arontius | My Pelican Anniversary. (Reply)

.....Greetings!

.....This last weekend of Last Chance Tourney in Dragon’s Laire was my one-year anniversary as a member of the Order of the Pelican. It’s been quite the whirlwind year, that’s for damned sure. But I can honestly say that I’ve learned more about the peerages in general and the people who inhabit those Orders in the past year then I did the previous 17+ years that I have played in the SCA. Some good, some bad, some I would never have suspected (some are far more warped than I would ever have given them credit :-)). I realize that I’ve been incredibly naïve in my outlook on what the peers are and how they are supposed to behave (and how they do in reality). But even after all of that I still have a favorable opinion of the concept and at least a little faith that as a group they still have positive contributions to make to the Society. :-)

.....No need to rehash everything that

mrq_laurellen has ranted or the question and answer sessions sponsored by

khalja. I will say that they have been highly interesting and very informative. I guess that I never gave thought to the fact that the Orders were as ranked as they were, with the Pelicans and Laurels sharing the bottom level. I also never realized that the Royal Peers as a group felt as disenfranchised as a group as much as they do. In my mind as I grew up in the SCA I felt that ‘a peer was a peer was a peer’. I’ve had to seriously re-evaluate this thought process and I can say that I am much more careful on how I word things to peers as I speak to them and how I present things to them.

.....When I was first given the Bird, I struggled for a while in an attempt to redefine my role in this game. I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to act and what I was supposed to do ‘as a peer’. I received a lot of advice, so much of it contradictory to each other. Which is probably one of the more amazing parts of the whole thing. :-) It was very confusing. There was even a time when I kept telling Viscountess Callista that I would give up the peerage if she would make me a protégé of hers. I was only half-kidding at the time (although she ROCKS, I’d still consider it, especially after enough Don Julio was consumed :-)).

.....But I finally worked it out enough in my mind where I became comfortable with the concept and could actually see the benefits for good by being a peer. It is amazing to me at times how the title of ‘Master’ has opened doors and resolved situations that would have taken a lot more effort to resolve previously. I learned of this while planning July Coronation. When situations that required a quick solution came up, I found that if I signed e-mail with the title or used the title in conversation, the resolution I came up with was accepted and acted upon with a lot less energy. It is something of a heady concept, and I have to be careful to only use it for good. :-) It sounds conceited in some respects, which is why most of the time I don’t use the title at all. I probably shouldn’t worry about it so much, but I do try to be careful. :-)

.....I can also honestly say that I seriously understand the concept of ‘peers are people too’ much more now than I could before the peerage. There was a time that I accepted what a peer said pretty much point blank and without question (with exceptions of course, a real asshat is still a real asshat, no matter what feathers they wear on any given occasion :-)). But I have found that the much better approach is to view the individual and judge them on their own merits, be they peerage or not. I know that this sounds like an extreme no-brainer, and that many people state this constantly, but when I grew up in the SCA I really was taught that the peerages demanded instant respect. This concept also fit nicely into my own version of ‘the DREAM’ where those who were closer to Avalon taught those of us farther away the mysteries of the Round Table. :-)

.....The old concept of ‘You Rule Because They Believe’ really does apply in Society. Not just to those of Royalty, but to all those who lead as a peer, and even to all those who just ‘lead’. Those who treat all kindly and with respect, make informed decisions that include all, live the dream of courtesy and chivalry. These are the people who keep the SCA alive and growing. Of course, in some ways it is easier to look at it is the Piers Anthony approach to hell. That being that a Master Spell belonging only to Satan controls all demons in his hell. The Master Spell being a lie of course and that all creatures could break their bondage at any time if they figured out what exactly the ‘spell’ was. :-) I prefer the first view really. :-)

.....The bottom line for me is that I will always try to do my best to do the right thing as I age as a Pelican. There will be those peers to whom I will always look up to and try to emulate and those to whom I will do the opposite. I hope that in the end I myself can be someone who is worthy of being trusted and being emulated. But I also realize that this is something that is a constant ‘work-in-progress’. I hope that I always work hard at it and take it seriously. Especially as I take on a protégé of my own (a scary concept that I’m still adjusting to :-)).

.....Sigh, enough 'ruminating' for a ‘Monday’ morning at work. :-)

.....Arontius / Aaron.