Musing on psychic influences

[jducoeur]

So last night was the big schmooze on the subject of the Carolingian Boroughs -- a sort of combination debrief, philosophical roundtable and planning session for the fall. I thought it was quite useful, not least in that it got lots of new ideas on the table, both about why several of the boroughs have had specific issues in recent years, and things we might adjust to help.

One subject that came up repeatedly, though (and this is really the main point of this posting) was the little mismatches between implicit Carolingian assumptions and the way the typical college student thinks these days. For example:

-- The Touchy-Feely Thing. A point that was echoed by all of the younger members there was that the "hugginess" of Carolingia can be very offputting to a lot of potential members, especially female ones. On one level this isn't anything new, but it seems to be more striking now than it used to be, and a bigger problem. Many members of the Barony have spent many years internalizing a touch-oriented culture, while the student world has apparently gotten rather more conservative in this respect.

-- Getting Off Campus. When I was in college, it was pretty normal to wander afield -- Fenmere may have done so more than many social circles, but we weren't unusual in feeling that the campus was destitute of worthwhile things to do. Nowadays, though, it seems to be remarkably difficult to get students off-campus for activities like ours. A point repeated several times was that many schools are turning themselves into little arcologies, emphasizing that It's Dangerous Out There and trying to make themselves as self-sufficient as possible.

None of this is really intended to start a big Borough argument; these subtle shifts are simply things we're going to have to adapt to if we want to stay viable, and we had a useful discussion of how they might be addressed. (Hopefully with more success than some prior attempts.) But the examination of how we have to adjust to shifts in mundane culture did remind me of a speculation that's been running through my head for a while.

It would be really interesting to see how the ebbs and flows of mundane politics affect clubs on a mental level. It's hard to separate my own headspace from the larger scene, but I don't seem to be the only one who has observed that Carolingia, and perhaps the East in general, is just a little *crankier* these days than it used to be. And y'know, I'm forced to wonder how much of that is internalizing the external influences.

I mean, we are a fundamentally romantic club. Historical accuracy is a lovely goal, but the SCA was created mainly from a romanticised view of history, and most people who join do so with that sort of view in mind. But we do not live in romantic times. Certainly up here in Central Blueland, there's a certain grim tension underlying everything these days. Does that feed back into the SCA? Is it just a little harder to throw your heart into romantic notions when romanticism feels like an unaffordable luxury in mundane life?

I dunno. This is, as it says, an idle half-formed musing lurking in the back of my head, and there are so many factors in play that it's hard to separate them. But it does rather feel to me like there is some connection there...

Comments

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

Touchy-feely can be addressed directly, if not completely, by simply explaining it as a group culture thing which a new person does not have to adopt. If you tell a new person that Carolingians tend to hug on short notice, they'll know it's just that, not that they're being touched with a sexual agenda, or something. And if they're forewarned, it probably won't bother them as much. I suppose our roots in the counter-culture of the 60s are showing.

I can't answer the Campus Insularity issue well. Wellesley was fairly insular in my day (class of 87) but there was the regular bus to MIT, and I wasn't the sort to let that stop me from like minds. But I'm 40 now and the people you're concerned about are 20, and I don't pretend I understand what it's like.

[jducoeur]

Touchy-feely can be addressed directly, if not completely, by simply explaining it as a group culture thing which a new person does not have to adopt.

Problem is, as a few people pointed out, making such a comment itself has significant effects. If you tell your potential newbies (from their possible POV), "Well, there are some creepy people, but you can just ignore them", that isn't going to endear the club to them. It's a very tricky and subtle point to make -- doing so in a way that doesn't in itself act as a turnoff isn't easy...

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

Ok, how about the other direction? "Don't hug the newbies!"

[jducoeur]

A bit baldly put, but yes -- essentially that point was made, that we need to make sure the older members are at least sensitive to the issue...

[hfcougar.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, there are some that are touching with a sexual/romantic agenda, or who act enough like they are (and that is where it gets tricky, isn't it) that it makes people just as uncomfortable. I struggle with fielding this issue constantly because, frankly, one of the biggest "offenders" on the latter count is also one of my best friends. Groups like the SCA (or any groups in greater fandom) tend to attract the socially unskilled, and many people start out not knowing just how the flirting game is played.

It's a mutual thing - the new people have to be alerted to certain facets of our culture and how participation is completely optional, but the established people also need to be clued in that as far as borough folk go, the tide is ever-changing.

And some people will simply be too shy and fearful and unassertive to tell strange older people (especially younger women telling older men) to stop their behavior, especially if that behavior seems publicly supported by everyone else. I know this because I am one of them.

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

My memories of being a Felding involve fleeing campus as often as possible (class of '90). Maybe those years were odd for Felding, but they shaped my impression of what it meant to be in a borough.

[jducoeur]

And I must note: that was what I think of as the highest point of Felding in the years I've been around. How much the students get off campus has a remarkable impact, in many ways.

(BTW, I still have the Felding Taxi Corps tag hanging from my car mirror. One of those reminders of what really matters...)

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

It's both heartwarming and sad to hear that we were the high point of Felding. I mean, it's cool to hear that you and your friends did really well, but if that means that the borough has been incredibly inactive since you left...

(I'm pretty sure the Felding Taxi Corps was radegund_lj's brainchild, and a wonderful brainchild it was, too!)

[dreda.livejournal.com]

Felding Taxi Corps? Ooh, what's this? Always trying to figure out a graceful way to get carless people to car-required places...

[jenwrites.livejournal.com]

It was a silly award that we gave out to all the folks who had given us copious rides over the years. Back at the Fool's Event in 1989, we handed out yellow and black checkered favors in thanks :D

[jducoeur]

Nothing as official as it sounds, I'm afraid. This was really a retroactive recognition of me and alexx_kay, who spent a lot of several years driving Felding to and fro.

I think the main lesson I draw from it is that there's nothing quite so effective as having friends with cars and the explicit willingness to use them...

[mermaidlady]

Colin Ursell was also a member of the Corps. And he shuttled his fellow Fenmerians around too. It was a hassle to get anywhere from Brandeis.