Jump to content

Elitism of Former and Current Marching Members


Poll  

242 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you sense elitism in those who have or do march drum corps?

    • Yes, and I have marched
      156
    • Yes, and I have not marched
      32
    • No, and I have marched
      42
    • No, and I have not marched
      12


Recommended Posts

I think that people who have marched are entitled to a certain amount of elitism, and I haven't really encountered anyone who has taken it too far.

It's a bit of a stretch to say that us non-marching folk can't have an opinion. I will by no means bad-mouth a corps or their product, and I certainly respect everyone and everything who/that is on the field. I do have my opinions, however... but I realize that there are things I can and can't argue and discuss without sounding ignorant, having never marched, and that's cool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 104
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

The corps I marched always had the "rookie talk" at the end of the season advising them to go back and be ambassadors of the activity and not to go into any other ensembles with a pompus/elitest attitude, but rather as someone that was humble and led by example. It worked for those members mature enough to understand the concept, as far as I could tell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Though I respect drum corps and the marchers, I find that some (not all) marchers tend have an elitist attitude, especially towards those folks like me who are in marching band.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My humble opinion;

If you haven't done it, how can you voice an opinion on it. Arm chair football players, SEAL wannabes, drum corps fans who speak as if they have marched.

Sorry, but I really disagree with you here. Sometimes facts are facts. I got bashed in the '93 Star topic for saying that the brass playing in the encore was badly out of tune, poor articulations, etc..... Guess what? People that marched Star agreed with me. You don't have to have marched to tell if a line is crooked, if there is an ensemble tear, if a note is out of tune, but somehow if you bring it up on DCP you get ripped.

The thing that seems to be the norm around here is the "good old boy" network. Everyone slapping each other on the back, and saying how great they are/were.

Even people's opinion of saying that they prefer one corps to another, or one version of "Malaguena" to another seems to be questioned if you haven't marched.

I think of it like this - If you HAVE marched you have more credibility because you HAVE done it, and experience in this activity holds a lot of water. However - opinions are like a-holes - everyone's got one. And just because someone hasn't marched, surely doesn't mean they can't have an opinion. Even if they don't have experience marching.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ed. note Do not take this as a bash against people who did not march. I have been told by people who did not march that my era of drum corps was of no value...that's what rips my hide.

Why any body would say something like that i don't know. That person needs to take the time to consider that every era of corps that has been before ours has layed the foundation for the activity that we do/watch. Think about it, had Elvis never decided to walk into sun studios and cut that little record that eventually made him one of the first "rock stars" would we "worshipping" rock bands like Metallica and Led Zepplin? I think not. Same thing with corps. If people who have marched or are currently marching decided that they had more important ways to spend the summer, we wouldn't be having this discussion cause the activity would be long gone. We should show a little more respect to those who do march or have marched, regardless of who they were with or where that group finished. Any era of drum corps has equal value in my eyes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My humble opinion;

If you haven't done it, how can you voice an opinion on it. Arm chair football players, SEAL wannabes, drum corps fans who speak as if they have marched.

All of these are just like the other, all of these things just kinda belong...everybody sing!!!! b**bs

ed. note Do not take this as a bash against people who did not march. I have been told by people who did not march that my era of drum corps was of no value...that's what rips my hide.

Sooo...since many Americans have not served in public office, they can't express their opinions on government by, um, voting?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not many people know this but the best kicking coach in the NFL has never played in the NFL, has never played football period, has never kicked a football and has never taken a step in his life. His kicking camps are the most attended and alot of NFL kickers seek out his advice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've marched in a couple of corps. Yet, there are hundreds of corps I haven't marched in. No one has marched everywhere, so no one has experienced everything there is to experience in drum corps. That's one good thing about discussion groups - you get to hear about experiences others have had....

....unless your elitism keeps you from listening to what others say.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wouldn't really call it elitism, but there are certain things I think shouldn't happen. For instance, I really could care less whether or not someone marched, but to go to a drum corps show and boo a certain corps for trying to entertain you is completely absurd. I understand everyone having an opinion, but let's not get to the point of downright ridiculing a corps. These kids do not get paid to do this and they are spending their summer working their ##### off to entertain us when they could be doing something completely different that would serve them better.

Also, DCI has been preaching for years about how they want to expand the fanbase. If we say people who haven't marched can't have an educated opinion about what they see, then this is not really helping the cause.

I have been guilty of appearing to be an elitest when someone criticizes The Cadets, but it is not meant to seem that way. The only point I have been trying to make is if you are going to criticize a certain corps when you yourself have never marched a drum corps, make sure you are educated about the DCI organization and know a little about the corps. I know there are some things I have to work on when it comes to responding to people who make negative comments, and this is where this forum comes to play. I've come here to learn and keep tabs on drum corps and I would welcome anyone who hasn't marched to do the same.

.......just my .02 cents....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you haven't done it, how can you voice an opinion on it. Arm chair football players, SEAL wannabes, drum corps fans who speak as if they have marched.

I've never been a quarterback but I know when one throws an interception.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...