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Magic just "feels" different than from a concert setting or whatever else Sammy described. It's actually not when you sit down and compare them point by point, but for me personally, it just has a different feel...
I guess what I'm saying is that DESPITE this feeling, I wouldn't be inclined to be concerned about social issues if I went to a concert, so I probably wouldn't be concerned at a Magic event. I'm just a non-concerned type o' guy...
I guess what I'm saying is that DESPITE this feeling, I wouldn't be inclined to be concerned about social issues if I went to a concert, so I probably wouldn't be concerned at a Magic event. I'm just a non-concerned type o' guy...
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rkoelsch
Guest
I don't think that Sammy's article would have been published. But that is one of the good things about the CPA that not only are we concerned about the game but we are concerned for the Magic community. I am probably too pessimistic to have much hope for Magic as a community to become involved in anything of value. I particularly like his suggestion of running a tournament where part of the entry fee was food stuffs. I feel this is a very doable idea. But I do not have the faith in the magic community to put the effort into such an endeavor. Not when I see people celebrating about how they got a valuable card off of some unsuspecting schmoe.
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arhar
Guest
I think comparing punk music community and Magic-playing community in an "awareness" sense is a little odd to do. Punk music is all about politics, the lyrics are about social issues, etc... So it comes naturally that people who love that kind of music "care". And Magic community, on the other hand, is composed of entirely different individuals that may have absolutely nothing in common, except Magic. A lot of us do care, donate to charity, volunteer at voter registration, etc, but do this outside of Magic.
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Sammy Dead-O
Guest
Thanks for taking the time to read it and respond, y'all.
Spidey: Yes, the feel is different. For me, though, the feel doesn't exclude social awareness as I approached it in the article. I'm sure the atmosphere varies greatly from one area to another; hopefully I'm not just dead wrong in thinking that my ideas are compatible with the Magic environment.
rkoelsch: You're probably right; I'm grateful that it was put up here. And I know exactly how you feel, even if I'm not as pessimistic about it. The aura of greed that emanates from some Magic events can be outright depressing, but I'm sure there's a way to harness the other polarity.
arhar: I definitely see your point. The roots of the punk movement have social and political ties. Still, I've found the punk music community to have varying degrees of social involvement. Skinheads running into each other to the Bouncing Souls' "I Like Your Mom" doesn't have much to do with awareness. But somewhere in the room, there's probably someone who is a part of that "involved" punk crowd. There's a mix that I think the Magic scene can achieve as well, and we don't have to keep it separated from the cards.
Please understand that I wasn't trying to generalize about Magic players as being uncaring people in general. I was just writing about a hope that we could come to include some obvious caring in our community activities. If we could orient part of our scene toward social awareness (just as part of the punk community leans) then we can catch the people who become a part of Magic's social structure and basically like to hang out and do what the rest of the scene is doing. If helping can become a simple part of what we do with our friends in the Magic scene, then...well...then that'd be a great thing.
Spidey: Yes, the feel is different. For me, though, the feel doesn't exclude social awareness as I approached it in the article. I'm sure the atmosphere varies greatly from one area to another; hopefully I'm not just dead wrong in thinking that my ideas are compatible with the Magic environment.
rkoelsch: You're probably right; I'm grateful that it was put up here. And I know exactly how you feel, even if I'm not as pessimistic about it. The aura of greed that emanates from some Magic events can be outright depressing, but I'm sure there's a way to harness the other polarity.
arhar: I definitely see your point. The roots of the punk movement have social and political ties. Still, I've found the punk music community to have varying degrees of social involvement. Skinheads running into each other to the Bouncing Souls' "I Like Your Mom" doesn't have much to do with awareness. But somewhere in the room, there's probably someone who is a part of that "involved" punk crowd. There's a mix that I think the Magic scene can achieve as well, and we don't have to keep it separated from the cards.
Please understand that I wasn't trying to generalize about Magic players as being uncaring people in general. I was just writing about a hope that we could come to include some obvious caring in our community activities. If we could orient part of our scene toward social awareness (just as part of the punk community leans) then we can catch the people who become a part of Magic's social structure and basically like to hang out and do what the rest of the scene is doing. If helping can become a simple part of what we do with our friends in the Magic scene, then...well...then that'd be a great thing.
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Slug man
Guest
I don't really have much to say, except I just joined as a user. Yeah!! The article seemed interesting. My school ran a tournament and we raised £50 for charity. So it can work.
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Sammy Dead-O
Guest
...to the CPA, Slug man! You might want to introduce yourself over in the New Members forum.
I'm glad to hear some folks responding with examples of the Magic community's good works. Thanks.
I'm also realizing that I went at a few things from the wrong angle in the article. I'm about to discuss this as an article reply.
I'm glad to hear some folks responding with examples of the Magic community's good works. Thanks.
I'm also realizing that I went at a few things from the wrong angle in the article. I'm about to discuss this as an article reply.
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fuzzy510
Guest
Sammy brings up a good point. Who wouldn't play in a tourney if the entry fee was a couple of cans of green beans? Why don't stores with packs that they can't sell give them away in tourneys and donate the entry fee to charity?
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Thallid Ice Cream Man
Guest
Because most of them are either just large corporate entities who wouldn't do something like that if they couldn't get national publicity for it, or stores that have remained in one place for a while and are unlikely to give anything away. The store where I go now is like the second category, but I used to go to a store that fit the first. Obviously there are exceptions, and I would encourage them whole-heartedly, but I wouldn't expect some store that doesn't get at least 30% of its sales from Magic (that's probably a little low) to do something like that. The store where I go now probably contains at least some tournament players, but no famous ones, so they might be so snide that they wouldn't do something like that as it would be "stupid"... or maybe I'm biased. Also, the owner of the store isn't a jerk, so while I could suggest it at my local shop, it would really be overstepping my bounds.
Is Ura still here? From what I remember he runs/ran a card shop...
Is Ura still here? From what I remember he runs/ran a card shop...