drugs at drum circles
Thomas Westgard (t-westgard@onu.edu)
Fri, 12 Jan 1996 14:00:15 -0500
In re drugs at drum circles:
Drugs are something I have done a lot of study about, not because I do them
a lot, but because they are such a huge part of our culture, but we have
such strong social and legal taboos against speaking about them.
These taboos create a tremendous amount of emotion when it comes to
resolving problems related to drugs. A drum circle may create many
difficult situations, such as when a child comes and joins the drum circle
in an inappropriate manner, or when a retarded person joined the circle in
an inappropriate manner, or if a Metallica cover-band drummer joined the
circle (assuming your drum circle does not want to sound like Metallica).
The intoxicated rude person is no different, really.
The important thing to remember here is that it is not the drugs that do it.
The drugs are at most a facilitator. I have been in drum circles which
included children, retarded people, kit drummers, and people intoxicated on
anything you've ever heard of, and none of these things is necessarily
disruptive. (To be fair, I can't say I've ever been to a whole lot of drum
circles involving retarded child kit drummers on crack. =O... )
And, of course, I have seen many problems with inconsiderate drummers. The
real problem is how to resolve the incompatibility of different styles of
drumming, or people trying to reach conflicting goals, when the people who
complain are the ones (such as myself) who drum to achieve social harmony.
Telling the self-aggrandizing non-stop solo machinegun drummer to cool out
and shut up seems like it would be antithetical to achieving social harmony.
I follow the following steps:
1. Step back and cool out for a minute. Ask yourself if the Other needs to
change, or if you need to change. Is it better that the Other adapts to
your desire, or is it better that you change yourself to accomodate the
Other's needs? If the Other needs to change, advance to step 2.
2. Every person in a drum circle makes some amount of individual stamp on
the groove. No matter what you do, this person will affect the circle. If
you get the person to leave, you have lost the possibility of enjoying this
person's potential for a positive influence on the circle. Maybe that isn't
possible, though. Watch the person, seek what the person is seeking, and
see if you can find a way to help the person achieve that same goal through
a different means. (Or decide if there's just no hope for the schmuck and
think about how to get him or her out with minimum resistance. Try to tire
or bore the offender.)
3. Don't fear to speak to your fellow drummer about style and goals. Do
hesitate to attack the Other. If social harmony is what you seek, you know
that war results in common loss. Start out with the assumption that this
situation has potential for growth. Don't bullshit the other drummer. Tell
them what's on your mind, but not in a way that puts them at fault. This is
very hard to do. Practice.
4. If all of this seems like too much trouble, then you are not seeking
social harmony. You may be seeking to dominate all other drumming styles
with your style. If that is who you are, do not fear your self. Accept and
embrace your desire to dominate. Tell the Other that your style is the
Dominant one here, and they may submit or depart. Many problems come from
drummers who wish to dominate, but wish to view themselves as seeking social
harmony. Know yourself, and you are much further along the road to inner peace.
Thomas Westgard
t-westgard@onu.edu
twestgard@aol.com
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