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Not like I haven't said enough on the subject, but I wanted to clarify something here. I have talked a lot of crap about the club known as the Professional Car Society and while I am not retracting my statements, I do want to clarify some things.
I have been all across the board with that club. When I first tried to join and lend a hand I got nothing but derision. I realize that to someone who doesn't know my background with them I probably sound like a snarky, petty bastard who is just fixated on their downfall. Anyone who knows me personally, and who has been present for any of the headaches and harrassment that I have endured during my process of attemtping to help that club will tell you, my anger is justified, if not a little pronounced. I mean, I've never in my life had to deal with so much crapola as a result of trying to be a part of a social organization. No, I'm not talking little things either, I am talking death threats (no kidding, actual death threats) threats of legal prosecution, public defamation of character and utlimately the loss of thousands of dollars when I hosted an international meet for their organization which many of them boycotted out of spite. In another turn of fate with my meet that I hosted one official in the PCS re-negotiated my contract with the motel on my behalf without my knowledge or permission which caused us to get a really crappy contract with the hotel wherein the numerous rooms we needed were no longer free, costing me thousands extra in rental costs. They promised reimbursement for some of my incurred costs which they never delivered either.
So why, many people have asked me, did I choose to stick around for so long if this club sucked so badly? Well, a couple of reasons. One is that I absolutely refuse to be strong armed out of a situation. To me a big part of it was that I was damned if I would be forced out because someone thought I would back down due to their harrassment. I believed that backing down would just solidify someones belief that it's OK and effective to bully people around and I did not want to reward that mindset by proving it right. So, I stuck around partially out of spite and the fact that I knew I was shaving off months of certain members lifespans just by being present. The other reason is that they do have some nice cars and there are some great freaking people mixed in with that club who I really am glad I met. The club isn't all bad, it's just in some ways rotten beyond economic repair.
Honestly, I don't mean to sound like a pompous ass who is rejoicing in someone elses misfortune, and to be perfectly frank, I don't find pleasure in watching someone else's dream, no matter how they treated me. I'm being sincere when I say that, I thought about it and found that despite it all, I didn't like seeing them have these problems and more to the point, I didn't like being the kind of person who rejoiced in it. Part of me actually wants to try to help them, to tell them how to fix their problems. Their club is all screwed up right now and if there is one thing I know, it is how to reassemble a shattered, non functioning club. Demon and I did it with the DHA years ago. I have had my share of failures and I know how to fix them from my own screwups. Thing is, I have extended my hand in friendship too many times and had it spit on, so now I am of the "To hell with them" mindset.
As I see it, they wouldn't listen if I told them they needed to address their internal problems instead of sweeping it under the rug, that they need to listen to members concerns no matter who the member is, that they need to not only accept youthful members, but encourage them to join, no matter how they dress or what their car is like, and most importantly they need to freaking contemporize. Get with the times, figure out which trends are just fads and which ones are actually upcoming traditions. They want everything to stay in 1972 forever and it isn't happening. They won't change anything because they are certain that their vaunted values are going to be enough to sustain the club and that no form of promotion or further effort is needed to stay competitive.
Another problem they have is the fact that I am not the only person that they have treated poorly. Pretty much if you are a hearse club outside of the PCS, you have received their condescending harassment at some point. At every meet of theirs I have ever gone to I have watched as they turned away people who did not meet their criteria. They used to have a saying for people who wanted to join their club and did not fall into the neat little box the PCS wanted them to conform to, it was "Well if you don't like it, go start your own club" so we did.
The outcasts formed Dead Ends, NHAA, Grim Rides, Phantom Coaches, HearseClub.com...and what did the PCS say? "Good, who cares" because as they saw it, they had over 2,000 members internationally. Who cares if 25 people in Colorado or Georgia didn't join, they had over 2,000. But then a funny thing happened, they pissed off and turned away more people, and now pretty much every state has a "Little" hearse club of about 25 people or so who won't commerce with the PCS and we're adding up, slowly but surely. We're detracting from the members they COULD have had if not for their arrogance. One of my favorite sayings is "So neglect becomes our ally" and that was what happened here. They created enemies that would have gladly been comrades, we defected and grew while they just grew stagnant and rested on the laurels of their current status. There is evidence of this in the fact that our message board moves much faster than the PCS board, heck, HearseCon is not as big as some of the PCS meets but every year we gain another 10 cars. In 5 years at this rate we will be breaking their records. I guess the central point is, they neglected us, now we are the impending threat that is detracting from them and adding to their losses. We're not enough to sink them, but we're getting close and not even trying, we're just taking their advice and starting our own clubs.
As for whether or not that club completely sinks or not, I think that even if they did, the good people, the ones who really just cared about hearses and communion with other enthusiasts would find their way to other clubs where they would be appreciated and welcomed. My statements were not directed at the good members of the PCS, they were intended for the rotting limbs of the PCS. I was not advocating that we ostracise the open minded members of that club who might be seeking to join the NHAA and see what we have to offer, if that were the case I'd be no better than the PCS was when I tried to come to them. So yeah, only speaking for myself here but I would welcome anyone from that club who wanted to be a contributing member of the NHAA.
