Parents Speak Up

[ContrasAreFun]

I have to agree with previous statements that the grief of fans is not at the members themselves at all, but rather towards the show concepts being presented year after year that clearly are not what people want to see or hear. The Cadets work extremely hard at what they do, and nobody will probably ever tell you different. There are a lot of people including myself who will never boo a corps, but it doesn't mean they cared for the show or style a corps utlilizes.

[BRASSO]

You have my sympathy because you don't want to see or hear negative reactions from people to your Son's Corps performances. As a Parent myself, I can understand your natural feelings as a Mother for her child.

On the other hand, he is blessed right now. He is not being attacked by artillary fire, weapons fire, nor asked to go onto military patrols where in a moment, he could be shot dead or blown up by a roadside bomb, nor subjected to native hostilities, and potential disease and thousands of miles away from his family and friends. Your Son is doing Drum Corps. His life is not in danger. He is subjected to polite applause, some silence, and an occassional boo here and there at Drum Corps competitions for a few weeks. He'll survive his Drum Corps summer tour just fine.

In the offseason, both you and he had an opportunity to select a Corps for him to perform. I would imagine that both you and he knew that the Cadets Corps like to push the envelope of this activity, and that controversy has follwed this Corps the last few years in terms of what they put out on the field. You admitted as such in your comments here re. " Allentown " last year. So it's not like this year was unexpected. Noone drafted him into this years Corps to subject himself AGAIN to an environment that both you and he felt uncomfortable with. He CHOSE to march Cadets again this year. And to take both the good and the bad that come with that decision.

[BozzlyB]

Now Bosly......the kids can't help what the drill is going to be. This mom is talking about the kids/parents and their feelings. What about the corps that comes in last almost every year? Are those kids worth any less because of that? Absolutely not. It's about good sportsmanship, regardless of what is actually on the field.

I understand, I am a parent of 3 and I can empathize as to how that feels. Frankly though, the drill isn't the problem. I don't think ANYONE has animosity torwards any marching member of the Cadets, and it IS unfortunate that they have to endure heckling from a crowd due to a product design that they can't control. Hopkins has decided to use the Cadets as a platform for expressing his own personal political and moral agenda, which I think is the most unfortunate thing of all.

[GGarrett]

I have to say that this KIND of thing has been going on for a long time, sadly. But way back in the stone age when I marched, a corps I was in was in a Kentucky Fried Chicken Commercial. When we showed up to shows, people would yell things at us about how "chicken sucks" and "where's the colonel?" or "where's the piccolo player?" and were SURE it was the first time we'd heard those jokes or that we would be offended.

It wasn't, and we weren't.

[CrownMe]

Trust me, there are worse things going on in DCI than the rudeness of this board.

Edited June 30, 2008 by CrownMe

[prodigal bari]

As hard as it is for a parent to swallow, the audience has the sole right to recognize its enjoyment (of lack thereof) of a performance in any activity. I am a parent as well; and it is just something that you have to prepare your child (if he/she is not of age) for....and you need to be prepared for it yourself. You should be/or have been aware of all that encompasses the experience your child would receive in the particular corps that they signed up for; and that does include the level and content of the particular performances they would be presenting. With the abundance of information out here on the activity today there frankly is no excuse to know otherwise; and if a corps director/staff will not inform you honestly about what is being done, then you should act accordingly in your child's best interest. If that child is 18+; well then, it is solely their responsibility at that point.

Unless your child directly draws attention to themselves in a negative way (i.e.; the Madison frap in America...and if you are foolish enough to draw that type of attention to yourself, be prepared to face the music ) the corps audiences have almost NEVER reacted negatively because of the members' efforts. There is a corps or two whose staff has pushed the programming beyond what is accepted by the audience; and the fault lies directly with the corps management and their vision. (I personally would not have my child in those groups, irregardless of how many rings they have won!) Those groups are well documented and that must be considered when looking at that group for your child's participation. As in all performance endeavours, the audience alone has the right to applaud. Or not to. You must be prepared for that.

