are we happy yet

[brianf40us]

WEll what i see with reenacting is it being divided into twp halves (mainstreamers and campaigners) i think it is rediculous that we would ruin such a hobby that all of us would agree that we are into it to help keep civil war history alive.
Anyone that does not see this split just look at this years gettysburg. now we are having two reenactments one in june and one in july. Im sorry but what was the problem with just having one in july. I will not attend the one in june because i view it as trying to destroy the reenactment in july. I know we get treated like crap at Gettysburg (AKA no rides for reenactors to the sutlers, expensive ice ETC.....) but i overlook this because i am there to help people understand the civil war. This nonsense with two reenactments about the same battle is stupid and if both sides of reenacting could come togehter this hobby will live on but if we have people that view them selves as a BETTER REENACTORS (more historically correct) that want to make seperate events this hobby will crash and burn.

[Huck Finn]

Same music. Same lyrics. Move along now, nothing to see.

[huntdaw]

"...but if we have people that view them selves as a BETTER REENACTORS (more historically correct) that want to make seperate events this hobby will crash and burn."

No, it won't.

[tenfed1861]

Some people don't feel like going to Gettysburg and basically being a carnivial.When you have fair rides (from how I heard it one year),funnel cakes,cheap fair souviners,and bad battles just to name a few,people aren't going to drive a distance for that.You said you want to help people understand the war.How can you when you have funnel cakes,a sea of canvas,and pretty much a fair going on?People will be more interested with a fair.They are having the living history to really help people.They can set up a bivouac camp,throw some salted pork on a fire,and show people what happened what happened.
Most of us will agree that the battles are the farbiest part of the hobby.That is why there will be a living history.To show the drill tactics,life on the march,and talk about socio-economical issues of a particular unit.Reenactor wise;some of us feel like getting more into a period mind set.At Chickamauga,we did night marching,rations issued,posted pickets,formed a skirmish line on Dyer Field.We were tired,hungry,sweaty.Many of us suffered from poison ivy,(my whole arm was covered and I suffered from it for a month and half).We were able to get into the mind set a little better.We would not have been able to do that in a sea of tents,corn dogs and cola with a joke battle being the high point of the day.
I agree with your post.The fighting is causing troubles in the hobby.How many people got out because they were tired of all the fighting.So I do understand what you are saying.I hope you can understand what I am saying.

[Justin Runyon]

"...but if we have people that view them selves as a BETTER REENACTORS (more historically correct) that want to make seperate events this hobby will crash and burn."

No, it won't.

What he said.

[bill watson]

"...but if we have people that view them selves as a BETTER REENACTORS (more historically correct) that want to make seperate events this hobby will crash and burn."


Nah, the hobby that's about history will have no impact at all on the hobby that thinks its all about proximity to sutlers, ice, propane stoves and riding the tumbrel shuttle to camp.

Unless some of those folks realize the hobby is supposed to be about history. Gettysburg didn't become a national shrine because two armies gathered there to cook weiners and shop.

[HighPrvt]

WEll what i see with reenacting is it being divided into twp halves (mainstreamers and campaigners) i think it is rediculous that we would ruin such a hobby that all of us would agree that we are into it to help keep civil war history alive.
Anyone that does not see this split just look at this years gettysburg. now we are having two reenactments one in june and one in july. Im sorry but what was the problem with just having one in july. I will not attend the one in june because i view it as trying to destroy the reenactment in july. I know we get treated like crap at Gettysburg (AKA no rides for reenactors to the sutlers, expensive ice ETC.....) but i overlook this because i am there to help people understand the civil war. This nonsense with two reenactments about the same battle is stupid and if both sides of reenacting could come togehter this hobby will live on but if we have people that view them selves as a BETTER REENACTORS (more historically correct) that want to make seperate events this hobby will crash and burn.

If you could hear the comments, and giggles from the audience at mainstream reenactments I've overheard, most of y'all FARBS would be embarrassed to take the field.
The premise that y'all hold dear to your heart, that they don't know how silly you are, and how wrong your stuff is, well it's just wrong....

You are being laughed at, at every event...

[Rob Weaver]

Us vs Them from the thread title - may be a record here folks. At the risk of sounding hypocritical, I refuse to post an opinion in UvT threads because they demean us all. Here endeth my catechism.

[KeystoneGuard]

Amen to that.

A re-enactment should not be a "carnival", if I want that I'll go to Knobels Amusement Park (free admission). I'm in this hobby to preserve and educate about this time in our countries history, not eat hot dogs and funnel cakes.

"so ends the reading"

[Craig L Barry]

Crash and burn? It won't and it hasn't. The hobby is there and it is essentially what you choose to make of it. We have more opportunities to do a variety of events and LHs, more quality gear available than we ever have had, and better research being published for those inclined toward "getting it right."

There are actually two hobbies, not one w/ two "separate" divisions and the common thread is US Civil War historical interpretation. For you history buffs, think Protestant Reformation. As far as I can tell it did not prove to be the end of the Catholic church.