Who's In Charge Here, Anyway?

[femkes_follies]

I'm feeling a bit rant-y. More incendiary material is heavily filtered. ;-)

So, we've discussed a bit about what constitutes expectations of Royalty. Much of which was (interestingly) phrased in the form of what they should NOT be doing.

Which brings us to - what happens if they are? Whose job is it to say "Your Majesty, you're being an a**hole"? And when does it need saying?

What is the average SCAdian to do? Do you just hunker down for 6 months and hope the next reign is better? Or speak up?

Would you, and how would you, address:

1. Routine lateness to events and insistence on holding things up until Their arrival.

2. Hanging out in the Royalty Room with Their own Peeps and not Sitting in State or otherwise making themselves available to the populace

3. Screwing up the entire event schedule, causing feast to be held (or ruined!), to make time for the aforementioned hanging out, or off site trips for various reasons, or other shenanigans

4. Disregarding all other activities but their own interests

5. Rare attendance at events at all or rarely leaving their own local area

6. Public dressing down of event staff for perceived flaws in the event

7. Extreme nepotism - friends/family/household members put into authority positions they're clearly not suited for

8. Demands of donations/services/special treatment above and beyond what would normally be expected (You have to comp all of our staff, We need crash space for 25 people, everybody needs to bring as X yds of silk cloth for our Coronation garb, etc.)

Some things may have sounded like a good idea at the time, but turned out to be a powder keg. But others are just plain self-centered, power mad insanity.

Add your own Royal Foible, if you're inclined, and speak to how you would address it

Comments

[tattycat]

Royal foibles I'd like to never see happen ever again: cancelling all the order meetings during a reign because you're "too busy" to attend them. Refusing to induct people into an order because no one was added to the polling at the meeting you didn't hold and therefore you want to punish the order for "not doing their job." Not showing up to the meetings that the order heads call anyway because they're obligated to. Showing up to court drunk. Handing out calling cards that look like the dog chewed on them at an A&S event to which you sent your retinue so you could sleep in.

[femkes_follies]

Wow. Well, I wish I could pretend to be surprised. You get the occasional gem - and the occasional dud. Love the NFL fan variety. *eye roll*

I AM sort of hoping this is a compiled list and not all one couple, though.

[tattycat]

Four couples, happily. I guess happily. Anyway, less concentrated fail.

[femkes_follies]

It does sort of boggle, doesn't it? I've been in some Royalty Rooms that just leave me permanently scarred. One wonders if ANYBODY in there is thinking.

One glorious example was a couple who kept telling the boffer marshal to hold the children's tournament because they wanted to be present. All day. While they dinked around. End result - the kids never got to play.

[chargirlgenius]

What she said.

As for how to address it, I have written emails to TRMs, but never with any success. In one case, I wrote an email to the queen, since the king was such a lunk head I knew I'd never get anywhere. Still didn't really make a difference.

I'm at the point where I usually just ignore the royalty about as much as I can. I couldn't tell you the name of ours, right now. That part of my game is just turned off, for a while.

[tattycat]

I do, but only because of the latest polling email. About which I have Opinions.

[femkes_follies]

Or is that Opinions(TM)?

[chargirlgenius]

Huh. Maybe I should go read it. I'm starting to rethink my involvement in that Order, for now.

[petranella]

As the autocrat of the event I have told royals to get their butts out the royalty room and into their chairs or be prepared to pay the $500 late fee we were going to get for being offsite late since said royals were waaay late. It comes down to the fact you only have as much power over people as they grant you so if they want to be dweebs they will be. Some can be reasoned with but the ones who are the most heinous won't be. I believe in karma though and that bad behavior will come back to haunt them later.

[femkes_follies]

It comes down to the fact you only have as much power over people as they grant you so if they want to be dweebs they will be. Again, with the wise words. ;-) True enough. I think it IS easier (often thanks to the heat of righteous indignation) to address out-and-out ass-hattery than it is to deal with mediocrity bordering on dereliction of duty. :-/