In short, there is little reason for you not to know what your child is getting into. Or for a young adult not to. Since a potential corps member foots the bill, then let the buyer beware.

[DCIHasBeen]

At one time each Cadet had to sign a contract with the corps stating, among other things, that if they have an issue about something, that they will only complain to someone who has the direct ability to do something about it. The idea was to get the kids to give up the right to ##### and moan.

Don't know if that's still the case, but you might want to take a leaf out of that book ... Your post here does absolutely nothing except arouse more useless controversy about the Cadets and their show. Ridiculous statements such as fearing that a lynch mob might attack the corps do nothing to further any real issues you might be trying to put forth.

If your concerns run deep, take your own advice and write an email to Hopkins ... He's the only one with the authority to address the issues stemming from how the corps is programmed and the reaction to same by the fans.

As for your kid, he/she knew what they were signing up for when they joined the Cadets ... Developing a thick skin is part of the drum corps education. If the anti-Cadet sentiment is too much for them, then it's time to find another corps, otherwise it's time to stand up for what they believe in and shut out the outside voices.

Complaining on DCP about how unfair and cruel the World is will not result any of your issues being addressed, other than getting some moral support from others that agree that the World is an unfair and cruel place.

[KeepOnFoodTruckin]

I am really sorry it ruined the experience for you and your family. I am a parent too and I know that can be harrowing.

You sound like a rookie parent too so I am going to hope your season improves as you become more familiar with drum corps culture. As a rule, drum corps fans are not rude but they are passionate. I am no expert but I do know that each corps has a persona and time honored traditions and they are fiercely protected. I hope that you can turn the tide for your own experience and that your family can take part in the pride of being a part of a drum corps family.

I do feel your pain but I want to advise you to stop and take a breath. I totally get the "mother-lion approach" and wanting to protect our young adult children. The hardest lesson I had to learn as a drum corps parent was that the experience was my child's -- not mine. Before my daughter marched I did some research about the corps and determined which ones were known for being classy, well run, well funded, safe, etc. I learned something about the activity so I knew what we were getting into before I started writing checks -- copious quantities of checks.

Your child chose to be in the Cadets. I would bet he did not make this choice blindly. The controversy surrounding the Cadets isn't new. I knew from my own homework that narration and the Hopkins way was controversial. It didn't take much research to determine that. I would suspect you knew that too before you started writing your own checks. The Cadets rank very high, win championships, etc but there is a price tag attached and that is the drama and that's a big challenge.

During her rookie year my daughter marched in a corps that ranked steadily in 14th/15/th16th place. That was a challenge in a different way than your experience. My daughter's corps would take the field and people would get up to get a brat or hotdog because they were perceived as "not important enough to watch" or parents who made disparaging remarks about "it's just that corps so it doesn't matter." We rarely had a word mentioned in reviews or merited much talk on DCP. We weren't attacked so much as largely ignored.

Oddly though, it didn't ruin the experience for me. I was able to remain proud of my child and her accomplisments despite what other people in the crowd said. My pride in my child's accomplishments is not predicated by what others think.

I knew that my kids corps worked so hard and managed on little sleep and did long blocks and had aching legs and shoulders and crazy tan lines -- just like all the rest of the kids on tour. I also knew that marching in the corps she was in that I wouldn't likely see her on the field on Saturday night at finals. It was part of being in the corps she chose to march.

That year she learned that achieving a personal best even though there isn't a medal attached to it could still be a worthy effort. I think it was a great life lesson. I think that part of being a Cadet may be to learn to take pride in your accomplishments despite what others say about you. It's part of being in the corps he chose to march. That seems a worthy life lesson to me too.

I am sympathetic, as a parent, to people bagging on your kids -- particularly adults who should know better. I've also learned that people who SHOULD know better doesnt mean they do or that they act on it. Does that mean that disrespect is acceptable? Of course not. But, it's part of being in the corps your child chose to march. Make no apologies for it. Be proud that your child is in a phenomenal program.

