Great Video

[tubaguy9]

As sort of said...It may not have been right for the kid to run through there. Period.
But...another thing to ask of this video: Why does the tuba player squat after tripping the kid?

[Bandmaster]

I have been part of marching bands for over 40 years and one of the first things I was taught was "NOBODY is allowed to break the ranks of band except an instructor!" The band block is YOUR space and you need to defend it! This has been taught in every marching unit I have ever been involved with. If you are worried that this little kid would be hurt by simply tripping him, then you had better outlaw all the activities that kids do like skateboards, football, playing with you pet pitbull and countless more.

I remember once that a woman tried to walk across the street between our drum major and the first rank while we were performing in a televised parade. The drum major went into a flourish with his mace and plopped her right on top of her head with the tip of his mace. At many parades we used to march, we had to have band fathers walk behind the back rank of flag girls to protect them from guys that would run up and try to grope them.

[tofu]

I remember once that a woman tried to walk across the street between our drum major and the first rank while we were performing in a televised parade. The drum major went into a flourish with his mace and plopped her right on top of her head with the tip of his mace. At many parades we used to march, we had to have band fathers walk behind the back rank of flag girls to protect them from guys that would run up and try to grope them.

Oh man, you brought back the memory of what happen to a 4th of July parade we did 15 or so years ago. We had come to parade rest (90 member group) waiting for a freight train to clear the crossing up ahead. It was a huge crowd and this drunken idiot charges into the band and grabs the drum majors mace. This jerk is acting like a clown harassing the baton twirlers (all daughters of band members) then starts weaving through the band acting like a jackass. The drum major was just frozen and the band was motionless. This went on for about 2 minutes until he finally got to me in the first file last rank (eight sousaphones) when I violently jerked it out of his hands. The force sent him reeling into the crowd where a couple of dads whacked him and the cops cuffed and hauled him away. The crowd roared, the train cleared, I handed the mace back to the drum major and the band marched on to National Emblem. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

[The Jackson]

I tried to cut through a line of marching band kids at a marching band event (That I did not have to attend). Apparently, a shaky line of these sheep with no uniforms on cracking jokes and being loud with one another was a bit to important for some mere mortals to "disrespect".

[Todd S. Malicoate]

I have been part of marching bands for over 40 years and one of the first things I was taught was "NOBODY is allowed to break the ranks of band except an instructor!" The band block is YOUR space and you need to defend it! This has been taught in every marching unit I have ever been involved with. If you are worried that this little kid would be hurt by simply tripping him, then you had better outlaw all the activities that kids do like skateboards, football, playing with you pet pitbull and countless more.

The kid in the video looks no more than 10 years old. I'm quite sure he wasn't well-versed in the rules of marching band etiquette. He heard some march music and did what little kids do...got excited and ran around. Sure, the kid's parent(s) should have stopped him...but you don't know the whole story. There's any number of explanations for why he might have "got away" to run through the band.

And surely you are not comparing an adult intentionally tripping a child with children playing games that are risky. Give me a break.

All the sousaphone player had to do was block the kid's path, stop playing long enough to tell him he shouldn't do that, then let him go. Lesson learned. Tripping him was uncalled for. "Defending the band block"...from excited kids? That's a great way to encourage people to want to listen to bands.

[PWtuba]

It was on Fox and Friends this morning.

[TubaRay]

I think the video is funny. That being said, in the interest of fairness, the kid did break ranks, but the tuba player broke his position of attention. I always heard two wrongs don't make a right.

I would agree with the sentiment that the action wasn't necessary. I still reacted to it being funny. Anyone who has had to put up with that type of behavior(which ordinarily can be controlled by a parent) will probably see that as a form of justice. I don't believe the tuba player was trying to hurt the kid. I personally believe our country needs more parents. When have plenty(maybe too many) biological fathers and mothers. The problem is that too many of them want to be friends with their kids, and are unwilling to take the flak that goes with being their parent.

OK. Sorry about the rant. I still think the video is funny.

[tubatooter1940]

But...another thing to ask of this video: Why does the tuba player squat after tripping the kid?

Maybe he was laughing so hard he crapped his pants.

[Dean]

I would bet, at the very least, that the audio for this clip was edited to time that cymbal crash with the fall... that seems TOO funny to naturally occur.

[Dean]

Although, watching the clip again...


You can see that they put their horns down right in time, as they should, at the end of the march... wow that is amazing timing!

[J.c. Sherman]

"Kids will be kids", and the condoning of behavior like that is why we are growing generations of half-educated, rude, sub-humans with bloated self-esteem and unearned feelings of entitlement. A parent was NOT chasing that kid. They probably thought he was "cute"...

"Breaking ranks" of a phoney quazi militia doesn't approach sin. Was it right to trip the kid? No. I think he made a poor choice. But the kid's parents should be teaching him that life will slap you back if you harras others, and that this is exactly what could happen. And it did get him to stop.

Again, Karma works both ways...

J.c.

[OldsRecording]

Hi. Do us all a favor and lock this one, too. Das ist genug.