Greetings from Ealdred of Malmesbury!
To start my first missive, I would like to thank their then-Majesties Yngvar II and Luce II, my predecessor The Honorable Lord Eysteinn meinfretr (called William), and the Stallari Council for the trust they have shown in me. I hope with all my heart that I never give them cause to regret it.
As a local Seneschal, I learned that my job was to create the infrastructure, the place, where people can live this “Dream” we call the SCA. Whether it was to help a shire member find someone to answer their questions, or provide a garage and ALL my tools for projects, or helping to defuse conflicts between members. My job was to make a place where everyone could grow as much as they wanted to.
Now I get to do that on a Kingdom level. One of the great joys of the SCA is the wide range of people who come together to play. From conservative Christians, to practitioners of Wicca, to those who hold no belief at all and everythingin between. From those who are rich to those who barely get by, and from the left of political spectrum to the right. All of us can join together to have fun and learn.
This past six months have seen events in the Known World that shook that unity. In looking at them, one of the core problems seems that people forgot the basics of respect,that when it comes to “race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability or other traits”, we need to put away those things that cut and smash and divide and eventually destroy the fellowship we have in seeking this Dream.
I don’t mean creating a bland, watered down, colorless, least-common-denominator SCA. I still want those challenging conversations around a bonfire while enjoying a refreshing beverage. I just want to do it with people that may not always see “eye to eye” but do always respect each other.
If you haven’t read it yet, please take a minute and read the updated Society Policy on Hate Speech at http://socsen.sca.org/updated-hate-speechlanguage/.
Ealdred