Klarinet Archive - Posting 000393.txt from 2004/11

From: Tony Pay <tony.p@-----.org>
Subj: Re: [kl] Clarinets - Identification markings etc.,
Date: Wed, 10 Nov 2004 14:33:43 -0500

On 10 Nov, Adam Michlin <amichlin@-----.com> wrote:

> It is theft. It should be discouraged. Clearly the other girl felt it was
> acceptable to take someone else's property because she "needed" it. I'm not
> suggesting the other girl be severely disciplined (it would certainly
> depend on the exact situation and her remorse) but I do think sending an
> unambiguous "this is not acceptable" message to the class is a good thing.

Notice how you think of it (in the passive tense: 'It should be discouraged')
as an interaction between 'authority' and 'the class'.

We don't know the circumstances. I certainly don't think she did the right
thing. But the labelling 'theft' obliterates consideration of what actually
occurred -- which, I (and we all, I hope) notice, you're not principally
concerned to find out about.

You might want to call it 'theft' after investigation showed it to be close
to that, sure. But I think that's very unlikely in this case.

> To not do so sends a clear message that it is acceptable to disrespect
> other people's property. Messages like these are why thousands of dollars
> worth of school instruments are treated with such disrespect.

No, to *do so* sends the message that you don't understand how people work.

The incident is actually quite trivial -- sorry, Kathy. Because, the
fundamental relationship between people in a band should be trust, not fear
of authority. Depending on what we found out, and what we said about it, the
band might be a better band.

'Fear in their hearts' shows that you have a very different agenda.

Why *I* wouldn't want to do what that girl did is quite complex, and doesn't
exclude the possibility that in an extreme situation, I might do something
very similar to what she did, and then try to sort it out afterwards.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd tony.p@-----.org
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE http://classicalplus.gmn.com/artists
tel/fax 01865 553339

... When God endowed man with brains, he did not intend to guarantee them.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org