From: chris@optimla.aimla.com (Chris Angelli)
Subject: Re: The Star of Indiana, HATE
Keywords: The Star of Indiana, why do they hate them?
Organization: OptImage Interactive Services Co., L.P.
Date: Wed, 19 Aug 92 16:26:44 GMT


In article <1992Aug18.185848.8020@beaver.cs.washington.edu> you write:
>In article <1992Aug18.161926.5924@midway.uchicago.edu> xklh@midway.uchicago.edu writes:

.... bunch of stuff deleted here....

>
>>Star does not let all people of all shapes and sizes into
>>their corps.  You have to be a certain weight and height.
>>And your ever so precious wonderful staff told me that!!
>>Also, how much to Star members pay a year in dues?  Could
>>it be only $200?  YES!  You don't work for the money
>>you get.  Mr. Cook just hands it over.  That is not
>>drumcorps.
>
>This is a situation where the idea of drum corps as a youth activity
>and drum corps as a music education medium comes into conflict.  At the
>top levels, drum corps have to be extremely selective, which means not
>only do they have to be able to play an instrument or spin a flag well,
>they even have to have a uniform look for the right visual effect.
>
>This may sound a bit racist, but I find it hard to believe that a white
>person could make it big as a rapper.  I'll believe it, however, when I
>see it.  This is where the "look" can make a difference in the final
>product.  Maybe in drum corps, the "look" is not or should not be that
>important.  But the staff and management has made that decision, and you
>can disagree with it (I personally do not like the idea of selection
>based on weight/height).  But to HATE them for it?
>

.... blah blah blah....


OK, I've never seen Star, I am completely ignorant about how good/bad/ugly
they are.  I have been out of the activity for 10 years, so I don't know
what the current judging criteria are.  So how can I possibly have anything
intelligent to add to this discussion?  Well it really bothers me (I mean
hair-standing-up-on-the-back-of-my-neck-type bothers me) to hear phrases
like "have to have a uniform look for the right visual effect".  Am I the
only one that is reminded of Hitlers Aryan ideal?  I mean, maybe I'm over-
reacting here, but I find it hard to believe that a judge would say "Hey,
that snare line's really tight, but that guy (or girl) in the middle is
just too tall (or short or fat or skinny or dark-skinned or light-skinned or
what have you) and it takes away from the effect."  COME ON.  Now I realize
that this is not a utopian world here and that people are not always nice
and accepting of diversity.  But to actively promote prejudice is something 
I find reprehensible and, yes, HATEFUL.  

Also I don't understand what you mean by the conflict between drum corps as
a youth activity and drum corps as a music education medium.  What conflict?
Are those two things mutually exclusive?  If a person is excluded from a 
top corps due to lack of ability, that's one thing.  If a person is excluded
due to some physical characteristic over which they have no control that's an 
entirely different matter. 

Sorry for the diatribe.  You just struck a chord in me... (OK, so I'm a little
short!)

-Chris







-- 
Christine Angelli						chrisr@aimla.com
Philips Interactive Media of America	uunet!aimla!chris
Sidewalk Studios