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RSS icon Comments on Estonian Folk Dancing: Will We Confront this Menace?

1

Those pigs had it coming to them.

Posted by Angry Latvian | May 26, 2008 1:47 PM
2

What the fuck were guns doing at Folklife? I thought Folklife was aging hippies doing raindances and making pottery to the sound of a didgeridoo.

Posted by Bauhaus | May 26, 2008 1:56 PM
3

Thank you for having the courage to write about this important problem, Dominic. Perhaps we can create an Estonian Dance Ordinance. Where's Mark Sidran when we need him?

Posted by Damon | May 26, 2008 2:14 PM
4
Posted by Abby | May 26, 2008 2:18 PM
5

You have a future in local politics. We could prevent crime from happening if we just shut down more performances and gatherings. Only those reactionaries who think they have a right to listen to unapproved music stand in the way.

But Estonian fold dance isn't the culprit here. I've always been suspicious of drum circles and they were near one of those. We need to regulate Folk Dance, Drum circles and nightlife, then nobody will get shot.

Posted by Luke Baggins | May 26, 2008 2:24 PM
6

Given the direness of the circumstances, we need to call for the S.P.D. to begin immediate preemptive profiling of all likely folk-dancers or Estonians. Also, we're going to need to suspend the constitution until the crisis has passed -- downtown, Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, First Hill and all outlying areas should immediately be declared "folk-free zones," strictly enforced with severe penalties for any unauthorized djembe bangin', banjo-pickin', or incitement-to-hootenanny violations.

Think of the children!

Posted by flamingbanjo | May 26, 2008 2:30 PM
7

dude 1 had a carry permit. he was allowed by state law to have a loaded gun at folk life.

the problem is idiot young males. testosterone addles their brains.

they are also the ones who own the problem pit bulls.

Posted by max solomon | May 26, 2008 2:35 PM
8

God must send us a hunter; another God-sent Adolph Hitler, to rid the world of the Estonians once and for all! I did not say that! Someone else who I am taking out of context said that!

Posted by Rev. Haggie | May 26, 2008 2:42 PM
9

The first link above notes that there are four types of Estonian folk dances:


  1. circle and line dances, unlimited number of dancers
  2. kontradances and kadrills, the number of dancers is designated as well as the choreography
  3. couples dances; usually in circles moving counterclockwise
  4. single dancer performances

I'm betting Nickels and his staff, after months of deliberation, will decree that the first two are prohibited, the couples dances are OK as long as the dancers move clockwise, and the fourth is OK.

Posted by jmr | May 26, 2008 2:55 PM
10

I thought only two people got shot.

Posted by Diana | May 26, 2008 3:09 PM
11

Clever

Posted by Sir Learnsalot | May 26, 2008 3:16 PM
12

remember - in the homeland these are the folks who throw feces at the gay pride parade

inherent spiritual void which has reached our fair city?

they also sold out to the Nazi torrent

Posted by John | May 26, 2008 3:34 PM
13

But I thought concealed weapon permit holders were the ones that were supposed to keep us safe from crazed pistol-whippers causing trouble at effete liberal tree-huggy events

Isn't the narrative supposed to be that some horrid urban thug (or crazed Islamic Terrorist!) would come in and start shooting, and the concealed weapon permit holders, with their nerves of steel, steady hand, and deep respect for gun safety and our God Given Right to Bear Arms, would take them out so that everyone could enjoy the Lesbian Klezmer Quartet?

I'm very confused.

Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay | May 26, 2008 3:36 PM
14

@10) The PI says three were hurt--two shot, and one suffering from from "an undetermined injury." The record has been corrected. Thank you.

Posted by Dominic Holden | May 26, 2008 3:57 PM
15

Baltic dances in general should be banned, unless they involve fish-slapping.

Posted by kinaidos | May 26, 2008 4:16 PM
16

#13:
Thats what we're supposed to believe, or some such. More respectable citizens with legal guns are there to keep their property, themselves, and then everybody else safe(in that order) & in the name of social Righteousness and decency.

Reckoning is theirs sayith "Smith & Wesson, the Constitution, the Lord and shortcomings in the manhood dept" (you can put that in any order, but they all play a part) maybe they just think they are batman or some avengerrerrr type, but then maybe they should just put on a utility belt & some tights, and just go to some comicon?

Posted by point x point synopsis | May 26, 2008 4:19 PM
17

Many people don't realize the truth about Estonia and Estonians. Who is selling guns and crack in our Estonian neighborhoods? ...The CIA!! Its not our fault!