Stand up. Cheer loudly. Be authentic in your support and when others don't meet your standards of sportsmanship, show them the right way. Stand and cheer loudly for every other corps too. Choose pride, not despair. Lead by example and model the type behavior and support you feel all marching members deserve.

I hope your season improves and that you can take from it the joy of a parent watching her child achieve their dreams on the drum corps field and hang in there.

[KeithHall]

The paying customers that sit and applaud every corps at every show are, for the most part, former marching members who don't appreciate some of the new ideas that have been brought to the activity. The second word in this post is important...PAYING. The fans still support the activity but should have the right to voice their opinions on what is happening. The Cadets director chooses his path and unfortunately (or fortunately) the majority of drum corps fans disagre with his ideas.

DCP is a forum and monitored pretty well. If the "venom spewed" gets out of hand, it is terminated. I haven't heard of people getting beat up at drum corps shows in a very long time so I wouldn't worry. You have to expect remarks, as it has been happening before I was marching in 1970. Just ignore, actions speak louder than words...let the corps do the talking on the field.

Parents speak out.

I hope parents from all the corps will post here and relate how you would feel if this happened to your son or daughters corps.

I am the parent of a Cadet .I’m not a musician. I don’t judge shows I just watch and enjoy. It is not my place to tell the directors how to run things. My place is to shell out the $$ and support my sons passion for music. I am at the point where I am afraid for my son’s safety. The venom and hate being bandied around these boards just curdles my blood. It makes me fear a lynch mob will show up at one of the show venues .

People sitting near us in the stands at the Rose Bowl last year kept giving us furtive looks and acted as though they were waiting for us to open fire on them. Someone actually asked us what we would “do” if The Cadets didn’t win. They were amazed that we cheered and clapped every corps. We gave the Blue Devils a standing ovation when they took the Championship. It’s called good sportsmanship.

Sitting in the stands listening to the catcalls (shut up and play ) and the boos and the snickering RUINED the experience for my family. It happened in Allentown too.

I want you to think about the parents and how THEY feel when you are treating THEIR children with such hate and disrespect ? How do you think other young people who are hoping to participate in drum corps in the future will feel that they could receive such treatment from an audience ?. How do you think this kind of behavior will encourage better turnouts at DCI shows ???

I don’t care if a show is bad, good or terrible. I stand and clap and cheer for EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.

You have the right to hate narration. You have the right not to watch the show. George Hopkins has an E-mail address just go to the YEA website and click on “ask george’. Make your opinions known to DCI. LEAVE THE KIDS ALONE.

It isn’t narration that is ruining drum corps.

[BRASSO]

I have to agree with previous statements that the grief of fans is not at the members themselves at all, but rather towards the show concepts being presented year after year that clearly are not what people want to see or hear. The Cadets work extremely hard at what they do, and nobody will probably ever tell you different. There are a lot of people including myself who will never boo a corps, but it doesn't mean they cared for the show or style a corps utlilizes.

Drum Corps performers should not be subjected to booing. That's a given.

But for perspective, many high school and college athletes ( same age as Drum Corps) are subjected almost routinely to catcalls, profanity, booing, jeers,etc and MUCH worse fan behavior when they are on the road in competition. And these hostilities begin sometimes as soon as they get off the bus. And they last until thy get back on the bus..... and in some cases the hostilities follow them on that bus until the bus leaves the property.

We've heard from DCI that they like to now compare these performers to well honed, toughened athletes.

' seems some of these 18-22 year olders need to develop an athletes tougher skin though.

The occasional negative audience reaction to the Cadets at competitions around the country is absolutely muted compared to the sometimes loud and vile fan reactions that most athletes their age recieve at competitions away from home, but readily learn to shrug it all off and compete.

And as I said in an earlier post, some kids their age are in a literal war zone right now, getting shot at, where death is the goal of those who dislike their mission.

While booing is rude. It's rare.... very rare in Drum Corps. And most High School and College Coaches around the country get WAYYYY more grief than George Hopkins has EVER gotten from Drum Corps fans.

Just sayin'

Edited June 30, 2008 by BRASSO