No Excuse for Bad Behavior - Time for Steelpan Men to Grow up

When Steel Talks (WST) has traveled all over the world visiting panyards and pan folks. Our experiences have generally been outstanding. Everyone, from the giants (Greenidge, Holman, ‘Smooth’, Bradley, Samaroo, Goddard, Birch, Boogsie, Blake, Narell, and others) in pan, to the latest newcomers, have shown us nothing but respect and love. It is this love, and spirit of community, that fuel us.

The worst experience for any personnel of When Steel Talks took place this summer in the panyard of New York’s Harmony Steel Orchestra. A well-known steelpan personality associated with Harmony either lost his mind, or entered into an altered state... and proceeded to verbally abuse a WST staff member without any cause.

This incident showed that there still remains a fading remnant of the steelpan community that still believes they can define their manhood - or lack thereof - by disrespecting, bullying or ignoring women.

It was a classless, cowardly, and unprofessional display, and overall a spiritually disheartening panyard visit. The experience does not effect us - WST is judged by our history and work. However we would like to know how a youth-oriented organization like Harmony explains away this behavior.

http://www.panonthenet.com/news/2008/sep/badbehavior-9-9-08.htm

Leave your opinion at opinions@panonthenet.com

Responses to:
Not so fast - No Excuse for Bad Behavior - Time for Steelpan Men to Grow up

most recent response first

This is even worse than I first imagined, you mean to tell me that we have, not one but two abusive men out there in the pan community?! To make matters worse, I've been told that I know the lovely lady that was abused...

What's wrong with these men? I'm really suprised that Ken would do something like that, but what do I know...there's just no excuse for it and I'm really glad I wasn't there in person to witness it. I can tell you this...in the eleven years that I ran a band, nothing like that ever happened and if someone tried, he would be shown the door because I will not tolerate that kind of behavior. No band leader should accept that behavior from anyone in their bands, no matter who the person is, especially when you're dealing with a band that is primarily composed of youths...

what are we teaching the young men of this band by letting something like this go unchallenged? For those men reading this, listen to me....

Respect our women, we don't always agree with our women and that's normal, just respect our women because they deserve to be treated right; they are not to be treated like dirt under your shoes!!

To the leader of Harmony, call a meeting with the band (if you haven't already done so) and apologize, not just for Ken's behavior, but also for your failure to act to protect one of our women. I can't tell you what to do, but I would use a different arranger next year and I like Ken, but it would be a case of wisdom, not a lack of forgiveness.

What I would like to see done in the future is a "Code of Conduct" for all steelbands the outlines what is acceptable or unacceptable behavior for the bands and what the penalites are for breaking those rules; like being banned from all the bands ...not just one band.

Finally,

When someone accuses someone else of trying to profit from their works...they usually have a plank in their own eye that needs to be removed and that is the case.

GP

Ken Professor is a second cousin to me. I am not surprised as Ken has an ego problem which he needs to work on and is beginning to keep him back in his pan career. People are beginning to dislike him for this. Actually Ken's mother past on last night, so I will see him at the funeral and of course he would be in a state of anxiety, so I will not ask him any thing of this matter. However I will speak to him some time later. Ken cries quickly and also apologises quickly too. He has some baggage poor fella. He has a short fuse (temper).

It seems therefore in both cases the ego problem of being a leader (Pierre and Ken) is the real cause. That's why a cut arse sometimes helps to break the ego down. But dont worry, every one will eventually pay some day for their ego problems. Boogsie has done a lot of cooling down on his ego problem, which was dealt with in several ways in his life including thieves entering his home, illness, death of some of his close friends recently. He lost three the other day, and some other incidences in his life. Still there is some ego which some careless friends build up in these band leaders. It's a leader problem. They pump up these leaders ego and their ego needs to burst sometimes. But if they dont learn the easy way, they will learn the hard way one day.

sidd9990

GospelPan

They are both guilty. Both stories are very, very true. You are looking at two different incidents. In both cases I fully endorse Sidd's solution. Mr. Pierre and Philmore should be doing some serious apologizing. They both need help. I've been told that Philmore does feel very sorry for what he did but that is no excuse. His remorse is probably more because so many people have gone after him. His behavior was bazaar to say the least. Harmony should have put Philmore out their yard. Winning isn't everything. As for Mr. Pierre, he seems to have a long history of bad behavior.

serious

Something is very wrong here and that's the problem with rumors...

who is the coward that commited this revolting act of abuse? Was it Mr. Pierre, Philmore or someone else? Can we hear from someone who was actually there?

Someone needs to set the record straight because one of these men (or both) is obviously innocent and needs to hear an apology.

GP

Okay, I heard of this incident before it made its way to this message board.. let me just say that I was not present at the time of this incident but from whom I was related the story is a reputable person in the pan fraternity and has no reason to spread senseless rumors...with that said, the alleged person in question I'm sorry to say is Ken "Professor" Philmore, he allegedly confronted a female WST representative with accusations of WST using the internet to profit from his works..............sigh.......

What an ass!!!

Eye4pan

It's s shame in 2008 that we still have to deal with idiots like this man. I agree with those who said he should have been dealt with on the spot, if not by throwing the obvious embarrassment back on him with a good cussin, but to show the young people who are there that this type of behavior is not tolerated and anytime. He needs to be banned from the Pan community until he can apologize to the young lady, the entire panyard as well as the entire pan community. It seems like this guy has been getting away with this type of behavior for sometime, I'm wondering why someone (especially a woman) has'nt put a good hard slap in his mouth before, In my circles, it would not have been his mouth I would be aiming for, all I can say is...He's a lucky man (so far), but I think his luck just ran out.......

Cathryn

I am surprised and disappointed that Mike or someone else from Harmony didn't step in and reprimand who ever this idiot is. Pan doesn't need this.

dika

Where were the other men around such a "man ne coo". In the days of old while in a band or pan yard he would have been beaten badly in front of the woman and made to apologise there and then. Its also wrong to associate the pan community with this type of behaviour towards a woman or women. Pan men use to fight men over women. Never pan men fighting a woman. At least not in a pan yard or public for other pan men to see, not unless he was willing to get some cuffs or some blade. So this man should have been beaten by the other men in the yard in front of the woman and made to apologise to her in front of everyone. Most of the time thats all it takes to cure a man who disrespects a woman or beats her. He never really got a "cut arse" from a group of males for such behaviour. Dont kill him just beat him badly. He would always remember that cut arse and think twice before he does it again. Some fellas should still beat him for this. Thats the cure for a "man ne coo".

sidd9990