I was wondering when I would see this topic pop up. Seems like it rears it's head once or twice a year.
I will try to politely respond to an issue that I swore never to revisit almost 10 years ago. I do so because this forum is really a great place, one that I truly enjoy, and I hope to put this thread to rest before it "poisons the well" that we have here.
First, the NRLHF has been anything but cut loose by the Association. For years many of the "Primitive" types within the Ass'n. and the Rendezvous program were deeply divided about finances, the overall direction of the NMLRA regarding Rendezvous vs. shooting, and just plain control. This got VERY bitter, VERY divisive, and there were things that took place that would defy belief. ( Federal Courts, lawyers, threats, and so on.)Finally, after years of what now in retrospect amounts to very little, the NMLRA and some Rendezvous types reached an agreement that is good for both the Rendezvous program and the NMLRA. The Ass'n gets to direct itself more towards shooting and more importantly promoting shooting, not to mention out of the financial and liability picture, while the Rendezvous program is now in the hands of its participants, more or less. The NRLHF has it's own section of MuzzleBlasts, and there is a very close relationship, sort of like a spinoff company from a large corporate entity. There are some differing opinions on both the people and organizations involved, but the reality is that what we have now is very similar to what existed in the "good old days" before the manure. The whole thing is, after seeing right up close the problems, a pretty good solution to years of troubles, or at least the best one that could be mutually agreed upon.
Having said all that, your friend is absolutely right about a few things: His statements are based upon ignorance and bias. Most of the comments that are and have been made over the years are made by people based upon 2nd and 3rd hand campfire talk. They weren't there, weren't part of or privy to the actual events that took place. Things were done very badly on both sides of the fence. It's over. Comments like that serve no purpose other than to keep alive an issue that has cost this hobby some of it's best people, caused dear friends to become bitter adversaries, contributed to the failure of some events and the splitting away of others (The Pacific was once the Pacific National and part of the NMLRA Program if memory serves me correctly), the damage to the spirit of brotherhood and the hobby as a whole was, at one point, nearly terminal.
I devoutly hope that my post here will be the last one on this subject, that maybe the moderators will slam the lid on it before it gets carried away and ugly, as the topic always has for the two decades that I have been around it. There is no place for politics and infighting in Rendezvous. What we have here is far too important and yet far too fragile to have these issues inflicted upon it when by and large, they are closed. We come here to leave all of this 21st century manure behind us, we look for wood, water, clean hooters, and hopefully flat ground to camp on. Beyond that, it's all up to us.
You can only drag a dead horse through camp so many times before it really starts to stink. Better to leave it downwind and let it lie.
