Originally Posted by
straycat264
Wow. And I thought
I was severe on the "it's the leaders' fault" front
You ain't seen nuthin' yet …
I've been putting off replying to this thread because, basically, I want to be rude, but as tactfully as possible.
I … don't … like … this … culture … of denial of responsiblity!
People saying it happens to me all the time, so it must be unavoidable, and it certainly can't be my fault!
Surely followers are getting fed up with regularly being injured when dancing with certain leaders? Or maybe it's nearly all leaders?
BeccaB complains:
Originally Posted by
BeccaB
… it seems that no one looks round for me!
And similar complaints by followers (not on this forum) are very common!
Who steers? The leader steers! Who else?!
If the follower gets injured, how can it be said that the leader shouldn't have seen it coming?
Idiots don't "come from nowhere". If they're close enough to injure the follower, then either they're already in the leader's field of view, or they've got to go past him to get to the follower!
It may be sudden, but nothing on the dance-foor is instantaneous!
I accept that if the leader gets injured, it can be said that the leader shouldn't have seen it coming – the idiot could have come from behind the leader (and then indeed I agree it's the follower's job to look out, not for herself, but for her leader).
But that can't physically happen if it's the follower that's injured.
The leader must have been able to see the idiot beforehand!
I agree sometimes it's a judgment call: the leader can see a dodgy situation, but he assesses it and genuinely decides it'll be a near-miss – and it isn't! In that situation, perhaps the leader can claim that he wasn't at fault.
But he can't claim that it wasn't his responsibility! He can't claim that he didn't see the idiot!
He saw the situation. He made the decision, it was his job to make the decision, it was his decision to carry on with the move.
It was his responsiblity, his job, not his partner's job, and the only question is whether he did a good job or a bad one.
The only exception would be where the follower isn't cooperating – isn't going where the leader is leading her. (Of course, the leader should still try to make allowance for that.) If an injury results, this lack of cooperation may make it solely or partly her fault. But if the follower is cooperating, then it's the leader's responsiblity.
Now the rude bit:
Too many experienced leaders seem to have this attitude, and followers like BeccaB suffer from it:
Originally Posted by
Gav
I've lost count of the amount of times I've been as careful as I could be …
If it occasionally happens, then maybe it isn't your fault (or maybe it is).
But if it regularly happens, then … d'uhhh!
There is such a thing as "defensive dancing".
It's not as much fun as normal dancing.
And, if it's done, it has to be done by the leader.
Unfortunately, although the leader makes the choice, it's almost always the follower who is the potential victim.
If you decide to do less "defensive dancing", and as a result your followers get injured more, then that's your decision. Maybe it's the right decision. But it's your decision. It's your responsiblity.
If you've "lost count of the amount of times you've been as careful as you could be,"
then you haven't been as careful as you could be!
A lot more followers like BeccaB would get injured a lot less often if only there wasn't this culture of denial of responsibility!
Would you want to be operated on by a surgeon who says "I've lost count of the amount of times I've been as careful as I could be …"?
With surgeons, the statistics speak for themselves. And they're published.
With dance leaders, the statistics also speak for themselves. They're just not usually published.
Floorcraft (which is a very wide term) may well be a shared responsibility. But steering the follower out of harm's way isn't.
Followers who grumble about repeated injuries shouldn't be brushed off with the implication that it's partly their fault.
Leaders should stop suppporting each other in this denial of responsibility.
If your (cooperating) follower gets injured, it may or may not be your fault. But it's always your responsibility!
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