Cadets Establish Equality And Inclusion Committee

[Jeff Ream]

19 hours ago, dans said:

Hopkins has nothing to do with this discussion. With all his faults, he was not a racist and all were accepted at the Cadets. Hopkins was a progressive leftist, a racist would never be accepted in that club, you know that well Jeff.

oh he had flaws in dealing with people beyond the legal issues he currently faces. despite his publicly viewed rants, he had no qualms shaming people

[Jeff Ream]

19 hours ago, dans said:

Care to cite examples?

yes. many snide comments made about homosexual members at all levels of the activity. even once saw a name director mock the madarins as "that cute corps that makes great lo mein".a former student at a top corps questioned about his sexual orientation when he auditioned for the battery because ' we don't want any drama".

 

you can deny it all you want, but burying your head in the sand and saying "la la la' doesn't mean it didn't and doesn't happen...and i am citing examples as of 2 years ago

[Jeff Ream]

9 hours ago, Tim K said:

I’m not sure that drum corps itself is more progressive, but I do think when it comes to race, in general each generation seems to grow.

Regarding race, I do think it depends on where and when you marched. There are some corps that disbanded when “the neighborhood changed.” For some it was financial. For others, it was because of who moved in the neighborhood. This happened in the late 60’s/early 70’s, but up to the early 80’s, there at least appeared to be an unwritten rule that if you were a person of color, you did not march with Corps X. This may have been more perception than reality, but it existed. In the late 80’s, there was a predominately African American corps that marched in a July 4th parade in my hometown. I spoke with some of the chaperones and their stories of the their experiences with other corps at competitions was horrifying. 

Cadets assembling a committee to look at inclusion does not mean the corps has a problem that needs to be addressed. Many businesses are doing the same thing right now. It is better to examine things now so that if there is an issue, it can be addressed. My guess is that this will not be an isolated Cadets initiative and other corps will have similar committees.

 

a name DCA corps in the 70's pulled into a show on their buses singing "ain't no (n word) in our corps, doo-dah, doo-dah. and everyone heard them.

[Jeff Ream]

9 hours ago, JimF-LowBari said:

Mid 70s had a Senior corps the broke from the sponsor due to sponsors racial policy. Next year they were mixed race and had both genders in the corps but only lasted that year. Following year my mom overheard one of the ex-members saying “we’re going to come back next year, all male and all white”. No idea if this was going to be the reformed corps policy or blatherings of a racist member. Why I look at this new Cadets policy as possibly looking at how the members handle people who are “different” and not just the organization.

see above post about the corps singing on the bus

[Jeff Ream]

3 hours ago, PioneerWebmaster said:

It has nothing to do with being social justice warriors or being woke.  It has everything to do with listening to the members and alumni of the organization, and responding in a manner that is appropriate given the circumstances.  When you have alumni of the corps going on social media and detailing experiences that do not represent inclusiveness and equality, it would be a dereliction of duty if the corps administration didn't take a harder look at policies, procedures and the overall culture.

correct...and the membership today is far more vocal about these things. that Sara Bowdens postings about things have been nothing short of breath taking, and not always in good ways

[Gabe92]

3 hours ago, N.E. Brigand said:

Let's suppose that is the explanation. Is it healthy to organize an industry in such a way that people with "common sense" avoid it? 

Ha ha ha!   Lets be honest.... you can't ask tuition as high as the cost of a member. That mean with every kid you add, you get deeper in trouble financially. 

Drum Corps is full of passionnate and talented people who's gonna do it in condition most people would refuse. Not everyone have learn to give to others, to work for passion instead of money, for what it provide to the people involve (discipline, dedication, skills, pride, friendship, etc.). It is a fantastic journey but... 

1)   In an individual world, where most people look for something easy that bring in a lot of cash :  drum corps is not where most people want to be

2) If you need to start others businesses to sustain your primary business... it is probably not the best model you could dream of. 

 

However, it is a powerfull activity who provide something most other work/activity can't give you. I wish more people would discover it and engage in something truly fullfilling. 

 

Do I think we are crazy? Of course I do!  

[oldestoftheold]

1 hour ago, Jeff Ream said:

correct...and the membership today is far more vocal about these things. that Sara Bowdens postings about things have been nothing short of breath taking, and not always in good ways

FINALLY SOMEONE GETS IT! (always believed in you Jeff) Seems that a bunch of Boomers and Millennials dont understand that a lot of alumni in recent years are now speaking out on their trash experiences in the activity. Some have felt bullied and even threatened because of what they want to be identified as, while others are calling out BS back of the bus hazing traditions. They want to change the activity to be 100% safe and inclusive. 

Cadets put this new release out after getting trashed on social media for putting a post out during pride month that some members felt was BS fluff.

 

I've always thought drum corps was pretty good about being inclusive, but it seems that we need to do better. 

[JimF-LowBari]

2 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

see above post about the corps singing on the bus

That’s the one... and for everyone’s else’s benefit.... some of the members of that corps joined corps I was in and 2 idiots started singing that song on bus I was riding. Got told to shut up real quick and was last year with us. This version started “bet your money on the white drum corps” and went downhill from there.

My corps was all white at the time. No reason for it that we could tell except local cities HS band was failing and minority members not interested in DC. Had a member of that band with us and he tried to recruit but no luck. Always bugged me if any of the people from the other corps joined us because we were all white and they thought we wanted it that way.

Edited July 6, 2020 by JimF-LowBari

[dans]

8 hours ago, Jurassic Lancer said:

Let’s see what the next show is like. I like the staff they have addd. 

Yep, the theme behind their next show will be important. They have put together a very solid staff. I do have a few concerns though. My hope is that they move away from social issues and politics in their show. Time will tell.

[dans]

6 hours ago, Jeff Ream said:

oh he had flaws in dealing with people beyond the legal issues he currently faces. despite his publicly viewed rants, he had no qualms shaming people

He certainly had a strange way of dealing with people.