That time-tested saying....

[Eleran]

9 hours ago, Lance said:

my favorite threads on here lately are the ones by proud parents :)

Guess I'll have to start a new thread ...

[cowtown]

9 hours ago, PopcornEater1963 said:

And I certainly don't disagree with you...but when a 17-18 year old kid reads "That show was an unbearable trainwreck" they don't make that discernment. 

Really, that’s what you object too? It’s just an opinion of the entire show; I don’t even see it as mean. If a random, often anonymous internet opinions’ affect an 18 year old adult that significantly I have to question if they have the maturity or judgement to be shipped away from home for a few months. Usually, I find the band parents to be the most sensitive toward anything less that ‘OMG, the most awesome, best ever’ comments. Understandable as parents have invested so much in getting their kids there and you know, parents and the protective nature.

  To be fair, over the years I have seen a generational attitude shift in the expectations of the marchers. Some of which is extremely off-putting, such as a twitter comment from a drum major that shows a profound lack of judgement and understating that was recently discussed (but not fully enough IMO) in another thread.

 There are all sorts of post here that I question but I wouldn’t want to shut down such as I would never identify specific marching members or my connection to them, seems a far greater risk than calling a show a train wreck

Generally, DCP does a good job with enforcing their Terms of Service, it’s a public site but not a right, so if it triggers one that greatly, get off it.

Edited June 28, 2017 by cowtown

[Eleran]

I'm not so sure it has anything to do with this generation of kids being overly-sensitive, made so by a group of over-protective parents or not.  We see the same thing on Facebook when people say things about politicians without any sense of filter.

Everyone has opinions similar to "this show sucks".   Everyone has opinions similar to "This politician is the scum of the earth".  The thing is ... when did we all start thinking it was appropriate to say these things not just to ourselves, not just to our close friends over a beer, but at the top of our lungs on the steps of city hall, for the entire world to hear?  Because that's what Facebook, DCP, Twitter and all the rest are.   When did we stop realizing that saying such things loud and openly makes us all look a little cheap and coarse?  

[dcsnare93]

On 6/25/2017 at 7:53 PM, PopcornEater1963 said:

Parent of a first year DCI MM this year. And just wondering if the whole notion of "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all" has ever been introduced to this community. I really don't mind at all reading constructive criticism of all the corps as long as that's what it is. But when it turns mean, rude, vitriolic, and just crusty, I have to wonder what joy people get out of trashing 17-22 year old kids who are busting their ### for 16 hours a day to make themselves better. 

My kid marched 2 years of DCA so I stayed mainly in the DCA section of Drum Corps Planet. And for the most part, that seems to be a fairly polite community that encourages all the corps in the activity. In one month of posting here, ( and now 4 days of shows rolling out), I've seen things posted about the shows, the corps, the staffs, etc. that simply make my heart hurt. 

Criticism? Sure... "I think XYZ Corps could improve by doing ABC"...for sure...bring it on.  

Nastiness? No..."This show is an absolute trainwreck. The whole staff should be fired and the kids sent home tomorrow."  Nope. Not appropriate. 

Rant over. 

Amen.

As a fellow parent and former MM, I've learned to take the constructive criticism and simply ignore the vitriol comments. The latter reflects more poorly on the person making those comments and detracts from whatever argument they're trying to put forward anyway.

Edited June 28, 2017 by dcsnare93

[cowtown]

10 minutes ago, Eleran said:

  When did we stop realizing that saying such things loud and openly makes us all look a little cheap and coarse?  

Is that a mean thing to say?

I don’t think so but clearly, some would, that’s the problem with contrary opinions.

It’s up to each individual as to how they present themselves and to DCP to enforce the ToS that we all agreed to when we signed up.  And I do agree, social media has shifted the general, tone and educational level with in greater society but that’s now part of the education, learning how to deal with it because it’s out there

I find many posts here offensive that several people wouldn’t even notice or would even consider generally positive, many that belie beliefs that I strongly disagree with, this OP for one.

