靠北Swing
#靠北Swing691
A Call for Fact-Based Dialogue: Separating Accountability from Scapegoating in the Swing Community
This issue has ignited considerable debate since the announcement of the class programme. It has prompted many dancers to express their reservations and advocate for a boycott, whilst various influencers and teachers have also weighed in with their views. The individual at the centre of this, Thomas, has recently broken a nine-year silence with a public response, which has naturally stirred up further discussion.
This brings me to a crucial, foundational question:
Have those involved actually taken the time to read Thomas’s article properly?
Even a quick summary via AI would suffice.
The truth is, Thomas addresses every single accusation and query currently being raised, point by point, in his text¹.
If you remain unconvinced by his account, that is perfectly understandable. But in that case, the responsibility falls to you to furnish corresponding video, audio, or written evidence to substantiate your claims. These accusations have, after all, significantly impacted one man’s life, reputation, and mental well-being for almost a decade. In our digitally advanced age, verifying information should not be a difficult task.
Conversely, should you accept the public record and Thomas’s own narrative—and concede that the circulating accusations currently lack substantive proof—what further "community responsibility" are you expecting him to shoulder?
He has already done the following:
- Supported Tatiana at the time of the incident¹.
- Confronted Max at her request¹.
- Advised her to report the matter to the police and personally provided witness information¹.
- Never threatened or demanded silence from anyone¹.
- Never deleted any public posts¹.
- Endured nine years of silence, ostracisation, and immense mental strain due to misunderstanding and unsubstantiated rumours¹
It is vital to stress that Thomas was never an organiser, a leader of governance, a troupe director, or a major event promoter. He held no authority over institutional rules or safety structures. His role has consistently been that of an "invited teacher."
Fame is not power.
Fame ≠ Community Governance Authority
As several retrospective articles from the time attest²³, Thomas was consistently referenced as "implicated," "an observer," or "on the periphery," not as a figure wielding systemic power.
To demand that he take responsibility for the "entire community's safety framework, power structure, and cultural introspection" is fundamentally to shove the responsibility for a system onto an individual who lacks any institutional authority. This is a complete misplacement of accountability.
Thomas’s statement is not about mounting a comeback or clearing his name; it is about establishing the facts, rather than being forever condemned by hearsay.
If critics continue to ignore publicly available information and simply repeat unsubstantiated challenges, their actions cease to be a pursuit of justice. Instead, it smacks of projecting personal fears, past traumas, or emotional anxieties onto an innocent party.
Acknowledging Community Trauma
In the interest of fairness, we must acknowledge the collective trauma and heightened sensitivity experienced by the Swing community following the 2016–2017 events⁴. This led to a palpable lack of trust toward "figures of fame" due to:
- The previous veneration of international teachers.
- The perpetrator’s former star-power.
- The sustained pressure on the victim.
- The extreme panic caused by legal proceedings at the time.
These feelings are valid. However, we must distinguish between understanding community fear and wrongfully assigning blame to an individual.
The Problem of Responsibility Misplacement
If the query is, "Why doesn't Thomas address the relationship between power, structure, and the community more directly?"—the answer is simple. Demanding this is not about clarifying facts; it is an attempt to make an innocent man carry the can for the community’s structural failings on gender issues.
Discussions at this institutional level should rightly be led by event organisers, promoters, and governing bodies. It should not fall to a teacher who has been misunderstood and sidelined for nine years.
Frankly, to expect a person who has endured years of silence and blacklisting to begin every appearance with a TED-level lecture on power-structure penance ("Hello everyone, I am that highly controversial teacher...") is simply too much to ask.
We see critics raising vital points:
"The community is concerned with safety, power dynamics, and sincerity, not whether Thomas had malice."
"This isn't about the law; it's about a framework of trust."
"We are discussing values, not innocence."
These are crucial points, but they pertain to the structural level of community governance, not to the personal responsibility of one teacher.
Thomas’s focus is clear: "Did I do what you accuse me of?"
The community’s focus should be: "How do we make our environment safer?"
These are two different tiers of accountability. Conflating them only allows ill-will to continue and ensures that the structures truly needing reform are never properly addressed.
——
If you still intend to critique Thomas, do so with evidence.
If you wish to improve the community, focus your efforts on the appropriate direction:
establishing broader gender structures, power relationship transparency, and robust community safety frameworks.
We must stop the current trend of blind boycotts lacking specific facts, and cease shifting all structural issues onto an individual who left the mainstream community and has already been penalised for nine years based on rumour.
If we genuinely seek a healthier community, we must proceed from fact, not from rumour or an impulse towards bullying. This is the minimum level of respect owed to all parties—victims, the innocent, and the community as a whole.
⸻
Footnotes:
¹ Thomas Blacharz —〈9 ans après EN〉
https://bit.ly/3XL7mL0
² Rikomatic (2017)
Max Pitruzzella accused of sexual assault by five women
https://rikomatic.com/2017/01/max-pitruzzella-accused-of-sexual-assault-by-5-women.html
³ Swungover (2017)
The Swing Scene vs Max, His Friends, and The Swing Scene
https://swungover.wordpress.com/2017/05/30/the-swing-scene-vs-max-his-friends-and-the-swing-scene/
⁴ Swingyoyo (2024)
2016 Swing MeToo 之後 (After the 2016 Swing MeToo)
https://swingyoyo.com/post/swing-after-2016/
上一則的英文版本,分開刊登或同一篇都沒問題。
感謝靠北小編。