[TheForge] Re: ABANA ANABA

[Demon Buddha]

Grover Richardson wrote:

> So long as someone does not want to hear the discussion, they will never
> know the truth.  Certainly, there is truth in both sides of the
> argument.  Certainly there is a lot of bs in both sides.  But when you
> gut bambi, you have to get through a lot of smelly disgusting stuff in
> order to get to the good stuff.
> 
> This country was founded upon the basis of accountability and fair and
> equal representation.  To allow less to be provided today is to throw
> away the lives of all those who died to make this country what it is.  I
> wonder what the founding fathers of this ABANA think about all this
> uproar?  I think I'll ask one next time I see him/her<G>.

	Let's be clear.  I did not say I would not be involved in the
	affairs of ABANA nor take notice of what goes on.  I said I 
	was not willing to embroil  myself in petty drama, which is
	what this is turning out to be.  Questions have been asked and
	AFAICS, not the best answers have been forthcoming.  I'm not an
	expert in the affairs of running such organizations, so all I
	see are two parties pointing fingers and making noises.  Much,
	if not all of it, sounds plausible and perhaps even reasonable.
	Given that it is all mutually contradicting, everything cannot
	be true, in all likelihood.  Are people lying?  Is it just a
	matter of honestly differing perceptions?  Is there a power
	trip thing going on?  I don't know, and I suspect that unless I
	am willing to spend time and effort that I cannot afford, I
	would never find out.

	My point is that things should never have gotten to this stage
	in the first place.  Perhaps it was eventual when this many
	people and that much money come into question.  But we have been
	running NJBA for about six years now and have experienced none
	of this nonsense.  We stick to our bylaws, don't play games with
	the little money we have (not suggesting ABANA is), and keep
	the art, science, practice, and education of black smithing first
	and foremost when we plan and execute our events.  Perhaps this is
	the difference, I do not know.

	The simple fact that these issues exist and have not been put to
	rest in TWO YEARS PLUS indicates that there's something way wrong.
	Either the board is up to something they ought not be (whether it
	is financial or simply matters of power and who's running the ship)
	or a large proportion of the membership has taken far too much LSD
	with the morning coffee and is imagining things.

	If the Board has not opened up their practices to scrutiny, they
	should.  Even if there have been major errors, so what?  No need 
	to hang people by the thingies if they made honest mistakes.  If
	there is something more serious going on, then a real problem
	exists.  Likewise, if the Board has been responsive (and I don't
	really know how to tell if they have been, pardon my ignorance of
	such affairs) then the membership should stop flogging the dead
	horse and let things be so we can all get back to doing what we're 
	here for.

	If ABANA is going to devolve into just another run of the mill,
	politically fueled hack organization, then what's the point of
	having it?  I can go piss on the steps of the IRS or the FBI
	buildings in DC if I want some cheap thrills in my life, which I
	don't.  And this doesn't mean the Board is necessarily at fault.

	My suggestion is let us choose: either settle the issue
	to the satisfaction of the membership or retire the organization.
	Anything in between is a waste of peoples' time.  So far, we have
	been smack in between and I find myself weary of it.  I feel ABANA
	is worth keeping, but only if we dispense with the Peyton Place
	histrionics.  It's so embarrassingly juvenile.

	One question that I will ask, which I don't recall having seen
	before (and forgive me if it has already been asked) is: If
	switching publishers for the Ring was to save $25K/annum, was the
	precise means by which this savings was to be achieved outlined
	to the Board and the membership?  I'm just curious about this
	because, being ignorant of such things, the prediction has a bit
	of a clairvoyant flavor to it.  Just wondering.