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Section 2.....Keepin' Goin'


Oh Yuck - A Turon!

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No, it's not skinning bucks............ Developed and maintained by JP Finn


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Oh Yuck! A Touron!

By

Phil Jose



What I intend to do in this article is dispel a rather general and often obnoxious misconception. It’s one that I’d like to see stemmed in you, the up and coming “generation” of reenactors. It leads into bad habits, ill feelings, a poor presentation of our way of life, and an over-inflated sense of superiority at another’s expense. So pilgrims, listen up.

I think that anyone would agree that any disparaging nickname given to any group based on how we perceive that group is a bad thing. I know that there’s a few of ‘em out there that sure rile me, and I’ll bet the same holds true with you. Yet time and again, I’ve seen reenactors casually dismiss the flatlander/visitor/tourist wandering through camp as a “touron.” For those of you who haven’t heard this term before, let me define it: A touron is a gene-splice between a tourist and a moron. Just the principle of the Golden Rule should keep words like that forever banished from your everyday vocabulary.

There’s a few unfortunate exceptions-the know-it-alls who will pompously assert that you’re wrong by citing what he saw in a movie, the wiseguys who don’t know and don’t care, yet insist on poking fun at you, or the folks of such delicate feeling that they just can’t bear to see an animal skin that’s not keeping a live animal wrapped together- that give tourists a bad name. Part of what we do is to educate, and the folks I’ve just described just don’t care to be educated.

But let’s get back to that vast majority of folks in the shorts and tee shirts: Treat ‘em gently. I know there are going to be times when it’s an incredible annoyance to answer the same ol’ questions time and again, but remember that those questions are asked in ignorance. A lot of the heritage that we’re trying to maintain through our way of life just isn’t being taught in school anymore. Remember: It’s no disgrace to be ignorant. It’s staying that way that’s disgraceful. So when you show a little forbearance and once more answer those basic questions civilly and patiently, you’re helping someone just a might.

And while you’re still at that Just Barely Past a Flatlander Stage yourself, I want you to consider something else. When you’re talking to a flatlander, you might just be talking to a potential reenactor. First he showed enough interest to show up, then he showed a little extra interest by walking up to a total stranger and starting a conversation. So that means that conditions are right, and there’s a one in a zillion chance that you’re possibly talking to a future camp buddy. Now quickly! Think: Would you have pursued this way of life if you had run into a bunch of folks who were smug and patronizing? If you’re really honest with yourself, I’ll bet you said “no.” Being around such people is a mighty poor way to spend your free time.

That sort of attitude has an annoying way of spilling over onto fellow reenactors as well. It’s a sad fact of camp life that you’ll run into a few over-the-top types. They’ll be willing to argue with you that the stripe on your shirt should be a half inch wider, because they can document the fact beyond dispute, or tell you that you shouldn’t use the sort of knot you’re using to tie down your dining fly because “they” wouldn’t. (Of course, if you ask them if they can document beyond dispute the fact that “their” dining flies stayed up in strong wind gusts, you’re gonna get a rather disgusted look.)

I’ve been coming to camp dressed right for about five years. In that time, I’ve seen very few people with “God’s Gift to Truth and Enlightenment” tattooed across their forehead. Those who I have seen with it, I kinda suspect that they scratched it there themselves. I leave ‘em alone.

Keep in mind a few things:
1. We all start out ignorant.
2. We all remain ignorant until we gather some facts.
3. We're all ignorant about something.

If you want to test out the first two points, just think back over the last year or so on some of the questions you’ve had to ask the more seasoned folks in camp. (Did someone have to tell you that yes, they really lived in their tent for the whole weekend, or did you figure it out for yourself?)

If you want to test the final point, take some time, say three or four years. In that time, study everything you can about your era, from the clothing you’d wear, to the food you’d eat, to the overall political situation of the world. Read every book you can get your hands on, attend every seminar. Become a walking reenacting encyclopaedia. Then attend a discussion on quantum mechanics. See what I mean?

I’ll close by doing something that I normally try to avoid. I’m going to repeat myself on the proper care and handling of flatlanders: Treat ‘em gently. When John Q. Public asks a basic question, it’s not an ignorant question. It’s a question asked in ignorance, and that’s a big difference. It’s also the easiest form of ignorance to cure. A little information does the trick. The reenactor who looks down upon the flatlander from some self-styled lofty peak displays a much greater form of ignorance, one that’s way harder to cure. That’s the ignorance displayed in the feeling of one’s own superiority.

Copyright 2000, Philip Jose.

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