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Inside the Arc – Color Pre or Take a Knee


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14 hours ago, xandandl said:

The night of the Port Huron, Michigan show at which BD and Cadets fed each other through the bus windows waiting to get through the Canadian customs, I was flying into meet the corps at Detroit airport. When I arrived, I found that a rent a car had been reserved for me and was waiting. Aunt Nell had had a health situation after the contest and was now hospitalized in Detroit area.. It began a series of struggles which kept her separate from the mms in the corps. Not long after she passed.  Her daughter Marie still continued in various volunteer positions until about a decade ago. Both ladies gave much and never had any children in the corps. All the corps mms were their kids.

Thanks, Frank for posting this video of one great lady who gave the world another. 

 

 Nice story... 'sure sounds like she was one special Lady.

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While it's true that Aunt Nellie resisted the decision to introduce a female component into the Cadets at first (She was a staunch traditionalist), she ultimately embraced the idea, as this photo proves:

https://www.google.com/search?biw=1078&bih=486&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=garfield+cadets+uniforms&oq=garfield+cadets+uniforms&gs_l=psy-ab.3...171199.177501.0.177968.12.12.0.0.0.0.341.2191.1j2j6j1.10.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..2.4.981...0j0i24k1j0i30k1.0.q2FYpEWaMDI#imgrc=K_nl0WQxlDM_KM:

She's "pinning" the sash for one of the guard (Andrea Di Martino) before a show in '77. Note that Andrea's very non-traditional uniform includes "hot pants".

Aunt Nellie's world was changing, along with the entire drum corps activity, but she rolled with it. At that point, though, the national color was still on the field,  and if memory serves, the young lady pictured had begun her performance career guarding it with a side-arm.

Edited by ironlips
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49 minutes ago, ironlips said:

.

Aunt Nellie's world was changing, along with the entire drum corps activity, .

 True enough. The Drum & Bugle Corps genre has changed more fundamentally, and transformationally than just about any other youth sport, or youth team competitive endeavor one can think of, imo. It did not change in all areas , of course( some are maintained as " traditional "  in several aspects just as they were in the 1950's, for example ), but the transformation of the Drum & Bugle Corps genre is as breathtaking in its scope, breadth, than just about anything else we could think of, imo. My guess, such transformational change will continue over the coming decades as well. Marchers of today no doubt won't all be on board with THOSE anticipated changes in the future either ( ie,  clarinets, flutes, rock guitars, violins, saxophones  et al.... whatever)  The instrumentations, attire, judging sheets, etc will look like nothing like 2017 for example. The only thing that will probably remain unchanged will be that in 10, 20, 30 years, the Blue Devils will continue to dominate the activity every bit as much as they have for the last  30 years, imo. That part... in my view... will more than likely remain unchanged.... as for " Aunt Nellie " she was apparently able to roll with the changes, that many others over the years simply could not. Good for her. She seemed like quite a resilient gal.

Edited by BRASSO
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8 hours ago, ironlips said:

 

While it's true that Aunt Nellie resisted the decision to introduce a female component into the Cadets at first (She was a staunch traditionalist), she ultimately embraced the idea, as this photo proves:

https://www.google.com/search?biw=1078&bih=486&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=garfield+cadets+uniforms&oq=garfield+cadets+uniforms&gs_l=psy-ab.3...171199.177501.0.177968.12.12.0.0.0.0.341.2191.1j2j6j1.10.0....0...1.1.64.psy-ab..2.4.981...0j0i24k1j0i30k1.0.q2FYpEWaMDI#imgrc=K_nl0WQxlDM_KM:

She's "pinning" the sash for one of the guard (Andrea Di Martino) before a show in '77. Note that Andrea's very non-traditional uniform includes "hot pants".

Aunt Nellie's world was changing, along with the entire drum corps activity, but she rolled with it. At that point, though, the national color was still on the field,  and if memory serves, the young lady pictured had begun her performance career guarding it with a side-arm.

 

She used to use a whole box to keep me pinned together.

