No Band For You… Six Months!

Top o' the mornin' to ya, Gov'na!

Browsing around CNN.com this morning, I found a particular story that further proved how ridiculous we’ve become in America. John Coleman, the drum major for Cleveland Firefighters Memorial Pipes & Drums, quit after some hard to handle and (what I call) unnecessary publicity.

At the Inauguration of President Obama, the CFMP&D (try pronouncing that 10 times fast) marched in the parade. Obama reportedly smiled directly at John, and then waved at the band. Doing what any polite person would do, John nodded in acknowledgement and gave the President-to-be a slight wave in return. Sounds like a non-issue, right? Think again… According to Ken Rybka, the band’s Manager and Web Page Editor, the band rehearsed over and over, and knew it was a military parade. “Protocol and proper decorum had to be followed”, he said, according to CNN.com. For breaking “protocol”, John Coleman was suspended for… count it… six months. What I can’t grasp is the idea that a nod of the head, a smile, or a wave would be gestures that warrant any kind of suspension, regardless of the “protocol”. Sure, the band has rules, I get that. It’s definitely not my place to say someone was wrong here, but I can only imagine the amount of excitement, pride, and joy that Mr. Coleman felt when Obama looked right at him. What’s even better, is that Rybka is quoted to say that Coleman’s resignation “comes as a shock and surprise.”

Seriously?… Shock?… Surprise?… Would you like your name to be thrown all over national airwaves for something as minor as a wave, smile, and a nod of the head? Give me a break! Nobody needs this kind of attention for something so unimportant. To Mr. Coleman (and this is just my opinion here), he had a chance to connect with the oncoming President of the United States for just a moment, and that’s excitement that many would be foolish to pass up. It’s unfortunate that this country’s media, yet again, doesn’t fail to impress with the amount of non-stories out there, making Mr. Coleman an “innocent victim” (I put that in quotations because George Carlin, RIP, had a lot to say about the term ‘Innocent Victim’).

In review: Obama looked at Coleman. Coleman was excited. Coleman nodded, smiled, and waved at Obama. Coleman was suspended for breaking “protocol”. Coleman’s suspension became a national story. Coleman quits due to the publicity becoming a bit much to handle.

What have we accomplished?: Nothing positive. My thanks go out to the national media, who never fail to impress me with their lack of important stories, making me blog about this when I could be blogging about the Mets!… wait… nevermind… as long as Citibank has their name plastered all over the Mets franchise, I’ll pass.