As per the request of one of the DanceNet readers, here are copies of the past ramblings of the DanceNet Webmaster.
This person talked about how some dancers will be talking to him and when a good song comes on, they're "gone"...sometimes without even a simple "by your leave"...they're off looking to dance...with someone else. This person says that this sort of behavior is rude and is a turnoff to going out to dance.
I can see how this might cause some concern among some dancers. In the "old days", etiquette might have demanded that you ask the person with whom you're speaking to dance, not to go off seeking someone else to dance with. Talking with someone might have been a pre-emptive action to cut someone else off at the pass so you could dance with that person, or even, dancing with someone was an excuse to talk to them beforehand or afterwards.
I suppose some of the newer dancers might find it chafing (look it up) to be confined by such "archaic" rules and that etiquette might be a poor excuse to hold back their lives and enjoyment of dancing for the moment. I can certainly see their point of view.
However, let's take it from yet another point of view...
A friend who's only valuable on the dance floor is not going to be of much use after the music stops. And learning that lesson is not fun.
With a lot of bad things happening in the world because of people with evil intent, we forget about the people who do bad things because they're stupid.
In spite of the governments' all-out effort in education in schools and public forums, I just lost a cousin to a drunk driver this week. In the big picture of the world events, I'm sure this wouldn't even make a footnote in the history books but some idiot made sure that a lot of people felt his presence in the world when he hit the motorcycle that my cousin Albert was riding. It's sad enough when people have to bury older relatives, but it seems sadder to me when people have to bury their own kids.
To add insult to injury, this happened in the Scarsborough/Toronto area, the SARS capital of Canada, so we're told not to go to the funeral. The parents weren't even allowed in the hospital for fear of this unknown disease.
In this world, it's amazing that so many people don't consider the consequences of their actions on other people. If someone decides to get drunk and remove himself from the human gene pool, then they're paying for their own stupidity and we don't have to argue about who's responsible. However, it's unfortunate that sometimes these people decide to take others down with them, whether intentionally or by accident.
Oh yeah, it was my cousin's birthday the day he got killed. I hope they hang the bastard who thought his "right" to drink and drive was more important than my cousin's life.
On that note,...
"It would be interesting to poll readers and find out "why" they read the soapbox. Why someone would read the rest of the site is obvious."That's a good question...
What brings you to this page every week? Is it just to find out what's new this week? Or are you here to listen to someone with a bone to pick with some worldly injustice *again*? Tell me, tell me!