[MR] Pollings and Associates and the BIG "P" Word (politics)

[Charlotte Johnson]

Rebecca,

I’m a bit confused as to why this discussion is necessary, as we all
know that polls are not votes, simply advice to the crown. But as a
peer with no associates, I feel qualified to answer your concerns.
Both my husband and I are laurels, and neither of us have taken any
apprentices. This is due in large part to us having two small children
and not feeling like we can make that commitment at this time.
Naturally, there are other personal reasons as well.

There are a few points I would like to address:

First off, I’m unclear as to how having an apprentice would allow me
to better judge the work of other candidates? Having an apprentice has
nothing to do with how well I’m able to keep up with the progress of
others. Having an apprentice or not also has little to do with how
much I do or don’t teach. I’ve always made it known that I will teach
anybody who wants it, whether or not they are my associate.

Our activity level at SCA events may wax and wane as other commitments
arise, but that certainly does not mean that we are not active in the
A&S community. Even though I have not been to an event since KASF, I
have been holding regular sewing and A&S days at my house. I keep up
with discussions on lists, and look at project diaries. I read
documentation, and answer questions from people across the Known
World. Not having associates has little to do with my activity level
and how much I do or don’t know of other artisan’s work.

I believe you are in other polling orders, so I’m sure you’re aware
that every poll has an “abstain” choice. Every peer has this option.
If I do not have first hand and recent knowledge of a candidate, I
abstain from answering their poll. I am sure that many do the same.

>From reading some of your additional responses, I’m left a bit
bewildered as to what you actually are looking for. You don’t trust
that peers have the knowledge that they say that they do? If you don’t
trust peers, that’s not something that’s going to be fixed by tracking
peers, their event attendance, and how many associates they have. Do
you feel that the current system is somehow broken? Are too many
people being overlooked? Are people being made peers that shouldn’t
be? In the end, that’s what matters, and if there’s a problem with
that, it’s unlikely that tracking down peers and recording their
movements is going to do much to fix it.

-Mathilde