One of the other devs asked about the description of the "Independent States of America" in the following passage. They asked if allowing for a southern succession was offensive or inappropriate. How does this read to others?
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2077 - The American realignment
Following the third contested election in a row, the new governor of Florida declared that the state would no longer send taxes to DC, and began restricting the flow of goods from its coastal and space ports until its preferred candidate was seated as president. DC mobilized the military and national guard, and the governor of Florida demanded the backing of neighboring states. Internal conflicts within the military ranks began to rise as states began taking sides. Alabama’s governor immediately took the side of Florida and other states began forming alliances. Texas and Oklahoma declared joint neutrality. Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia allied in rejection of Flordabama, despite recognizing many of the same grievances and demanded a peaceful solution. Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, WV, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska formed a block in support of the US, as did New England. Mississippi and Louisiana were the most conflicted until an attack on US-loyal soldiers at Camp Powell began a civil war, and Louisiana and Mississippi joined the Texan alliance. The result was a transfer of power from the federal government to four regional state collectives:
Pacifica, made up of the west-coast: California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona.
Oyate Ni’na Tan’ka Makobdaye ka Heitanka (ONTMH), made up of Colorado, The Dakotas, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Utah, Wyoming, and parts of Alberta, Iowa, Manitoba, Minnesota, Missouri, and Saskatchewan.
The Independent States of America, made up of most of the coastal south: Florida, Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, etc.
The United States of America: the remaining states of the north east and central continent remained within the United States, although many formed regional state compacts and much of the authority of the federal government was shifted to these states and their state collectives.
I will admit I wasn't thrilled to see the ISA, but mostly put it off to the cyberpunk origins of the game (I think Shadow run has a similar region).
I don't think the Confederacy had anything worth trying again, but I also get that there's a lot of lore and glamorization around it that'll mean there'll always be someone who thinks it's worth a second try.
I've also been only been in a few parts of that region a few times. I know it's a diverse area with a lot of history and complexity and that opinions are all over the place. I'm skeptical you can discuss/conduct secession in the American south without dragging the lost cause mythos and it's inherent racism and revisionism along with it. So even if people from all groups were largely in favor of secession, I'm uncertain as to how much confederate branding end up being included, especially in a more solarpunk world. It's another of those things I don't feel qualified to write about. I just don't know the people well enough.
I think what I'd really like is to find a few people from the area with a different vision for what a solarpunk southeast could look like, and to break the sort of Confederacy default attached to the place.
All of that said, I think this is fairly mild and leaves room for changes in future drafts. I'd almost prefer a handwavy 'the US broke up during the Global Climate Wars' and we can add to it in future editions but I'm not against what's here either.