I decided to blog on this site for a number of reasons.  The most obvious being a forum for insight of perception, but also to examine the different philosophies that are prevalent in the various SCA organizations.  My goal is to incite debate, opinion and emotion in an appropriate venue so that greater understanding can be had by all.  I am in no way a psychologist, confessor or judge and jury in way.

It may be amusing, it may be frustrating but it is what it is.  Nationally and otherwise there are distinct individuals and notions of just how this community should organize and enact.  There are the Purists, the Tolkein/Fantasy lovers, the faction of corset lovers either displaying or oogling the end result of a tightly pulled lace and finally the group that restrain themselves from buying into the whole alternate lifestyle.

In my experience, you generally meet the total and complete immersion people who even in the mundane only associate with those of their house and struggle to bring as much as they can into their mundane life as well -or- the folks that just accept it as part of their lives and are capable of living the breadth of mundane to persona.  I personally do not advocate for any one version, I believe that happiness and peace of mind in life can never be a bad thing.

Sitting back and watching as I often do it is fascinating to watch the blending that happens at events and gatherings.  Like any other organized mundane or otherwise society it breaks down to groups of class.  I find that those classes are not based on what would translate into an actual way of life but more where people use the venue to portray themselves in a different light.  Unfortunately some of the draw backs for the "general" folk is that if they don't have the financial resources in their actual lives it is difficult for them to compete in the alternate lifestyle, much like basic sociology.

We all tend to forget that we all can't be Lords and Ladies, and only the very few during these times could afford the fabrics and seamstresses to portray a courtly picture.  That being said, I don't think there is anything wrong with creating a character that emulates a charismatic and dynamic person of the particular time period of your choosing but what differentiates us from the general ren faire once a year goer is that we embrace the history and recognize inconsistencies.  For instance, my personal goal in a bodice is not necessarily the cleavage it can produce, but the functionality of the garment.

I am also going to go out on a limb here and state that clothing should be considered a privilege not a right, and I would rather see well executed garb that is minimal than some of the eye popping, prostitution inciting, lascivious inappropriate attire that you sometimes see.  This of course is a personal opinion and for all you cleavage loving Lords out there I do apologize.  Wenching should be a facet but not competition for good taste.  I have had several occasions where I've had to explain to my 11 year old son why he was seeing what he was seeing.

In order to grow and propagate our society, it is my goal to represent the times in actuality not simply to wear inappropriate garb and personal self esteem of desirability.  Keep in mind my little soap box here is my opinion and this blog is to incite discussion and  opinions - opinions are good, gratifying and educational to all who read them.  I digress; I have meandered off my chosen topic.

My curiosity this week lies in the socio economic class structure that emerges and the varying belief system that guides the growth and evolution of the organization.  So I have come to this - this is the interactive portion of my submission this week.  Tell me, do you think that members with greater financial resources are more of the Purist, Fantasy, or Bawdy genre?  Do you feel that the use of such financial resources impacts other members?  Please, Discuss and if you would like to see a topic discussed, please feel free to email me so that I may research a view point and material.