[Regia-NA] It gets worse

[rmhowe]

Tracie Brown wrote:
>>...in response to the
>>prohibition of period bikinis at Pennsic. We are the
>>officially ignored foil to the Board of Directors even
>>if we have been on it at times or Corporate SCA officers
>>as still presently.
> 
> 
>    Umm ... I'm not really sure why you felt the need to go on 
> about "The Horde" and "Tuchux" on a Regia mailing list, but 
> since you did...
> 
>    I've attended every single Pennsic, and there has never 
> been a "prohibition of period bikinis at Pennsic."

This began as funny stories to amuse everyone, however since
you doubt my veracity and the reputations of my brothers:

The Pennsic Autocrats tried to ban bikinis several years ago.
Along with prohibiting elf ears, vampires, goths, and fay
folk (people who believe in and care to portray fairies,
not gays). It didn't fly with the SCA populace.
If you don't believe me check the Rialto files -
I'm sure it is in the backlog of rec.org.sca somewhere.
Every big argument in the SCA at large has been.
.
I distinctly remember the fuss and I distinctly remember
reading it on the PennsicWar.org webpages at the time before
we put up the Period Bikini webpage to dispute it for fun.
Those rules were pulled from the War webpages by the time Pennsic
actually began and if I recall correctly the originator found
himself in popular hot water. It may be in an old Pennsic handbook
sent to attendees. Since I don't attend every year I may not
have the exact one here and frankly it isn't worth looking for
it just to prove a fact. My guess is it was prior to a war
somewhere from Pennsic XXIX to XXX but about four-five years ago.

Secondly the Great Dark Horde has a long Pennsic tradition of either
autocrating, helping autocrat, running security and the motorpool
at times (ex. Master Todric, (Baroness) Mistress Rosine of Rowanwald)
or providing shelter and food after storms have flattened large
numbers of other tents and given many people hypothermia. They
prepare for this eventuality every year. Most people who have
attended Pennsic for years are well aware of these facts.
The Horde itself tries to amass a huge number of service hours
at every Pennsic War very visibly. Every brother and watchee
is encouraged to volunteer at every war.

I mentioned the Tuchux as they were a funny story.
Someone brought up a 500 pound man in a G-String etched
on his corneas.

> I've also 
> served on the SCA, Inc. Board of Directors, and I don't 
> remember either you or Joe as Directors or Corporate 
> Officers. Maybe some other SCA. 

Try the first few years of the SCA. Joe Bethancourt goes back
a long way in SCA history out west. Thirty + years. Master
Ioseph of Locksley, OL, OP.  He's been so mad at the BOD for
the past five years he has little now to do with Atenveldt
or the BOD anymore. He resides in Atenveldt [AZ]. He also wrote
a great amount of Society songs and eventually enacted his
copyright on it to forbid the Society to republish them anymore
anywhere as a protest of the BOD actions he found inexcusable.

As far as me, no, I have had no interest whatsoever in having
anything to do with the BOD assuming I was even up to it
physically.  To me it would be like lying down in poison ivy.

I am a resource person, not a politician, not even in
Atlantian kingdom politics. I have been told by Horde officers
that I should be the Agatarkhan for NC and areas south in
the continental USA but I didn't/don't want it and this is
now well known. For one thing I don't like politics,
for another my health is marginal and I don't travel much
now. I became disabled over ten years ago now and it has
gradually gone downhill from there.

My personal opinion is the BOD made some rather disgraceful
rulings against harmless people in regards to the Atenveldt
situation a few years ago and banished two totally innocent
sub-autocrats in relation to the thievery of the Estrella War
Exchequer who absconded and took a nice vacation with the funds,
and took their receipts the two had turned in with him, leaving
them with no defense. They had not xeroxed the receipts as it
never occured to them they would find themselves in such a
situation and they had no time to do it while helping run
the event. Since the Exchequer was long gone the BOD chose
someone else to scapegoat. I must say it was very honorable
of them. If they would do it to those two people it could
happen as well to any other autocrat/sub-autocrat anywhere else.
It sent a shiver through many people who normally run things
in the SCA for us. I said on several lists at the time including
my Kingdom's that I would be ashamed to be associated with
a bunch that would do such a thing. This was also said by
others elsewhere in a number of other kingdoms.

