From: whheydt@pbhya.PacBell.COM (Wilson Heydt)
Subject: Re: Arrow number Two ...
Reply-To: whheydt@PacBell.COM (Wilson Heydt)
Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, CA
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1992 16:59:46 GMT

[I'm only addressing a fraction of the points made--many of the m
valid.  --whh]

In article <1992Sep11.164044.5502@lmt.mn.org> ciaran@county.lmt.mn.org (Ciaran Benson) writes:
>  I didn't check the "reply to" line Very, Very Carefully, and
>someone played a little joke on me.  A finely set snare.

While I don't play with reply lines, please let me extend apologies
for being so treated.  I consider such activity to be rude,
unchivalrous, and uncalled for in *any* discussion.  (At least--I
*hope* I've never done that to anybody.)

>  That still doesn't make me feel any more comfortable about
>coming to an event where folks are standing around with 
>penants and shields bearing any number of symbols which are
>heavily identified with the crusaders who destroyed so much
>of my religion's heretage -- especially since I am forbidden
>to bear a symbol which proudly proclaims the advancing
>recovery of the folk traditions of ancient europe.

A small point . . .  I think you will find, on examining the
historical record, that 'pagans' were not suppressed by Crusades, but
were persecuted by other means.  The claim that crusades were used
would, I'm afraid, raise the pagans in Europe to a capability they
didn't possess.

>  I'm also curious how your citizendry respond when someone
>wears as personal adornment a symbol which has been officially
>banned in heraldry.

Nearly everyone ignores it or recognizes the shield as belonging to a
particular individual.  A *few* people will quietly point out that
it'll never be registered as arms, device, or badge.  Some
*may*--privately--go on to point out the other problems that may arise
in some localities.

>  Kind of a coming together of the tribes after so long a
>feud, but the side that lost isn't permitted to show it's
>reclaimation flag.

One in minded of the current disputes in the Balkans . . . Parts of
which disputes have some roots in our period.  One of the things that
the Serbs are upset about is that the Croats have revived the flag
they were given when the entire region was under Nazi domination.  The
lesson is that reviving old hatreds is unprofitable.  Symbols really
*do* inflame.

>  Just what are your means for seeking redress for actions
>of your executive committee?  Surely you must have some
>way to question the decisions of your executives?  With this
>much outcry, how did such an unpopular decision get approved?

We can petition the Board for redress, but they are under no
compulsion to answer those grievances in a way that suits us.
Ultimately--SCA folk can vote with their feet.  This is a very
powerful lever--but not one that is likely to work in this case.

>  You don't just elect dictators for a year do you?

Depends on how you're using the word 'dictator'.  Royalty are selected
by Tournament.  Board members are selected from recomendations from
the populace and have (generally) overlapping terms of office.  The
final selection is done by the Board. It is, in this way, a
self-perpetuating body--which *appears* to be a poor practice, but
actually works fairly well in the long run.  Other offices at the
corporate level are selected from those both competent and willing to
do the job and serve terms of varying length--usually determined by
their own willingness to continue to hold the job.  In the specific
case that matters for this discussion, the Laurel Herald must be a
skilled herald with the energy and ability to carry out the job.

	--Hal

        Hal Ravn, Province of the Mists, West Kingdom
        Wilson H. Heydt, Jr.,  Albany, CA 94706,  510/524-8321 (home)
-- 
Hal Heydt                    |    "Boycott Time-Warner"
Analyst, Pacific*Bell        |         --J. Danforth Quayle
510-823-5447                 |    "... kill all the lawyers."
whheydt@pbhya.PacBell.COM    |         --William Shakespeare
Xref: sparky rec.org.sca:12992 soc.culture.celtic:5893