Re: [Mid] "Inappropriate" belts

Dmitrii and Finnvar both said they are bothered by the abuse some folks
get for wearing belts which are not restricted by law. I feel a bit
torn by this. I think sometimes it depends why. There are always people
who wear it to try to make it look like they have a position they do
not, in the same way that some folks will occasionally wear a
suggestive coronet, or something like that. I think these folks deserve
everything they get.

Nor do I necessarily agree that it shouldn't be checked on. Some of the
weirder laws in the Middle exist because folks didn't consider custom
binding enough. So they did things that were against custom but weren't
technically illegal, and got away with it. Then Crowns and Curias had
to make laws to enforce what should not have needed to be made law in
the first place. I think it is perfectly okay to expect that customs of
dress be respected. I would think very badly indeed of someone who
knowing wore a belt that would represent a relationship to many people
that they did not have. On the other hand, I do expect that those who
request the customs be respected do so in a courteous manner.

I earned my ranks, and take their responsibilities seriously. My image
as a peer will be judged in part by the actions of my fellow peers.
Part of why we select members carefully is to be sure we can trust them
to fulfill the responsibilities of the rank in a positive way. When I
was a protoge, I was judged by similar standards. People who wore
yellow belts and behaved like toadying, power-hungry idiots made me
look bad. If someone is wearing things which symbolize something they
don't have, can I really trust them to behave in a way that will
reflect well on those of us who have earned the symbols? If you wear
the not-resticted-by-law belts, and want me to respect your right to do
so, what about my right to consider them restricted by custom and
expect you to respect that?

This is one of those areas with no absolute right or absolute wrong.
Luckily enough, most of us are courteous and tolerant enough to allow
both sides to co-exist.

Garlanda
From: kms3@ix.netcom.com (Kellene Stets)
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Received on Thu Jan 8 22:19:50 1998