[Ansteorra] Group Status Changes

[Paul DeLisle]

Sigh...
Good-my-lord Hugh... I have been reading this thread for quite awhile. I was
going to stay silent, but I must make a few observations. 
While I appreciate your well-intended attempts to understand and/or critique
the current situation; someone needs to point out that you Simply Don't Get
It.

Speaking as someone who has lived for long periods of time in both a large
SCA group in a Metropolitan area (Bryn Gwlad/Austin, where I received my
White Scarf & Iris); and in the exact opposite type of area in the Western
Region (Rosenfeld/Tyler & Mendersham/Abilene; where I received my Star, and
was the Western Regional Seneschal) I think I am thoroughly (if not
singularly) qualified to comment on this situation.

Until you have lived in such an area, you cannot understand the challenges
that face these groups. 
First off, you have the lack of available population to draw your new
members from. Most of the Western region (and many other areas) are (for the
most part) wide-spread and under-populated. This adds additional complexity
to everything from Fighter practice to attending Kingdom-level events
(especially in this era of $4/gallon gasoline.) 
I remember, many years ago, seeing a poll in TI, asking how far you would go
to a Major Kingdom-level event. The answer choices ranged from less than 10
miles to over fifty miles. Everyone who saw it (around here) laughed.... in
the Western Region, people travel 100 miles to go to *fighter practice!*
Dedicated folks, eh? ...How does *your* dedication stack up compared to
that?

This area is also economically depressed. Pay is lower; jobs are primarily
blue-collar, and these people often don't have a lot of ready cash to "throw
away" on a hobby as intense and potentially expensive as the SCA.

In addition, the SCA is regarded as far more of a "fringe" group in these
areas than in, say, HOUSTON. (I actually had one Lady ask me (in a
frightened voice) at a Demo if this was some sort of religion...) That makes
it difficult to recruit. The attitude is pervasive...even in a city that has
3 Universities (Abilene... but they are all *Christian* universities; with
all of the built-in repression and intolerance that image invokes.)

Finally, the few people who *are* interested in What We Do...the Dreamers,
the folks who want to Beat People With Sticks, The ones who thought that
Ivanhoe or the Three Musketeers were the ultimate movies; the Historical
re-enactor wanna-bes, and all of those who we gather under our umbrella of
The Dream (tm)...
Those people (for the most part) want nothing more than to shake the dust of
West Texas off of their boots, and move someplace civilized!
So, we are left with a few people tied to the area...doing the same jobs
over and over (when was the last time *you* were a local officer for ten
years' straight?) *shrug* People get tired. 

So...with all of this against them; of *course* it makes perfect Business
sense for Ansteorra to cut their losses, and liquidate the Western Region...

.....Except that we AREN'T a Business. We are (or *were*) much more than
that. It is a place where we can share a concept of honor, of chivalry, of
courtesy. A place where we call people we may see a few week-ends a year
"Family." A place where some Shmoe who hasn't played in years can break down
in the middle of nowhere (in the Western Region, thank-you-very-much); and
still be able to call around to people they know, and get rescued, with
several hours of driving involved for the rescuer... BTW, that Schmoe was me
(and my Lady)... My thanks and Wordfame go out to their Excellencies Chiang
and Gavin... they saved our bacon!)

But the Crown and the Seneschal apparently don't see it that way. The
Western region is not a *possi*bility that needs help, but a *lia*bility
that needs removing, because they are Inconvenient. All of the potential
that is buried in the Western Region; all of the Peers, and Crowns, and even
just the everyday populace that make events worth going to...the ones who
were desperately looking for a bunch of weirdo dreamers who (also) believe
in stupid ideas like noblesse oblige, and honor...those that never were (and
never will-be) are heaped at your feet; because
TheNonProfitOrganizationThatIsTheSCA can't be bothered with such trivia.
Good business decision, guys. You have my derision.

As someone pointed out in an earlier post...when one cannot trust their
leaders, and it's no longer fun....it's time to stop playing. 

As I have done.

I still carry Ansteorra in my heart, and always will...but apparently, what
I carry is not what exists now. And so...I cling to the memories....and sigh
for what has been lost.

In Service, I (still) remain
Alden Pharamond
Ansteorra


> With the respect, this sounds more like an issue with local officers by
> your missive. In my local area we utilize with great effect the
> collective experience of our "circle of elders". Our officers handle
> their duties as per Kingdom mandate, if an officer has an issue and is
> unsure if they are handling their office correctly, well that is why
> they have an upline and handbooks are online for written guidance. With
> growth, membership and economics the way they stand at this moment I
> would believe this course of action was the last option available to
> protect the Kingdom as a whole from unnecessary hardship. We should all
> try to remember that on the upper end of this game that we play, we
> have to fulfill certain obligations to the US Government for our non-
> profit status. Just as WE have to fulfill our duties to the Kingdom to
> retain our status as local groups.
> 
> Life is a fluid environment you have to be able to swim or you will
> surely drown.
> 
> 
> YIS,
> Lord Hugh Killingbury
> Steward Gate's Edge Harvest End
> Stargate Baronial Waterbearer