Thanks for listening to the tirade, I appreciate it.
I have been all across the board with that club. When I first tried to join and lend a hand I got nothing but derision. I realize that to someone who doesn't know my background with them I probably sound like a snarky, petty bastard who is just fixated on their downfall. Anyone who knows me personally, and who has been present for any of the headaches and harrassment that I have endured during my process of attemtping to help that club will tell you, my anger is justified, if not a little pronounced. I mean, I've never in my life had to deal with so much crapola as a result of trying to be a part of a social organization. No, I'm not talking little things either, I am talking death threats (no kidding, actual death threats) threats of legal prosecution, public defamation of character and utlimately the loss of thousands of dollars when I hosted an international meet for their organization which many of them boycotted out of spite. In another turn of fate with my meet that I hosted one official in the PCS re-negotiated my contract with the motel on my behalf without my knowledge or permission which caused us to get a really crappy contract with the hotel wherein the numerous rooms we needed were no longer free, costing me thousands extra in rental costs. They promised reimbursement for some of my incurred costs which they never delivered either.
So why, many people have asked me, did I choose to stick around for so long if this club sucked so badly? Well, a couple of reasons. One is that I absolutely refuse to be strong armed out of a situation. To me a big part of it was that I was damned if I would be forced out because someone thought I would back down due to their harrassment. I believed that backing down would just solidify someones belief that it's OK and effective to bully people around and I did not want to reward that mindset by proving it right. So, I stuck around partially out of spite and the fact that I knew I was shaving off months of certain members lifespans just by being present. The other reason is that they do have some nice cars and there are some great freaking people mixed in with that club who I really am glad I met. The club isn't all bad, it's just in some ways rotten beyond economic repair.
Honestly, I don't mean to sound like a pompous ass who is rejoicing in someone elses misfortune, and to be perfectly frank, I don't find pleasure in watching someone else's dream, no matter how they treated me. I'm being sincere when I say that, I thought about it and found that despite it all, I didn't like seeing them have these problems and more to the point, I didn't like being the kind of person who rejoiced in it. Part of me actually wants to try to help them, to tell them how to fix their problems. Their club is all screwed up right now and if there is one thing I know, it is how to reassemble a shattered, non functioning club. Demon and I did it with the DHA years ago. I have had my share of failures and I know how to fix them from my own screwups. Thing is, I have extended my hand in friendship too many times and had it spit on, so now I am of the "To hell with them" mindset.
As I see it, they wouldn't listen if I told them they needed to address their internal problems instead of sweeping it under the rug, that they need to listen to members concerns no matter who the member is, that they need to not only accept youthful members, but encourage them to join, no matter how they dress or what their car is like, and most importantly they need to freaking contemporize. Get with the times, figure out which trends are just fads and which ones are actually upcoming traditions. They want everything to stay in 1972 forever and it isn't happening. They won't change anything because they are certain that their vaunted values are going to be enough to sustain the club and that no form of promotion or further effort is needed to stay competitive.
Another problem they have is the fact that I am not the only person that they have treated poorly. Pretty much if you are a hearse club outside of the PCS, you have received their condescending harassment at some point. At every meet of theirs I have ever gone to I have watched as they turned away people who did not meet their criteria. They used to have a saying for people who wanted to join their club and did not fall into the neat little box the PCS wanted them to conform to, it was "Well if you don't like it, go start your own club" so we did.
The outcasts formed Dead Ends, NHAA, Grim Rides, Phantom Coaches, HearseClub.com...and what did the PCS say? "Good, who cares" because as they saw it, they had over 2,000 members internationally. Who cares if 25 people in Colorado or Georgia didn't join, they had over 2,000. But then a funny thing happened, they pissed off and turned away more people, and now pretty much every state has a "Little" hearse club of about 25 people or so who won't commerce with the PCS and we're adding up, slowly but surely. We're detracting from the members they COULD have had if not for their arrogance. One of my favorite sayings is "So neglect becomes our ally" and that was what happened here. They created enemies that would have gladly been comrades, we defected and grew while they just grew stagnant and rested on the laurels of their current status. There is evidence of this in the fact that our message board moves much faster than the PCS board, heck, HearseCon is not as big as some of the PCS meets but every year we gain another 10 cars. In 5 years at this rate we will be breaking their records. I guess the central point is, they neglected us, now we are the impending threat that is detracting from them and adding to their losses. We're not enough to sink them, but we're getting close and not even trying, we're just taking their advice and starting our own clubs.
As for whether or not that club completely sinks or not, I think that even if they did, the good people, the ones who really just cared about hearses and communion with other enthusiasts would find their way to other clubs where they would be appreciated and welcomed. My statements were not directed at the good members of the PCS, they were intended for the rotting limbs of the PCS. I was not advocating that we ostracise the open minded members of that club who might be seeking to join the NHAA and see what we have to offer, if that were the case I'd be no better than the PCS was when I tried to come to them. So yeah, only speaking for myself here but I would welcome anyone from that club who wanted to be a contributing member of the NHAA.
Thanks for listening to the tirade, I appreciate it.
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