The Soapbox Archives:
However, I haven't really heard people say they liked *what* he says.
To those who "want to make America great again", I must ask an important question, "Why don't you think America is great *right now*?" The comedian Carlos Mancia once said (and he's an immigrant), "America on its worse day is better than any other [possible expletive here] country".
To those who hate immigrants, unless your ancestors were hunting buffaloes in North America 600 years ago, either you're an immigrant or you were descended from one. And most likely, "real" Americans had discriminated against your ethnic group at some point and considered them sub-human or spawn of the devil. (Remember "No Irish need apply"?)
It should be noted that the day after the elections in November is the anniversary of Kristallnacht (Crystal Night) when SA paramilitary forces and German civilians attacked Jewish buildings, stores, and synagogues and killed a large number of *German* citizens who happened to be Jewish. Think about that as Donald Trump offered to pay the legal expenses of anyone who assaults someone protesting his campaign, especially those of a particular religion. Hmm....sound familiar? To probably misquote an often repeated phrase, "Those who can't learn from history are doomed to repeat it".
It's that time of year where I go through all the listings and try to see which ones are still in business. It's usually a bad sign when a website or a Facebook page disappears, though I did help someone figure out that they forgot to renew their website. Please help the process along by letting me know of any venues that have really gone away. Likewise, you can also help me by telling any swing and/or ballroom dance businesses you know that they should be listed here.
And if you're in the dance business, it's in your best interest to help me remove old listings. No one had told me that New School Swing went away and that their URL now pointed to Boston Lindy Hop. That meant that there were two links to Boston Lindy Hop on my dance studios page. I don't think that was fair to everyone else.
As these revivals happen with shorter intervals between the swing dance revivals, there are more and more people who were around for the previous generations of danceaholics. One difference between this one and previous "resurgences" is that we now have a wealth of information dating back to the one from the late 90s, the one started by the infamous GAP commercial. And I still have several copies of the Smithsonian Magazine from March, 1999 with the article on Swing dancing across the US (only because I got mentioned in it. :-) ).
It remains to be seen if the newcomers will repeat what earlier generations did to us, that is, believe that swing dancing didn't really exist before they showed up and chose to "save" the swing dance community (again). Too bad they will have missed the BSDN days.
Why should *you* go there? Beantown Lindy Hop Camp is a great event featuring some of the best Lindy Hoppers in the world. It's also a great atmosphere that encourages people to meet and make friends, whether it be the nightly dancing or the world-class "cafetaria". It's not just a big event at a hotel where people disperse for meals and split their time between the dance floor and their hotel rooms. If you haven't been there before, don't wait.