Rules, legitimate and otherwise

At mountainman rendezvous the one rule you can always count on is "Nothing visible in camp which wasn't invented until after 1840". The rule is so standard that it is often shortened to "Pre-1840 rules apply".

There is some leeway given for medical necessity. Modern glasses frames might be frowned upon, but no one is likely to rip them off your face and stomp them. A rendezvous is, after all, an armed society, and we all know how polite those are.

If a person is making an effort, people will not usually push the issue. Don't carry around beer in a can, but pour it into a tin cup... cover your camera with a bit of deer skin or a canvas bag... if you sleep on an air mattress, cover the thing with canvas, a wool blanket, or a buffalo robe if it can be seen through the open door of your shelter... leave the cigarettes in your lodge, smoke a clay pipe if you need to smoke... things like that. And, for goodness sake, no plastic!

Of course, some people are compelled to see what they can get away with. They'll bring something invented before 1840, but not seen in the mountains until decades later- just because it's technically permitted. Some people ignore the rules, even after being "reminded". Occasionally, the non-compliant will be kicked out of camp.

I like the rule. I know it exists before I decide to attend. If I am not willing to live by the rule, I can choose to stay home or go somewhere else.

I wouldn't impose this rule on society, saying that if you choose to stay, you must live by this rule- staying implies consent. Nor would I claim if I managed to impose the rule before you were born, being born here means you have implicitly agreed to the rule.

It's the same with other onerous rules that I didn't agree to.

This includes your Constitution, anti-gun "laws", prohibition, "taxes", etc.

I never agreed to those rules. Neither did most other people. They were imposed. They are said to apply from now on- or until the "authorities" change them. No leeway for necessity is usually given unless you are a member of "the club". Reminders are at the point of a gun.

This isn't civilized. It is the opposite of a society. Take your rules and ... well, you know the rest.

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