course a Lord would bow to a Baron.  We 
seem to forget that here in Atlantia more than in many other kingdoms I have 
observed.  We are actually MORE laid back in "acting our part" than in other 
kingdoms.
        I am sorry if new-person Bob feels insignificant next to Baron 
Steve.  However, Steve has probably been in many years, worked his tail off 
and helped the society in many ways.  Steve should not be mean to Bob, of 
course, but I have rarely ever found royals/peers/baronage to be mean even 
though I have heard alot of stories.  And please do not think that is 
because I have lived some sort of "gilded" SCA career- It took me several 
years to get my AOA.

2)  Peerages- I have been in the SCA for over 16 years.  I have held offices 
at the Canton, Barony and Kingdom levels several times each.  I have taught, 
mentored and, yes, cleaned and plunged toilets.  I was invited to become a 
member of the Pelican this year.
       Did other people "arrive" before me?  yes, of course.  There are many 
reasons why one might become a peer before another.  The first many years, 
my "PLQ:"s (Peer like qualities) were not what they should have been.    A 
few years ago, I asked for feedback from someone I trusted and was told "You 
have length of service in years, you have breadth of service (I've tried 
almost everything!), but you do not have depth of service."  She was 
correct.  It allowed me a chance to look at my service and decide what I 
found most enjoyable and what I was doing because I did not want to say  no. 
Then, I focused my talents on what was fun for me.  This was one of the 
hardest things I had to learn!
        If you think that you are "close" and wonder what you are lacking, 
find a trusted peer and ASK them.  For those of us without a peer, this is 
super-important (even if you are not doing "what ever" to get the cookie).

3) Newcomers-  We DO need to be nice to our newcomers.  I credit 2 local 
ladies for taking me to my first event, helping me make friends and 
introducing me to the local group (which included my husband!!)  HOWEVER, I 
do not think that means that we do not teach them that  "That is a Baron, 
you bow to him"  or  "That is the King, you have to be invited into his 
presence".  Again, it is MEDIEVAL, not a democracy.  I am one of the few I 
know that does not like the idea of newcomers being called before the King 
and Queen. I think I would have been embarrased to be called up at my first 
event and I think that it should be a HUGE deal when you meet royalty for 
the first time...like getting your AOA or something.  Think about meeting 
the Queen of England.  She does not invite you to the palace because you 
toured England!!
        I don't think anyone finds me snobbish or stuck-up, but I could be 
wrong (and feel free to let me know if I come off this way!!).   I admit, I 
do not make an effort to get to know every new face I see.  Part of that is 
because I am horrible with names and may have met them in the past and would 
be embarrassed.  Not a good reason and I will try to do better.  Which 
really, is all anyone can ask of us!

In Service,
Kari