Posted by Lucas | May 26, 2008 4:24 PM
18

Lay off the Estonians. It's not their fault. It's those Latvian fuckers that cause all the trouble.

Posted by Fnarf | May 26, 2008 4:36 PM
19

Anyone remember Encino Man?
Best movie ever.
(Starring Pauly Shore.)

Posted by blah! | May 26, 2008 5:02 PM
20

The rational narrative-- the one given by some witnesses quoted in the PI article, is that this shit will always happen and that it's no reason to suspend normal life and that installing metal detectors around the center is retarded.

#13, The only people claiming that shootings will never happen in concealed carry states are the voices in your anti-gun crazed head. It is, however, a fact that shootings happen a lot more in gun-controlled Chicago and DC than in concealed-carry Seattle or open-carry Arizona. It is also true that they happen a lot more on College campuses than at gun shows.

A great many non-imaginary voices, like that of Richard "the Turd" Daley frequently blame violence in Chicago on the availability of guns while offering no explanation for the much lower incidence of gun violence in places with easier access to handguns (like Seattle).

Posted by Luke Baggins | May 26, 2008 5:20 PM
21

@20:
hey, if you want to compare Chicago/DC to Seattle/Arizona on other merits(like population, demographics, and economic variables) then fine, but as it is, you want to compare them only on "firearms law" which is a one dimensional and specious comparison & so thus renders any point you may have made moot and quite pointless... and shitty from its' faulty premise.

Posted by point x point synopsis | May 26, 2008 5:53 PM
22

"#13, The only people claiming that shootings will never happen in concealed carry states are the voices in your anti-gun crazed head."

Luke, don't look now, but you've made a rather inane assumption about me, and slid downhill rapidly from there. I'll talk a minute here, while you sneak out to the powder room and clean yourself up...

First off, I'm not "ant-gun", crazed or otherwise. I support the right to bear arms for hobby, hunting and basic self-defense. However, since I'm not an idiot, I don't buy into all the NRA-esque hype about concealed weapon permits for all.

You (and I) have a right to bear arms, but in an advanced urban society, concealed weapons are a privilege, not to be given out freely. - or else you end up with idiots pistol-whipping other idiots at public festivals. Or, as would probably be even more common, horrible shootings turning into even more horrible circular firing squads, as all the Barney Fifes decided to be heroes, and took each other out in the heat of the moment. It's easy for a blowhole to talk tough about "they and their gun" - it's quite another to keep you act together in the pandemonium of a shooting. Most people can't do it - not without training.

Also, your eloquent and thoughtful critique of Mayor Daley nothwithstanding (hint: I'm being sarcastic here), you are simply regurgitating a gun-crazed talking point.

When you can have in intelligent conversation about an important social issue, I'm all here for you. But when you call people the equivalent of "poo-poo head", I tune you out. That's like talking to a junior high kid, and I didn't even like doing that when I myself was a junior high kid.

But that's the reason some people blather on self-righteously about or against guns - they can't reason or debate intelligently. Are you one of them?

Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay | May 26, 2008 5:59 PM
23

People....calm down. No reason for panic here. Hippies are still peaceful folk who know how to use firearms. Nothing new here, exept for the idiot who had his safety off. Most hippies are proficient with shotguns.

Posted by Gabe | May 26, 2008 8:08 PM
24

Right on, Catalina!

Posted by Fnarf | May 26, 2008 9:13 PM
25

Among the less important questions, then: What is a schizophrenic heroin addict doing with a concealed carry permit?

Posted by RonK, Seattle | May 26, 2008 9:29 PM
26

@25 Heading for Iran?

Posted by Gabe | May 26, 2008 10:11 PM
27

What an asinine blog. People get shot and your first thought is, "Hey, I can write some great satire ridiculing totally innocent human beings who have never done me any harm. Sweet."

Classless, tasteless, thoughtless and downright mean-spirited. Oh, and let's not forget: disgusting. No wonder our society is becoming more coarse by the second.

Posted by boobcat | May 27, 2008 12:15 AM
28

@27: Pay no attention to these rubes. It's all my fault. I take all the blame, me and Mr. Nail Foot. Society is my fault....."boom"

Posted by Gabe | May 27, 2008 12:19 AM
29

@27: Pay no attention to these rubes. It's all my fault. I take all the blame, me and Mr. Nail Foot. Society is my fault....."boom"

Posted by Gabe | May 27, 2008 12:19 AM
30

And again, in case you missed it the first time!