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  • 3 weeks later...

http://sportzedge.com/2017/10/20/yale-football-player-alex-galland-did-not-kneel-he-played-trumpet-with-the-band-during-the-national-anthem-then-punted-and-place-kicked-in-the-game-that-followed/

 
Coincidentally, the assistant band director of Yale is a Cadet alum returning to the Cadets brass faculty for 2018, Joseph Guimaraes.
 
 
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And that's exactly the point. Symbolic gestures are powerful.

In this land, everyone has the right to freedom of expression, providing it's done "peaceably". VPUS exercised this right recently by walking out of a football game, thereby protesting the protest.

Even anarchists, supremacists and other wanna-be nazis are entitled to their opinions, but usually forget the "peaceably" part. Yelling a racial slur while swinging a club at somebody doesn't qualify as protest, but does meet the standard for a felony. Children who can't play nice must be sent to their rooms.

We thought we fixed all that racism stuff in the '60s. How naive of us. And drum corps, for all its positive social qualities, was not immune from discrimination. One of today's major contenders, located within a large and very diverse metropolitan area, didn't see its first Black member until 1974.

It's not that someone stood at the gate with a stick. Those kids just didn't see themselves in that uniform, so they didn't bother to go there. Now they do. It's that subtle, and that obvious.

Symbolic actions produce results. They always have.

 

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2 hours ago, ironlips said:

 

 

In this land, everyone has the right to freedom of expression, providing it's done "peaceably".,

 

 

 

 True. Its one of the great protections ( won thru the blood of Revolution, leading then later to the Bill of Rights in the US Constitution ).

 The written article on the front page here of DCP makes a good commentary regarding the American Flag from a historical perspective and was quite informative ( as well as accurate, imo )

 Freedom of Expression as a concept in the United States is unparaleled anywhere else in the world. No other Country permits such levels of Freedoms of Expression by its citizenry. We are most fortunate.

 For example, this thread topic is about the American Flag, and Freedom of Expression/. Protest. As such, it might be helpful to see where the United States fits into what it allows in terms of protest regarding the desecration of its Nations Flag by its citizenry... the ultimate symbolic representation of protest and the exercise of one's Freedom of Expression ( protest ) by the citizens of a Country. To probably no one's surprise, the United States is the only country in the world that allows a Citizen to desecrate, even burn in public, its Nation's Flag. Denmark comes close, but has not yet codified into its Laws ( as the US has ) such a lawful allowance of the public disrespect and/ or desecration of the Nation's Flag as a permissable act of " Freedom of Expression " ( or act of Protest ).

 For example, most counties, includiing just about all of of the Socialist Countries in the World, disallow the desecration of their Nation's Flag. All either have mandatory fines and/ or imprisonments.. ranging from a few days, to years of prison time, including in some cases, hard labor prison time for the public desecreation of the Nation's Flag. Also, death is permissable under the laws in certain non secular countries. For example, Countries in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia consider the desecration of the Nation's Flag as violation of Sharia ;Law ( governed by the Religion tenets of Islam ) and therefore  the desecration of its considered Sacred Cloth punishable by death. Below are other countries that disallow under the laws of their country the " freedom of Expression " that permits the desecration of their Nation's Flag in public... and in a few cases, what violators can be subject too for such acts of Flag Protest;

 Israel...  arrest and fines imposed.

 China.... 3 years of Prison time... Hard Labor.

 Germany.... arrest and Fines....  and even the mere public display of Nazi symbols of any kind are not tolerated , ( Flags, insignia's, t shirts, etc ). Violations lead to arrest, fines/ and or imprisonment.

 South Korea.... up to 5 years imprisonment

  Finland.... arrest, and fines imposed.

 France... 6 months prison time

 Italy... arrest and fines... ( some cities, " mysterious disappearance " generally ensues for violators )

  Mexico.... fines/ imprisonment.. up to 6 months

   New Zealand.... arrest, fines

 Phillipines...... arrest. fines

 Saudi Arabia... arrest, death imposed

 Iran...... arrest, death imposed

 Soviet Union... arrest, fines ( realistically however, usually results in the" mysterious disappearance"  of violators,)

 Portugal.... arrest, 2 years prison time.

