[Businessmtg] Districts in the GEA

[Steve Rankin]

Hi folks,

 

It seems that there are many members in favor of delineating districts by
time zones, yet I wonder if they have considered how that would actually
play out.  

Time Zones. . .

As Anne pointed out, for example, she and I are in different time zones
because she's on the East Coast of the US while I'm on the West Coast.  So,
the folks in favor of time zones would put us in different districts even
though we are in the same country, and speak the same native language, and
attend the same electronic meeting.  OTOH, the members living in Peru and
Chile would be in Anne's district.  Likewise, Ukraine and South Africa would
be in the same district, while Ukraine and Poland would be in different
district, the same as Egypt and Libya would be in different districts, and
Portugal and Spain would be in different districts.

Political Boundaries. . .

While I personally have little if any interest in districts following
political boundaries, I'll note that is the model that Al-Anon has followed
for decades.  A downside of this method is the imbalance of power and
representation that would arise from immensely populated nations, such as
China (pop 1.4B), being a single district while a tiny nation such as
Timor-Leste (pop 1.3M) would have equal representation.  FYI, I know about
Timor-Leste because ASP had a member there.  

Language. . .

Language seems to be an obvious way to define districts because language is
a natural barrier to communication, and is frequently related to cultural
differences.  There is also precedent for creating districts that overlap
geo-political boundaries within face-to-face fellowships of Al-Anon and AA.
Additionally, language is the way that many electronic meetings envisioned
and wanted to define and create separate areas, instead of just one large
English-dominated area.  Since I have no real reason to challenge those in
the non-English speaking world, I believe that I need to support their
preference.

Hugs,

Steve