Posted by Gabe | May 27, 2008 12:21 AM
31

Just don't blame the Balkan Folk Singers for what the Balkan Folk Dancers do ...

Posted by Will in Seattle | May 27, 2008 11:15 AM
32

@25 - working for King George?

Posted by Will in Seattle | May 27, 2008 11:17 AM
33

Estonian folk dancers are HAWT. I think that's what you're all afraid of.

Posted by Breklor | May 27, 2008 11:17 AM
34

Estonia is Baltic, not Balkan, Will.

Posted by Fnarf | May 27, 2008 11:45 AM
35

Honest to God, what the hell have you been smoking? To actually try to link this random act of violence to the performance of the Estonian folkdancers is the height of absurdity!!! This kind of hate speech is what creates the mob mentality that ultimately inspires real acts of terrorism. It bears noting that Estonian-Americans have danced in this festival for many years, during the time of our motherland's forced annexation into the Soviet Union, and afterwards. The dancing is not a political statement, it is a celebration of a culture that the Soviets did their level best to annihilate!! And to Sir Learnsalot, for the record, the Estonians did not sell out to the Nazi torrent. They chose to take arms with the Germans to fight against the Russians who were invading their country. Get your history straight!!!

Posted by Karin | May 28, 2008 7:06 AM
36

I found this article absurd, and offensive. Estonia is a great country, a small country and celebrating their culture in dance was forbidden for 50 years by the Soviets. The dancing is national event in Estonia and a family event. It is good and celebrated in cities all over the world. The Seattle Estonian dancing group welcomes all people to its group Estonian or not. I'm sad to see such a good and community concious group (Estonian Dance Group) get trashed by this excuse for a paper but you wont deter them from dancing nore will you discourage them from celebrating their culture and welcoming others to join. All you've done by this article is hurt your paper and lost readers.

Posted by Nick | May 28, 2008 9:46 AM
37

I found this article absurd, and offensive. Estonia is a great country, a small country and celebrating their culture in dance was forbidden for 50 years by the Soviets. The dancing is national event in Estonia and a family event. It is good and celebrated in cities all over the world. The Seattle Estonian dancing group welcomes all people to its group Estonian or not. I'm sad to see such a good and community concious group (Estonian Dance Group) get trashed by this excuse for a paper but you wont deter them from dancing nore will you discourage them from celebrating their culture and welcoming others to join. All you've done by this article is hurt your paper and lost readers.

Posted by Nick | May 28, 2008 9:47 AM
38

I attended the Folklife Festival just to see the Estonian dancers. Today my friend Katrine that is a member of one of the dance groups emailed Dominic Holden's article to me. His comments about " ritualized sword fighting, portrayals of beatings, promotion of an ale-friendly culture, and overtly pre-coital choreography"- are ridiculous. Dominic must have had his 3-D fun glasses on after smoking some LSD laden ganga before the show. I'm sure distorting the dance program in the Stranger gets him read- but on behalf of the thousand or so people that filled every chair at the International Stage during the show, I find him offensive and just plain stupid.
Dominic- find another line of work. Writing yellow journalism may buy you a beer or two but in the end you're just a whore giving a $1.00 blowjob.

Posted by Kathryn | May 28, 2008 11:00 PM
39

This is just the sort of agit-prop I would expect from a leftist pinko rag like the Stranger. As anyone familiar with Baltic history over the last 10 years knows, singing and dancing were the primary weapons Estonia had to free itself from Soviet domination (if you want to learn a bit more about this, go see The Singing Revolution. It played at Folklife and is worth seeking out).
Given the power of music and dance in the hands of an oppressed people, of course it stands to reason that commie rat bastards like you would want to ban them. It wouldn't surprise me to see Stalin on The Stranger's editorial board either.
The Estonians are a proud and heroic people. The Germans and Russians couldn't keep them down, and neither can a bunch of fellow-traveling hipsters who claim to be journalists, but have no concept of world history outside their little bubble of ironic detachment.
Dominic, if you want to pick a fight with an ethnic group, find a target more deserving and less dangerous. While song and dance are effective weapons in their skilled hands, Estonians are pretty good with other kinds as well. You might want to learn a little about the Forest Brothers before your next nighttime foray into Volunteer Park.

Posted by Kalevipoeg | May 29, 2008 12:32 PM
40

You people need to LIGHTEN UP!

This was a satire and a good one at that!

Half the world does not even know WHERE Estonia is, much less what it's history and culture are!

RELAX, and TEACH YOURSELF TO LAUGH, even at yourself!

Posted by Janzer | June 2, 2008 10:39 PM

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