I should probably remain silent, because I suppose the world has moved on from the bad old days when peerage elevations were still about the people being elevated, but I'll be straight up and say that I think that the whole business has gotten WAY out of hand in the last decade.
I had someone I adore tell me that this was all very healthy custom, and that the whole thing is quaintly about 'initiation'. Uh...okay. Whatever. It's a little more than a little offensive to me to hear getting a Peerage equated with any of the initiations that I have gone through.
Ekat, you can put the brakes on anything about this that makes you uncomfortable. That is your right. It's not a matter of trusting your friends, or not, it is just a matter of whether the process you undergo here reflects you or not. I don't think that there has to be some last-licks 'test'(or maybe the proper word is 'hazing') to make you a peer, or even a good one. Good peers are ethical, hardworking people who have, and continue to make meaningful contributions in their areas of expertise. It's in their blood.
If the Crown intends to elevate you, all you have to do is show up at the ceremony, wearing the clothes that you wore that got you the accolade(and perhaps borrow a radio and a golf cart), and remember to say "Thank you" at the end.
The things that I don't like about peerage elevations boils down to one simple thing: things being done that take the glory of the moment away from the person being elevated. There are a lot of competitive elements in the way vigils are held that I believe have no place there.
But hey, I think it's fabulous that you're being made a Pelican. You do deserve it.
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2008-05-28 10:24 pm (UTC)I had someone I adore tell me that this was all very healthy custom, and that the whole thing is quaintly about 'initiation'. Uh...okay. Whatever. It's a little more than a little offensive to me to hear getting a Peerage equated with any of the initiations that I have gone through.
Ekat, you can put the brakes on anything about this that makes you uncomfortable. That is your right. It's not a matter of trusting your friends, or not, it is just a matter of whether the process you undergo here reflects you or not. I don't think that there has to be some last-licks 'test'(or maybe the proper word is 'hazing') to make you a peer, or even a good one. Good peers are ethical, hardworking people who have, and continue to make meaningful contributions in their areas of expertise. It's in their blood.
If the Crown intends to elevate you, all you have to do is show up at the ceremony, wearing the clothes that you wore that got you the accolade(and perhaps borrow a radio and a golf cart), and remember to say "Thank you" at the end.
The things that I don't like about peerage elevations boils down to one simple thing: things being done that take the glory of the moment away from the person being elevated. There are a lot of competitive elements in the way vigils are held that I believe have no place there.
But hey, I think it's fabulous that you're being made a Pelican. You do deserve it.