I had a discussion with fellow reenactors in the Youtube comment section once. I'll quote a few lines:
Here is the horrible part. In 2000, there were about 50,000 reenactors. I enlisted in 2001. In 2015, the last year I heard numbers for, we had maybe 25,000 reenactors. This is because many ( but not all, ) officers are jerks. They backstab each other, try to steal each others paid events, and do more politicing than anything else. They also seem to believe that this is the real army. This, coupled with other, lesser factors, is killing the hobby. We need regulations, yes. But for the officers, not the enlisted men. What really makes me cry, is the fact that many officers can't fight at all.
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Aside from stealing each others paid events? Officers will frequently " forget " to notify other units of new upcoming events. Some larger organizations will encourage new units to join these large divisions, brigades, etc... stressing the benefits of supporting each other, cheaper insurance, etc... etc... etc... Then the large units force the small companies to disband and then join another already existing company. This actually happened to a unit I belonged to, about 8 or so years ago. There was also a Major General in a local federal division. He had about 15 or more staff officers always hanging around him. On the battlefield. This was stupid not only because did they get captured, a lot, but that 16+ men could've formed a company of actual fighting men. And as if that wasn't silly enough, those officers always demanded the utmost respect from all lower ranks. One staff officer I nick named Dog Leuitenant, as he always followed the Major General like a puppy dog. Last i heard, that Lt. was a Captain, which is good cause I can not spell Lt. correctly, no how. Hence my use of the abbrieviation Lt. I also heard the Maj Gen has passed away from old age and health problems. As for the staff officer, I don't give a rodents mule if he's a bloody General, President, or Field Marshal of the Turkish Navy, he's still a dog Lt. to me.These people need to understand, that if you want respect, you have to act respectable. These officers really do think this is really the military, and not a hobby. I could walk around in a General's Jacket, if I wished. But I ain't here to affirm my manliness. That I already have affirmed. I'm here to have fun, and tell the truth of this very interesting time period of our nation's history. I ain't wanting to offend the good people, but the bozos out there need to be informed of the fact that they are killing our hobby.
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Those "farbs" everyone hates so much, should be left alone. Everyone gets a couple things wrong every so often. Those nice big A-frame and wall tents you see at every event? pitch em. In the trash. If you couldn't carry it, you didn't bring it. Coolers? Whats that? Cots? How do you fit that in your haversack? And those factory rolled cigarettes? Send them back to the future with Doc and Marty. Get yourself a stogie or a home made pipe. If you people do not stand down from being so persnickity with the new recruits, there ain't gona be no new recruits. The Confederate Army and true history are already under severe attack by revisionists as it is. Killing the hobby the way many jerk officers who all seem to be suffering from small man's complaint are doing is NOT helping. Historical accuracy is important, yes. But enjoyment of the hobby, as well as it's survival, is important as well.
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We must also face the fact that the hobby is dying to many more opportunities than there in the past, and also we have central cooling, way more computers, etc. However, I economy is growing back, and it said on Wikipedia that the hobby has been slowly growing back since the 150th events. There may not be ever as many reenactors per capita as there used to be, but with a growing population let's hope that supplements the shortage. Also we need to go out there and appeal to possible recruits, you see, I had to work my *** off just to get an opportunity to reenact an event. It shouldn't be that way, regiments should go out and encourage others, not expect for people to find them. In fact, there is this one regiment who has tried that out, and their numbers are sharply increasing, with younger people being the vast majority. Technology doesn't have to go against us, we can utilize to make it for us, by using social media and the internet to reach out to others.