Hopblog thoughts on "Hash-gate"

[madscout96]

I don't know if this has been discussed in any other threads, but I'm going to post it in here so that it can be talked about. I'm not a big Hopblog watcher, I pretty much go there to read something if someone else posted in here about it (and it's usually when he says something bad or controversial). But I posted an anonymous comment to his first blog entry about "Hash-gate", and I came back looking to see if he responded to my comment. He didn't, but I did see this entry about "Hash-gate". I think all of the Hopkins critics (myself included) should read it:

Looking Back

Well ..

As I look back, there are a few things I wish I had not done over the weekend ... over the year .. and I guess over the length of my life.

In regards to the infamous Thursday evening ...

> I wish I had checked the markings before the corps was even close to entering ... but, at large scale events .. DCI always has taken care of such! Most are on turf, and thus no issue. But still ... I could have checked.

> I wish I had been more clear in my communications so that folks did not think I pulled the corps. I did not pull the corps ... I never threatened to pull the corps but ... I can see what it looked like. Mr. Di Carlo and I had agreed to do something .. there were NO hashes, and I was simply clearing so the painting could occur, and I did not want my kids to stand there for 10 minutes. But ... that was not communicated. I should have waited for DCI to act.

> When the corps was clear and I was walking forward to find DCI officials, the response from the crowd was huge. I responded to the booing and I know better. I needed to not react. I needed to do my job.

If I had it to do over again, I would have simply looked straight ahead and acted as needed for the Cadets to be safe. It was a mistake.

> I never realized that the incident was being broadcast in the stadium. I saw the camera, I knew of the theater show, but I was not thinking of the stadium screens. So ... then I felt the camera's on me, I can now see why the response was so loud. I was the villain. And the cameras were making thus clear to all. There was no ill intent ... I love Tom Blair, but I can see that the fire was being fueled.

so .... I learn.

I want to thank the directors that took the time to call me to assure me that they were supportive and concerned for me and the corps ..

Jeff - Cavaliers

Jeff - SCV

Mark - Blue Knights

Greg -- Colts

Thanks guys. Your friendship means a great deal to me. To say it was a challenging time was an understatement.

I am sorry it happened, but I am not sorry for what I did. I am thankful for Tony DiCarlo and his support and I am appreciative that Dan and John Phillips listened to my appeal.

I am most appreciative the Cadets were allowed to be the Cadets.

Thank you to all who supported the corps Friday and Saturday. We were not on home turf but we were appreciative of the response. Indeed, it was GEORGE HOPKINS, who pulled the corps, and yes, my mind was with my kids but, they did not have a say in what we did, or how we did it. All happened in a split second, and it was challenging ... and I am proud of each member for their courage.

And onward to 2008.

Posted at 01:36 am

I'm not a fan of George Hopkins, I'm against the things he stands for (the radical change in the activity, amps, narration, electronics, woodwinds, higher membership maximum, etc.). But I don't think it would be right to hear what he has to say only when it's controversial. That's almost like someone wanting Don Imus to be fired even though they don't listen to his radio show (no, I'm not a fan of Imus either).

[supersop]

Balance? :P

I'm sure many will say, "Good, George now understands why everyone was so upset with him, and why it got taken out on the corps". He really did instigate and perpetuate the situation.

Others will say, "Wow, I didn't perceive the situation that way. Now I understand what really happened and feel really bad for those kids".

Both statements/reactions are right, depending on what your point of view was prior to this blog post. It might even make it easier for those who were so upset with the audience and online reaction, to swallow the long winded conversations that have taken place since. It was really easy for some to jump down another's throats when they didn't fully understand the context (perception of the situation) in which they based their posts and reactions live.

[GmenBari78]

I respect George for admitting the mistakes. I've had too many people in my life who do not do that and its hurts. When someone does apologize I am drawn closer to them, not pushed away, because I know they are teachable. Thanks George, I appreciate your attitude very much.

[LisaLisaMoMeesa]

Imagine that. George Hopkins is human.

Hopefully the armchair quarterbacks who think they would always run a corps perfectly, without mistakes and write shows that 100% of the audience will love (i.e the people on their ##### in the stands) will realize this....but I doubt it.

[pags]

I'm grateful for the post because it really does go a long way to explaining (not justifying, just explaining) the reactions on both sides of the incident. Yes, the crowd, the crowd had a misperception of what caused the incident. Yes, George AND the crowd overreacted in their own ways. On both sides it was very much an "in the moment" reaction. As such, I don't believe any apology on either side is necessary and it's best to just move on. I'm sure DCI, George Hopkins (and every other director for that matter), and hopefully the fans have learned from this incident as to how to react when such an incident occurs. The fans need to be more patient and wait for an explanation; the director needs to not egg on those who are being impatient, DCI needs to keep closer watch on the fields and be the party that provides the explanation before anything gets out of hand.

[Kyle B]

Kudos to him.

I loved the fact that people were coming on DCP that night and claiming he pulled the corps off and was getting upset with everyone.

Hello, I saw the same broadcast. He wasn't running around with his hand everywhere. Now we have people saying that he shouldn't have done it, well...it is in the rule books. Can't really say it's against the rules.

And yes, I didn't like the amplification, but I loved their show.

BTW, I along with other people laughed when he bowed. Sometimes it is fun to stoop down to other people's standards, and that I thought was funny.

[pags]

Hmm, how curious that this thread is not getting a lot of commentary...

Could it be that a post that actually alleviates and explains a great deal of the tension surrounding that unfortunate Quarterfinals incident is too sensible to warrant further commentary?

Is it just too fun to dislike George Hopkins or the crowd's reaction?

[drumcat]

I haven't said anything about the hash incident because it's always a director's call. I think there are two lessons here:

#1 - Hopkins played to the crowd a bit, and ended up "villainizing" himself. The animated reactions ending up on screen, and the irony of wearing all black didn't help.

#2 - After pulling the same thing in 2003(?), you'd think everyone would be aware.

Do I buy "safety"? No. But that's the rule. It was intended to be a weather-related option. After some close lightning strikes, a rule was added that a corps director can remove his corps for "safety" reasons. This is why that word is being used. For continuity of shows, this needs to be revisited by the BoD, but the guy bent a rule in a way he needed to for his group. Kudos for it, but I think the unintended consequences were more significant than expected.

[BigSnareline]

No amount of explanation can change the fact that he handled the situation poorly. I'm not saying he didn't have the right, just that He was very unprofessional in the way he went about it. I still want pictures of the mess if anyone took any!

[Dan Baker]

Hmm, how curious that this thread is not getting a lot of commentary...

Could it be that a post that actually alleviates and explains a great deal of the tension surrounding that unfortunate Quarterfinals incident is too sensible to warrant further commentary?

Is it just too fun to dislike George Hopkins or the crowd's reaction?

Or could it be because most of us are taking this attempt to save face with the large grain of salt it deserves?

Case in point:

Quote 1: "I did not pull the corps ... I never threatened to pull the corps"

Quote 2: "... I was simply clearing so the painting could occur, ... I should have waited for DCI to act."

Quote 3: "When the corps was clear and I was walking forward to find DCI officials ..."

Quote 4: "Indeed, it was GEORGE HOPKINS, who pulled the corps" (emphasis in original)