Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Swando
And that is the great travesty that has occurred here. If the person being blacklisted has no idea of the reasons that they are being excluded (or the reasons are invalidated by the facts of the situation), and has no chance to rebut the accusations, then how can this be interpreted any other way than a witchhunt?
Since I am qualified to only speak for my own record, I will use myself as an example:
3 years FLL Announcer
6 years FRC Offseason DJ (Wrote the book on DJing as well)
5 years Regional Robot inspector
3 years offseason scorer, 1 year Regional Scorer
5 years team mentor
6 years Regional Referee, 3 years FRC Offseason Head Referee
In addition, the Head Referee at 95% of the regionals that I've reffed can vouch for my skill at refereeing. The FLL committee of the regional I announced can vouch for me. The committees of the offseasons that I've DJed can vouch for my excellent playlist skills (even if volume may be an issue. I'm working on that). Any head robot inspector can vouch for my inspecting abilities (Thanks Al!), and I have NEVER heard a criticism of any of my abilities in any of my positions that I didn't immediately remedy. If anything, I am my biggest critic in the positions I've been in. As for emotional control, I think that from January through Thanksgiving, I have maintained a level of dignified maturity that far surpasses what should be expected of someone in my situation.
The problem is that I REFUSE to be bullied like this. I had enough of bullying as a geek in High School and I refuse to be bullied by strangers that don't even know me. The fact that myself and others have been forced out of the roles that we have the most experience in without any regard for respect or explanation is a travesty that must be remedied. I and the others may go on and volunteer our services to regionals that still have respect for their volunteers that Michigan lacks, but it's a shame that the state that we call home would stoop to this level.
|
Qualified? Unqualified?....does it make a huge difference really? I've seen people do great work on their first day volunteering.
Moreover you are viewing this from an incredibly negative perspective. This is an opportunity, to focus on everything else in life. FIRST is something you do, not who you are. Don't try to define yourself through the rigors of FIRST. Who cares if 15 ppl in people in FiM don't like you, oh well, their loss of a qualified person.
Focus on your team, your students, this is not a bad thing but a point to step back and learn. Ask yourself how could you avoid this situation in the future. Maybe some of the 'bullying' is actually how some people are trying to help you see what they see when they look at your performance.
You gotta see this is a great opportunity, you didn't lose a job, money or anything really; nothing got hurt but your pride which I understand is frustrating. It is obvious you are generally hurt by all of this and seem a little sensitive which is understandable but you need to view the larger perspective.
Who would dare tell you directly that they question your abilities when you lash out publicly like this? Good Luck to you, I wish you the best.