The Cadets and GH history of sexual abuse (news article)

[Terri Schehr]

2 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/drum-and-bugle-corps-sexual-assault-harassment-george-hopkins-share-story-20180409.html?mobi=true

I wonder if she could stop using photos of The Cadets in these articles?  Use the accused’s photo.  

[DCIat14]

I don't mind that she is doing what a reporter does - find a story, report, and follow-up.  This is a serious topic is society today and needs to be addressed.  MY BEEF, however, is that we could hardly pay to have an article written about the good as well.  Zero interest until a scandal and then it's just mud-rubbing.  When is the last time they wrote an article about what these members put themselves through and overcome over a season?  The talent that lies within?  The ridiculously amazing shows?  Like I said, I think this topic is absolutely worth discussing.  I just wish we could have balanced the scales a little bit.  This is all some will ever know of drum corps...

[BRASSO]

11 minutes ago, DCIat14 said:

I don't mind that she is doing what a reporter does - find a story, report, and follow-up.  This is a serious topic is society today and needs to be addressed.  MY BEEF, however, is that we could hardly pay to have an article written about the good as well.  Zero interest until a scandal and then it's just mud-rubbing.  When is the last time they wrote an article about what these members put themselves through and overcome over a season?  The talent that lies within?  The ridiculously amazing shows?  Like I said, I think this topic is absolutely worth discussing.  I just wish we could have balanced the scales a little bit.  This is all some will ever know of drum corps...

 Well said... and true, imo.

 10,000 people do great, noble, wonderful things in any given day, and it goes unreported on any front page upper fold. One jerk does something really bad, and its the headline.. and it sells papers, and advertisers like that. Its always been this way though.  Nothing new in what " sells ". But bad behaviors exposed do indirectly protect these 10,000 people mentioned above, so we can't shoot the messenger here for doing their job either. But ya, where are these national reporters when these kids, adults in Drum Corps are doing such marvelous things ?

Edited April 9, 2018 by BRASSO

[Eleran]

14 minutes ago, DCIat14 said:

I don't mind that she is doing what a reporter does - find a story, report, and follow-up.  This is a serious topic is society today and needs to be addressed.  MY BEEF, however, is that we could hardly pay to have an article written about the good as well.  Zero interest until a scandal and then it's just mud-rubbing.  When is the last time they wrote an article about what these members put themselves through and overcome over a season?  The talent that lies within?  The ridiculously amazing shows?  Like I said, I think this topic is absolutely worth discussing.  I just wish we could have balanced the scales a little bit.  This is all some will ever know of drum corps...

Put that in a letter to the editor to the Philly Inquirer.

[Slingerland]

2 minutes ago, BRASSO said:

Yes, but a followup can be accomplished with more appropriate methods than in this fashion, imo. 

The appropriate way to get rid of cockroaches is to create an environment unfriendly to their continued presence. This activity has a long history of adults who hang on, in part, because it's a way to have lots of fresh targets for their sexual desires year after year. Create an environment where those people know that their past actions will be catching up to them and that future employment will be unlikely, and you start the process of changing the culture.

[BRASSO]

1 minute ago, Slingerland said:

The appropriate way to get rid of cockroaches is to create an environment unfriendly to their continued presence. .

 Yup.

[N.E. Brigand]

52 minutes ago, BRASSO said:

Its a little bit more than asking in a broad sense for "tips" covering a wide range of subjects though.

What are the chances a Philly Inquirer sportswriter would write in their column, "Anybody out there that has some dirt on the Philadelphia Eagles players, mgt., or organization, please feel free to email me, or call me. I'll make sure your correspondence is kept confidential with me if you'd like"?   My guess, no chance. Plus, you've got to admit its a bit lazy for journalists to conduct their jobs in this fashion. The fact that we witness journalism conducted in this fashion does not mean this is how it should be practiced, imo.

They're clearly following up on the big story they broke by asking anyone who knows more to contact them. This is normal. it really is.

And I don't know about sportswriters in particular, or about the Inquirer, but I see that kind of request in the press all the time. Many papers tag a line about "To contact this reporter..." attached to their articles.

Journalism has always, always, always been done pretty much this way.

[BRASSO]

25 minutes ago, N.E. Brigand said:

They're clearly following up on the big story they broke by asking anyone who knows more to contact them. This is normal. it really is.

 

 I'd guess after a reporter writes a story, maybe 10% of the time will they write " if you have additional info regarding my article, contact me ". 90% of the time ( my guess ), they DON'T ask for more info. This is after all, not a SERIES.  or it certainly was not promoted  initially here as a SERIES in the paper. So its not as " normal " to do this as you suggest, absent a Series. However,  it does appear now, that she believes the story needs more follow up, and this is why she has taken the unusual step to ask for more info, as it appears now that she perhaps intends to do a series of articles regarding this. If so, that does seem to better explain her outreach like this.

Edited April 9, 2018 by BRASSO

[HockeyDad]

4 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

well hold on.....he never marched there. Since 1934, to be a Cadet is a sacred thing in that organization, and he knows he wasn't...many alumni who disliked him certainly pointed that out to him quite often.

 

I'll admit, I grew up in the Westshoremen family. Mom and dad met there when dad was marching, dad came home from rehearsal,mom went into labor. then 20 years later I marched there too. My corps jackets are Dad's jackets he gave to me.....i had to earn the 3 year jacket by doing my 3rd year first....just had the name changed. Has his 78 Al Champs patch on it. In that same household, the Reading Buccaneers was a bad word. 

 

so fast forward to the fall of 99...Westshore is all but dead, lingering on for 2 more years after our scandal of nothing close to this proportions, and friends that went to Bucs after we fell apart called and asked if i would come teach. Before I said yes, i called dad for permission. And while made to feel very welcome by all for my summer of 2000 with them, I would not sing their song. I was hired help, I had never worn the uniform. it was not my place to sign their song. 

 

so on this, I fully give Hop props, even if that wasn't his actual reason for not singing it. 

I wasn't gonna reply because it drifts from the seriousness of the topic, but my experience is the opposite. My kids, UW-Madison grads, get mad when I (definitely NOT a Badger), don't lock arms with them and sing "Varsity", their alma mater. So I finally realized, why not. After all, I've deposited several hundred thousand dollars there (and that's no exaggeration). So I do. And I love it. 

[garfield]

3 hours ago, Ghost said:

Wonder how many other topics on DCP she might be interested in?  A "snowflake" for sure.

Yes, I'm sorry, this is my thought.

Little sensitivity and lots of headline proclamations.

Most people probably don't care what happens to a bunch of band kids.  But we must not forget that we have only precious few corps and zero substantiated evidence - despite the rumors (and don't repeat them here - it'll get chopped immediately by the mods).

The destructive part of creative destruction needs care as well as the mission's passion.

I'm just saying that piling on lots of unfounded negativity on such a niche activity could do lasting unnecessary reputational damage.  All voices should be heard, surely, but the legacy could take months - years? - to uncover and I, for one, do not want the activity to be used as a whipping-boy in the greater mission of activist instigation.

Change, even creative destruction, does not require scorched Earth to be effective and fair.  Care and handling to protect the innocent in the activity is an equal responsibility for DCI's BoD, IMO, as fiduciaries of the activity.  Hard to see it's in the best interest to allow inflamed passions to direct the messaging of the good works being done to root out and obliterate the culture of harassment.

You, yourself, reminded that many corps have taken substantial steps to singly protect their kids.  The barn doors are open, surely, and the horse is out in the pasture, but that doesn't mean we burn down barn, too, IMO.