 But hey, I’m an adult on the internet so who cares what I think and if you do, call me out. I'm cool with it

[Stu]

15 hours ago, PopcornEater1963 said:

And I certainly don't disagree with you...but when a 17-18 year old kid reads "That show was an unbearable trainwreck" they don't make that discernment. 

To you, a 17 or 18 year old is incapable of recognizing and understanding the context of basic communications (discernment) and thus we as adults should placate them by avoiding such train-wreck type criticism of their performance and take the attitude ‘If we cannot say anything positive do not say anything at all’.

To me, if I come across a 17 or 18 year old who just botched a DCI performance and I said, “I know you performers are trying hard, but that was a train-wreck and the performance rather sucked.” Likely the 17 or 18 year old would go “Yep; we are better than that and we hate being that embarrassed.”

Which adult is really being honest and helping the 17 or 18 year old; the adult who avoids making critical statements in the name of 'if you cannot say anything positive do not say anything at all' so as to not hurt the feelings and self-esteem, or the adult who tells the 17 or 18 year old “Well, that sucked!”

[Stu]

12 hours ago, Bsader said:

I agree with you that statements made on DCP can be brutal but I don't agree with you when you refer to 18 to 22 year olds as kids. They are, in fact, young adults who should be able to handle the critical opinions of those of us on DCP regardless of how mean spirited they are. Young adults need to learn to be resilient and to be cognizant that their are some people in this world who are just mean spirited and rude. Speaking of being rude, I think your citing of the notion that "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" is a bit nauseating. If all you ever say to the "kids" is nice things then they are never going to grow up and be prepared to face the world as it truly is. In other words these young adults need to learn the difference between #### and Shinola and DCP certainly has plenty of both.

 We have a lot of 18 to 22 year olds in our arm forces dealing with the evils of this world and I would hope that if these young adults can handle the darkness and brutality of war then those who our spending their life having fun in the sun playing Drum and Bugle Corps should be able to handle the negative statements made on DCP. Yes, I know they work hard, but that doesn't mean we should envelop them in some sort of security blanket to make sure nobody's feelings get hurt. God forbid we harsh anyone's buzz.

I very rarely play the ‘hit the like tab’ game, but sometimes there are exceptions which are so poignant I am compelled to hit the tab.  Your posting here is one of those exceptions!

[Ghost]

7 minutes ago, Stu said:

 Which adult is really being honest and helping the 17 or 18 year old; the adult who avoids making critical statements in the name of 'if you cannot say anything positive do not say anything at all' so as to not hurt the feelings and self-esteem, or the adult who tells the 17 or 18 year old “Well, that sucked!”

I'm guessing that the current mm in DCI, who in most cases, have to raise a good portion of their fees, are willing to bust their butts whenever the corps rehearses, are not snowflakes who might not be able to handle tough love and the DCI work ethic.

[oldbandguy]

19 hours ago, MyKids#1Fan said:

 

And a shoutout to my favorite Bluecoats snare!! Hi Landon!!!

I'd add he's also in my top 9 favorite snare drummers this year.   But totally understand you ranking him your favorite!

[Stu]

9 minutes ago, Ghost said:

I'm guessing that the current mm in DCI, who in most cases, have to raise a good portion of their fees, are willing to bust their butts whenever the corps rehearses, are not snowflakes who might not be able to handle tough love and the DCI work ethic.

Ding, Ding, Ding.  The youth who engage not only in DCI but also in other top-tier competitive organizations such as The Little League World Series, Competitive National Dance, the Olympics, etc... are typically mature enough to thrive on all of the opinions fans and coaches throw at them.  In fact a few years ago I spoke with a kid who was a top player in The Little League who told me he reveled in the 'Boos' being thrown about from the opposing team fans because it usually meant that his team was winning!!

Edited June 28, 2017 by Stu