Having no idea what goes on on the "Merry Rose" List...

[femkes_follies]

I'm not sure what the backstory is but:

I happened across this blog today. And decided it was sort of the Polar opposite of how John and I operate in the SCA. We find the local groups available to us to be intensely frustrating. The one we do get on well with is a bit far for regular meetings and such. And so we sort of tend toward Kingdom events and operating at a non-local level.

That might explain something about my current mindset.

Curiouser and curiouser, thought Alice.

Why I could not care less about a principality

June 23rd, 2008 by Ascelyn

The discussion/flame war about forming a principality in northern Atlantia has, happily, been taken off the Merry Rose (the Atlantian kingdom mailing list, for those of you reading from afar) and transferred to a Yahoo! group. After much delay, and with great fear and trepidation, I peaked into the site and found all my fears quite well-founded. I’ve looked back in from time to time since then, skimming through pages of assorted arguments and reading any that look particularly interesting or that were written by people I know. Thank heavens the messages are viewable to non-members, because there’s no way I’m subscribing even to a digest.

Quite frankly, I just don’t care. I mean, I feel really guilty about that, but I just can’t bring myself to get all worked up about it either way. I feel guilty about not following the presidential race as closely as I have in past elections, too, but at least that’s about deciding the fate of our country and, let’s be realistic about this, the world. Some people might hate me for saying this, but the SCA is a pasttime, not life. It’s a game. A game that can teach us a lot, both about history and about life, but it can’t be allowed to become life itself.

If the northern and southern halves of the US were to begin quarreling and one side wanted to take its toys and play elsewhere, I’d be pretty concerned. But while I love my kingdom, and I’m proud to consider myself an Atlantian even with my AEthelmearc address, I’m not going to get involved in this battle. I’ve even dared to think that it might be interesting–and completely period!–if a the chosen prince and princess would try to take their portion of the kingdom and the king and queen would fight back. All in fun, of course, but why be bureaucratic about this when it could be fun instead? Isn’t that why we do this–because it’s fun?

Hey, I know we can’t dare let something like that happen. But I can dream, can’t I? After all, dreaming’s what got me here in the first place.

That’s beside the point, though My point is, that I don’t care. Call me a localist if you want, and tell me that what happens to the kingdom trickles down to affect us as well, but I have enough on my plate trying to get a local group going. Though I might not like it if some kingdom event I want to attend is being held in South Carolina again, I’m much more frustrated by having to drive over an hour just to sit down and break bread with a fellow Scadian. I’ve got work to do here, and it’s far more important to me than a kingdom division ever could be. Plus, I don’t like politics, and the whole “I’m doing this for fun” mentality requires me to avoid pulling my hair out by the handful if at all possible while still serving my barony with honor.

I’m an Atlantian. Someday I might be part of a northern principality, but as long as they don’t raise taxes, I’m perfectly content. Someday I might be part of a canton, and that makes me quite happy. But first and foremost, I’m a loyal servant of the Barony of Highland Foorde, and that I shall forever remain.

…Now I just have to figure out how to say all that succinctly, so that when someone asks me what I think about the principality movement, I don’t just say “I don’t care” and sound like a total loser.

Comments

[tattycat.livejournal.com]

If you happen to be at Pennsic, you should swing by our camp and meet her :)

[tattycat.livejournal.com]

Oh, and. The Merry Rose is Atlantia's all-purpose kingdom email chatter list. Eadric or Miguel would be better persons to fill you in on the back story re: the Northern Principality idea in Atlantia. Like Mallery, I try to stay way away from the whole argument.

[femkederoas.livejournal.com]

Not going to Pennsic :-( = I don't dare camp yet with Anneliese. Nor do I get any vacation time at the moment.

Yeah, the Merry Rose is the Atlantian equivalent of the Middle Bridge. *g* Which I avoid, as it makes me crazy. The same argument has come up regarding various Midrealm provinces at different times - though it never has legs, it seems.

Eadric? Miguel? Point me at?

[tattycat.livejournal.com]

Ugh, Pennsic brain. Eadric is thatpotteryguy. Miguel is spanish_peacock.

I dropped off the Merry Rose months ago, because it was bad for my blood pressure.

[lilacmoon5.livejournal.com]

The back story has to do with the story I told you. About Highland Foorde having kingdom event bids rejected for distance. Ascelyn lives at least an hour from Frederick, which is where the majority of the barony live.

When it was proposed that it may be time to look into a principality (again). The kingdom email list exploded and got really ugly for a bit. They went to another email list and a full year later there are still people yelling at each other over the idea.

Before the topic left the kingdom email list. There were four main proposals. 1. Leave my kingdom along 2. Make a northern principality - with no intention of separating. 3. Make a northern principality and separate as soon as possible. 4. Make two principalities, northern and southern - no intention of severing them.

[femkederoas.livejournal.com]

That much I got. What I meant was what caused this lady to feel she had to defend her non-interest.

Why Principalities out here can't seem to form because it's good for the further development of the region, I can't understand. They always seem to require pique, shrieking, and a healthy dose of real or perceived Kingdom bungling to get out of the gate.

[lilacmoon5.livejournal.com]

My guess is that people she spends time with discuss the topic. She may feel a bit guilty about not being interested in the development or not of the kingdom and region. I still do not feel like an Atlantian, so I have stayed out of the discussion.

I fear that Atlantia is so divided, with the northern part so often ignored that any principality for development of the region will lead to separate kingdom because of the hurt that has festered. People should be more rational, but these issues are emotional.

Ideally what does a principality add to a region? Wouldn't it lessen the number of people willing and able to run things at the kingdom level?

[allison-is.livejournal.com]

IMO, adding a principality (and coming from a Kingdom that has them anyway), still leaves enough people willing and able to run things at the kingdom level because if the principality is far enough away from central kingdom, it probably does not affect the officer pool in the outlying area.

It also gives those who are far away from central kingdom a chance to get to more events and it also provides more tournaments and I love those dang tourneys. I don't know how it is there, but iirc our kingdom law states that Crown tournaments must be held in central kingdom (or I could be spacing this but I don't have time to look up the law) and Coronations can be held anyway in the kingdom.

Sorry for rambling.

[lilacmoon5.livejournal.com]

Interesting points, thank you.

There is a current push to get crown in a permanent site in the center of the kingdom(about 7 hrs). That would be better then the current situation of most kingdom level events are 12-14 hours from the northern population centers.