 Greece... arrest, fines and/ or prison.

 Peru..... arrest, 4 years prison time

 Great Britain... arrest, warnings given 1st offense.. multiple offenses, fines.

 Sweden.... arrest, fines

 Vietnam... arrest, fines, reschooling

  Japan.... arrest, fines.

 Switzerland.... arrest, 3 years prison time, and fines imposed.

 Turkey.... 3 years prison time

 Venezuela.... arrest, unspecified prison time.

 Cuba.... arrest, deportation and/ or prison time

 Canada... arrest, warnings... Province of Quebec... prison time for multiple violations

 Republic of Ireland.... arrest on Disorderly Conduct charges,.. IRA flag.. arrest, fines,and/ or prison time

 Australia.... arrest, fines

 Somalia... arrest, death imposed

 South Africa... arrest, fines.

 Spain.... arrest, 30 days jail time.

 Austria... arrest, fines.

      These are but a few. As mentioned, only the United States ( 1990 Supreme Court 5-4 rulling ) permits its adult citizens to dishonor its Nation's Flag in any manner it chooses too,... up to and including the public burning of its Nation's Flag as the ultimate symbolic expression of Protest.

Edited by BRASSO
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7 hours ago, BRASSO said:

  Saudi Arabia... arrest, death imposed

 Iran...... arrest, death imposed

  Somalia... arrest, death imposed

 

Boy, are they strict.  :8_laughing:

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23 hours ago, ironlips said:

 

And that's exactly the point. Symbolic gestures are powerful.

In this land, everyone has the right to freedom of expression, providing it's done "peaceably". VPUS exercised this right recently by walking out of a football game, thereby protesting the protest.

Even anarchists, supremacists and other wanna-be nazis are entitled to their opinions, but usually forget the "peaceably" part. Yelling a racial slur while swinging a club at somebody doesn't qualify as protest, but does meet the standard for a felony. Children who can't play nice must be sent to their rooms.

We thought we fixed all that racism stuff in the '60s. How naive of us. And drum corps, for all its positive social qualities, was not immune from discrimination. One of today's major contenders, located within a large and very diverse metropolitan area, didn't see its first Black member until 1974.

It's not that someone stood at the gate with a stick. Those kids just didn't see themselves in that uniform, so they didn't bother to go there. Now they do. It's that subtle, and that obvious.

Symbolic actions produce results. They always have.

 

 

When Rights collide: individual expression vs. business/property.

"Congress shall make no law.... respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” - 1st Amendment, Constitution of the United State

Please note the wording. 'Congress', as in the United States Government, via law cannot curtail freedom of speech or the for people to peaceably assemble; that is true.  It is a wonderful hallmark of our country!!! But notice that only applies to Congress. What is just as true is that a Business Owner, Board, or Director can curtail any freedom of speech or assembly (of any who are on the clock engaging in an activity for that entity and/or officially wearing clothing representing that entity).  For example, DCI and the subsequent Corps certainly can curtail the freedom of speech and assembly of the staff while they are on the clock and curtail the freedom of speech and assembly of performers while in rehearsal or in uniform representing DCI and the Corps.  And that is the Right of DCI and the corps to do so because during those time periods the people are representing the entiy not themselves!!!  The NFL curtailed the freedom of speech of the players of the Dallas Cowboys when the NFL prevented the Cowboy players from wearing Back the Blue small patches or helmet stickers in honor of the Dallas Officers who were killed in the line of duty.  And that was the right of the NFL to do so; the players were going to be on the clock wearing uniforms representing the NFL as well as Jerry Jones. Thus the overseeing body, the owners of the teams, the owners of the stadiums if privately owned, certainly can abridge the freedom of speech and assembly of those engaging in an activity while representing the overseeing body and team.

Edited by Stu
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