ANST - P-word

[Keith Hood]

I'm falling behind in my work.  Her's some things I didn't get around to
earlier:

If the problem is the workload on the kingdom officers, principalities
are not the answer.  Adding more political divisions will not increase
the resources available to those trying to do the work of management. 
Creating a principality will not create more people who have the time,
and knowledge, and willingness all three, to manage it.  Those who would
be capable of doing it still have the same old problems:  mundane job
requirements, kids to take care of, low on money, etc.

Yes, there would be less paperwork and fewer names on the lists.  But
there would still be lots of arguments in each group over what the group
should do, and the time needed to hash out issues will not be
signicantly less.  The time needed to perform the legwork in nailing
down event sites, or coordinating transportation, will not change.

It has been argued that having principalities would ease the competition
for event sites and dates.  Actually, it would get worse.  There are
still only so many weekends with good event weather, and only so many
campgrounds and parks that fit SCA tournament needs.  The event
schedules of the baronies, shires, cantons, ridings, or whatever, in
every principality, would still be driven by SCA rules--they would still
be required to put on their regular events, regardless of whatever would
be done at principality level.  The people running the principalities of
course would also want to put on principality-level events.  And if the
principalities would still be a part of this kingdom, doesn't that mean
they would be required to also host kingdom-level events?

The upshot is that the smaller units' needs for dates and sites will not
be changed, and the need for sites/dates for principality-level events
would be added to theirs.  Tournament goers would still be forced to
choose between competing events.  And, human nature being what it is,
the social pressure on people to stay inside their group and support the
'home town' events would be worse than ever.

I suppose that principalities could set up things so that their subunits
consolidate events, so they require fewer weekends.  That can be done
right now, without creating principalities.

-- 
A long bow and a strong bow,
And let the sky grow dark.
The nock to the cord, the shaft to the ear,
And a foreign king for a mark!

      --  Stolen from "The Song of the Bosonian Archers"  --
		     by Robert E. Howard, who should be		    
		       the patron saint of Ansteorra
============================================================================
Go to http://www.ansteorra.org/lists.html to perform mailing list tasks.