NR - Regional Identity

[Rebecca M. Heydon]

For most of the time I have played in Ansteorra, the power base of our
kingdom has been in Texas, South Texas.  There have been exceptions here and
there but most of the Great Officers of State seem to be predominantly from
Texas most of the time.  As I look through my current Blackstar, there
is not one Great Officer listed as residing in Oklahoma.  When I look at the
deputies to these kingdom officers, there are two Oklahomans holding deputy
positions out of roughly 46 listed.  As Merrik mentioned in an earlier post,
one of the things we heard over and over again at Pennsic this year was how
great Ansteorra was because Ansteorra was Texas.  (And many of those who
kept voicing this opinion were members of the Chivalry).  When I and my
household sisters helped put together the Royal gift baskets at Pennsic with
H.E. Lorraine and others, one of the items in the
collections of goodies was a bumper sticker that promoted the wonders of
Texas.  No mention of Oklahoma at all.  It was as if the northern half of
the kingdom didn't exist.

Do I feel somewhat slighted?  Yes.  Do I not feel a part of my kingdom?  To
some extent, yes.  How can I not?  Merrik and I travel as much as we are
able.  We have attended many events in Steppes, we have travelled to Three
Kings, we have gone to Crown Tournaments and Coronations.  We have attended
numerous Gulf Wars and Pennsics.  We have good friends from Texas and some
of them have reciprocated the distance issue by coming to Northkeep events
and/or Northern sponsored events.  However, it was once pointed out to me
that the geographic center of our kingdom is roughly the Houston area--i.e.
Stargate.  For those of us in the far Northern reaches of the kingdom,
that's about a 10 (+/-) hour trip when stops, gasoline, food and toll lines
are all added in.  (For others, I know, your time will vary)  In order to
attend a Stargate event, we end up leaving between 5 and 6 p.m. at best.  We
hopefully get to site around 4:30 or 5 a.m.  We pitch camp, catch a few
hours of sleep, fight, socialize, enjoy, then head to bed early.   We're
then up early enough to leave between 8 and 9 a.m. so we can have some time
at home to organize ourselves, family and pets for the upcoming week and
catch up on some sleep.  Any serious player runs a very good risk of
becoming road pizza if s/he does this most weekends.  If nothing else, a 10
hour drive to get merely halfway across the kingdom suggests to me that the
kingdom is too big, plain and simple.  (Indeed, for some of the people I
spoke with at Pennsic, the distance to events in the North was what kept
many of them away).

Aside from just distance, the other issue that always seems to come up is
how different we do things up here in the North.  It's not better or worse,
just different, as Sir Burke pointed out.
>From my perspective, fostering a sense of Northern identity may be what we
need to become a more active part of the kingdom--or at least viewed that
way by our Southern bretheren.  Of the great number of Ansteorrans I spoke
with at Pennsic this year, the general thread that ran through our
"political" discussions was that the groups in the North seem very
individually insular.  The fact that we have two events with the name
Northern Regional in them is viewed as a very positive sign.  It means we
can work together.  It means that personal agendas have been pushed aside
for the greater good.  It means we are growing.  And as it has been said,
without growth, there is stagnation and death.

I understand the concern voiced by some that creating a Northern identity is
tantemount to creating a state separate from the rest of Ansteorra.  I
understand that there is a fear that we, as Northerners, would participate
less and less in Southern sponored events, venturing south only to attend
Coronations, Crown tourneys or Red Tape meetings.  I don't think this has to
be the case at all.  I'd certainly not travel any less if the North became
terribly closeknit.  If anything, I'd probably travel more so I could show
the rest of the kingdom what my Barony and region do in support of Ansteorra
and the game we ALL play:  the SCA.

For my part, I will continue to support the North and its events.  I will
continue to travel to the South for Red Tape Meetings, for Crown
Tournaments, for Coronations, for other events just to have fun.  I will
continue to apply for positions I am qualified for in the Kingdom
bureaucratic structure.  As it seems that there are a fair number of
individuals who are interested in creating a much more defined Northern
identity, I'd like to see that grow.  I certainly respect those who have
misgivings or apprehensions about working towards such a goal.  However, I
think it's time to try a new approach so that everyone believes Ansteorra is
great because it's Texas AND Oklahoma.

Rowan

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