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On On,
Flying Booger

Hazukashii's E-mail:

Fuk Stik,

I guess your hash has the hat RULE. What is the big deal about wearing a hat in the circle? Of the 100+ kennels I have had the pleasure to hash with this is only a big deal in North America, and North American dominated hashes abroad. It is not a big deal in Malaysia. The older kennels don't care . . . i.e. Seoul H3, DCH3, Okinawa H3 (at least when I was there), Mother Hash, etc . . . and I don't recall it being that big of a deal in Europe or Australia.

So what is it with the rule-crazy North Americans? 99% of the folks that don't finish their beverage pour it so far over their head that it ends up on the ground or somebody else anyway.

On On,
Haz

Fuk Stik's reply:

Haz,

You raise a number of different points and I will endeavor to address them all.

First, with regards to folks to don't finish their beverage and who do not WEAR the difference, i.e. for those whom the equation VOLUME(beer) = V(beer consumed) + V(beer dumped on self) is not true. This is an issue which each individual hash must deal with. I know how *I* treat people who repeatedly dump their beer behind their head after not finishing a down-down, but it really comes down to how the GM wishes to enforce it. For example, San Diego hashes (in general) only give out 3-5oz (100-166ml) down-downs and thereby greatly reduce the overall volume of beer "wasted" by people who cannot or will not finish (or wear) their beer.

Secondly, addressing whether headgear is or is not allowed in the circle: Who the fuck cares?

Sure, half (or even three-quarters) or the world doesn't give a toss whether you're wearing a hat in the circle or not, but half of the world's hashes only sing two or three down-down songs. Does it add to the "spice of hashing," so to speak? Sure it does. Every hash is different, and it certainly keeps us on our toes and throws our brains for a loop every time we travel, and I think it's good.

Lastly, are North American hashes "rule crazy"? Well, to be honest, I'd say they are. Unfotunately, this can be very irritating at times, especially given that while some of us think we fully grasp the fact that all hashes are different, we all can still hit a hash that is so different from what we expect that we're thrown for a loop. Some of this is based on the "rules," or more specifically, the "traditions" of a given hash, but some of it is just based on the differences in attributes of the hash we are running with as compared to our mother hash, or the hash with which we learned how to hash.

Personally, I can't count the number of times I've: a) seen folks go to a different hash and try to explain to the other hash what they're doing wrong; b) caught myself getting annoyed at the way a particular circle was going because of the GM's style and/or the differences in traditions (most often, lack of variety in the songs they sing).

This, however, isn't unique to hashing. The same goes for travelling to different countries and experiencing different cultures. A close Aussie friend of mine related his experience of returning to Oz after a few years in the States as "I kept finding myself wanting to tell people how they did this or that in the States, merely because I was so intrigued by the completely different approach taken to any given situation." In short, whenever we first REALLY experience a different hash or culture, we want feel the need to explain to someone all the differences: not because one is right and one is wrong, but because the constrast is so stark. That said, I *have* run with hashes where discussing a different style of hashing is met with animosity: people fear change. This, I expect, is the hardest thing for me to grasp/accept: not that a "RULE" or tradition exists, but that people would be so vehement at enforcing it. To me, the hash has always been a place where everyone was accepted and WELCOMED, regardless of point of view. To be slammed for singing a song differently than the ruling junta does or for singing a song that isn't sung at a particular hash seems lucidrous to me, but that's *my* concept of hashing and I con only hope to show others that there are other styles of hashing than that which they are used to, and, that those other styles aren't bad, just different.

So, what's my point? Well, everyone who is a travelling hasher deals with experiencing a hash which is different from what they are used to, and it's something that makes hashing so unique and wonderful. In fact, whenever I'm explaining the hash to a non-hasher, I really try to emphasize the point "if you don't like the first club you run with, try a different hash," because really, there's a hash for everyone.

But are hats and North American rules annoying and do they take away from the whole idea of hashing? That's a tough one. I think it's a downward spiral to get caught up in rules or traditions, to think that your hash is static and won't change over the course of time. It seems to me that each hash changes when its mismanagement changes: different personalities, different styles of running the circle, different pack makeup or focus of the pack (longer or shorter trails, more or less drinking, more or less socializing, etc.), but some hashes delight in having a core group of traditions which are upheld and which people rely on to give their hash its identity. Again, this is especially true in San Diego where, with 13-plus hashes, there seems to be a need to differentiate one hash from another (again, not that this is bad, it just is). I think being righteous about your traditions can lead to stagnation, keep people from feeling welcome at your hash, and destroy some of what has made hashing a wonderful thing. Then again everything has a time and place, and if I don't say it I'm sure someeone will come back and say that our traditions are all that makes hashing different from Yet Another R*nning Club, as well as keeping every Tom, Dick, and Susan from becoming a hasher and diluting good hasher stock (whatever that means).

Anywho:

Do I find all the intricacies of different rules that North American hashes have, interesting? Yup. Do I get annoyed at 'em? Yup. Do I miss 'em when I go to hashes that don't have any traditions? Yup. Do I wish certain hashes would get over themselves and certain rules that they have so that we could just get down to (what I see as) hashing? Yup. Would I trade all the differences and idiosyncrasies of hashes throughout the globe for anything? Never.

On On,
Fuk Stik