The BOD also failed to stop numerous banishments in Atenveldt
that were done in the power struggle to determine where the
Estrella War would be held within the Kingdom and who would
control it. I believe there were something like nineteen I
heard of which to me suggests some people at the top had
very little ethics and the BOD did NOTHING when they could have.

There were also a very large number (nearly sixty in one reign)
of peerages given out in Atenveldt to affect this situation at
the same time by the people involved as a group in the banishments. 
[Atlantia gives out about three to four in the same space of time.
In Atlantia's twenty-four years I don't think there have been
more than five banishments by comparison.] In the end Estrella
went back to its original site but a whole lot of damage was
done to many people in the process. The BOD should have acted
to stop it and didn't. Now the joke here is that our kingdom
level awards are the equal of some Society level awards in
some other kingdoms.

Thirdly the BOD damned near ended the whole SCA itself
less than ten years ago with some of their new rules. The
kingdoms nearly all split off and it resulted in a Grand Council
to represent each kingdom separately [on which friends of mine
have sat] as an advisory board to the BOD. Our Baron Sir Rodrigo
Falcone / Donald Wagner was one of these. The Grand Council
was created to SAVE the SCA from the BOD.

So those are a few of the reasons I personally want nothing to
do with the BOD. Sure, I am aware of many of the names on it.
I just wouldn't be one and most of the SCA members at large
I know who are not social climbing inclined seem to agree.
I'm much more impressed with personal behavior and largesse
than people who collect titles to impress other silly people.

We do our best to maintain our local groups and ignore the BOD
as much as possible. Two many knee-jerk reactions cause far
too many problems for local officers. As Rosanna Rosannadanna said,
"Its always something!" Politics is the very worst aspect
of the SCA.

Of course it is good for other groups like Regia and Markland, etc.
This is my twenty-third year in the SCA btw.
Like most of our friends I married in it. We held weekly resource
library and armor workshop nights at our home for 17 1/2 years
and have contributed in a number of other ways.

As to -current- officers my hordebrother Mistress Rowena is and
has been -Society A&S Officer- for years now. Not too long ago
another brother was Society Librarian/Archivist I believe.
A good number of hordebrothers have also been various kingdom great
officers and one is a Duke. Two have been Principality princesses
that I know of in Northshield. One is not on the page. Neither
is the former Baroness of Marinus, Mistress Rosine of Rowanwald.
For the uninformed viscounts have been heads of principalities,
and dukes or counts have been kings.

See: http://members.tripod.com/~whitebard/horde6.htm
[I suggest you turn off javascript as it made my computer
drop the page when it is on.]
The page is several years out of date as there are several
newer Horde SCA peerages than I currently see on it.
The GDH gives no awards within its own ranks.
All come only from the SCA Kingdoms.
Still for one household the number is more than sufficient.
Past brothers who were also SCA Peers are not listed.
Nor do we list Horde Friends, those officially recognized
by Khuraltai as those who would be brothers if their former
allegiances or current positions did not prevent it, many
of whom are Peers and treated like brothers by us.

As to how my wife Anne and I got into the Horde, well we were
invited to join based on our reputation for service locally.
We didn't ask to join. It hadn't ever occurred to us.
[Our Barony numbers around 500 people now and we both hold
early service Awards of Excellence amongst other things.]
We still had to stand watch for a minimum of a year and a day
before we could be corded into the GDH. A lot of Horde watchees
never become brothers and are dropped.
In some cases I have elicited multiple statements from regular
SCA to keep some dishonest people OUT of the Horde successfully.
We're a bit particular about our associates.
The SCA at large is not.

My wife is a Baroness in the Society.
I'm a Laurel who never politiced for the award either.

> -- Tracie

Magnus