[MR] Egyptian Personas in the SCA

[Logan]

actually i never stated anything of the sort.  i never said anything even
close to calling you a liar, about hearsay, etc.  i only commented on the
one thing you said which was you were treated in such a way.

i do find it odd that ive never met folks that were treated the way you
describe.  never.  

but here is the thing.  so, a new person finds the sca and you suggest they
come in, dress themself up in a certain way, never talk with anyone
beforehand, never meet anyone beforehand, they just show up.  the just show
up wearing something that has no place in the sca.  unannounced.  they
somehow find the sca somewhere (on the web?), and they just wing it.
really?  look, either they met someone in the sca who said "sure, you can
wear that......  it will be fun" or they were the bravest of the brave and
said 'huh, look at this sca thing.  i will figure out where the next event
is, then i will figure out what the costs are, then i will stop looking and
just make some garb."  so they find the sca, decide they want to try it, and
somehow show up dressed like a steampunk whatever?  does that make sense?
you claim to wish upon a pile of nickels for every person who did this.  or
did they meet sca folk who said  "do what you like, we dont mind?"

see i want you to help correct the problem.  if they met sca folk that said
"wear a maille bikini" or "be a tuchux and dress like an extra from a road
warrior reject film" then met you and were upset that they were corrected
(and didnt like it, oh my!) you should sit them down and help them.  if you
tell them that its fine, they should be upset, they should ignore the rules
of the club they CHOOSE to join, then you are wrong.  i mean you claim to
have met scores of folks that were told "you cant be an elf" and then claim
its the fault of the sca.  that makes no sense.  so yeah, i will compare the
dozens of folks ive met over the years (none of which simply found the sca
on line and figured out how to make it to an event, without ever speaking to
a single sca person, and dressed like a leather-clad pirate/road warrior
reject by the way) who needed some help and information to this plethora of
folks you state youve met that were treated poorly.  who introduced them and
told them it was cool to be a doctor who character?  did you figure that out
and correct that sca person?  if it was just some internet intro why could
you not correct them without them feeling so downtrodden?  you claim to have
salvaged "a few people" so where did they go wrong?  either some sca folks
screwed it all up and told them "xena" is cool or they found the sca but did
no research and just showed up.  either way, they are wrong.  in the former
you clearly must have contacted the sca folks and corrected them......
right!?  or, in the latter,  you sat them down and asked them how much of
the enormous amount of information they actually bothered to read and why
they did what they did.  i also find it hard to believe that a totally new
person would, as you suggest, just show up and go all willy-nilly.

again, ive interacted with many dozens of new folks.  and none of them fall
into the categories you describe.


regards
logan



"I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was
hell." 
Harry S Truman 
"If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his
vengeance need not be feared"
Niccolo Machiavelli
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-----Original Message-----
From: atlantia-bounces at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org
[mailto:atlantia-bounces at seahorse.atlantia.sca.org] On Behalf Of Gina
Shelley
Sent: Sunday, June 05, 2011 12:38 AM
To: atlantia at atlantia.sca.org
Subject: Re: [MR] Egyptian Personas in the SCA


Actually, yes. A lot. A LOT. In fact, I'm tired of it. Enough it's starting
to leak down and sour my own good feelings. I'm tired of feeling embarrassed
over other people's behavior I have no control of. I'm tired of the uphill
battle of putting out fires I didn't start and cleaning up messes I didn't
make. 

In fact, I've managed to salvage a few people. In fact, I wish I had a
nickle for every person who said to me personally, "Well, I just didn't find
the local group (fill in the blank here) welcoming." or "I did the best I
could but the first thing that happened was I got busted on about my garb
not being good enough." or "I found it hard to join in with anything,
everyone just seemed like they had their own group." or "I felt
intimidated." or "I thought about trying out the SCA but I was scared my
clothes wouldn't be enough" (and the part two to that, "I heard horror
stories from someone else who went and they said they're really tough on
garb. I don't want to offend or be embarassed."  or "you won't believe with
this jerk just said to me."

I hear a lot of "well, I'm glad I met you guys, I feel better now." I guess
mainly because we try to encourage people instead of discouraging them. 

That's all stuff I've heard personally. You can ignore that if you like,
I've been saying the same thing for years and I don't expect it to be
treated like news. 

Most of the time, you won't hear that you've offended someone, or made them
feel small, or embarrassed them or openly and publicly criticized them.
Mostly, folks will just quietly eat it and go away and you'll never hear
why. 

I hear why. A lot. However, I'm sure I don't' hear it all. And considering
how much I HAVE heard over the years, that's scary. And inexcusable. 

Knowing what I know, and the wince-inducing conversations I've had over the
years with various people, and the stuff I've seen here, the idea that
you're now accusing me of passing on unfounded hearsay is really, really
rich. Truly. 

Well, I'm sure you're right. I guess we need too teach everyone the fine art
of giving unsolicited negative comments to people we don't know before our
next membership drive. Clearly, it's working out for us. 

Dulcy






 		 	   		  
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