Dear Editor;
After 52 years, the San Ramon Valley Kiwanis has canceled the Devil Mountain Brigade from participating in the 4th of July parade. Multitudes of the townsfolk have cheered “DMB” on for years with barely a complaint from a few disgruntled onlookers. I personally have been in 17 of the last 18 parades. I only missed the canceled covid parade.
At one time, this parade was considered one of the top 5 parades in all of the United States.
Now, I begin to wonder if the parade can sustain this lofty goals, if the cancel culture continues.
Who knows, someday in the near future they will cancel the veterans because someone gets triggered. The Marching band because they are too loud. Carrying the American flag because it is offensive.
These are just my thoughts and opinions, but man, this is very disheartening.
There have been many excuses for canceling the DMB, but nothing concrete was given.
Maybe one of your reporters can find out the real reason the San Ramon Valley Kiwanis are canceling the Devil Mountain.
Thank you,
Ron Bautista/Concord
Devil Mountain Brigade Commander
Very easy to figure out……………the DMB fire the shotguns, guns are bad, criminals are good. Hoping some of those folks were at Heller Jewelers the other day.
Firestone 11R
Gee, maybe it’s because when gunfire rings out in a crowd in 2023, people scatter for their lives. With good reason. I’m sorry it isn’t the 90s any more. But it isn’t.
Maybe they could just dress as mountain men or whatever and march without the broadside? Danville has had enough shooting I think.
There are strong forces in this country now that are trying to cancel and re write history , they want to change what normally has been considered good or bad, to some new standard that has really got a lot of holes in the philosophy. While some of it may seem reasonable if we truly are compassionate , but wondering if it really isn’t trying to destroy us from within. A lot of thesr means are what communist and socialist did before they took over. I honestly see us going down that path.
It scares me a little, but being ‘AARP age’.. it’s our children they will have to live through it. They may never see the American dream the way we have, but instead live in some kind of limited, woke, politically correct world relying totally on dependence on a supposedly wiser government. I’m surprised so many people are falling into it. And maybe they’re being tricked into it too.
Every conservative buzzword. An unfortunate sign of the truly indoctrinated. good luck.
“I’m surprised so many people are falling into it. And maybe they’re being tricked into it too.”
Yeah, about the tricking. We live in a world of objective facts, MOST OF US. Catch up. Find some.
Greg T: Of course we are being manipulated. I am interested in what is now called Cultural Marxism by some who say this conflict is intentional, but to understand it you need to steer clear of the thoroughly vandalized definitions of it on places like Wikipedia. The Left definitely wants to control the narrative and not just on Wikipedia, but also ranging from 60 Minutes announcing the lab leak in Wuhan is a debunked theory (now the FBI says otherwise), to the NY Times purposely keeping the Russia collusion hoax going even after they knew it was fake, and even down to being censored in local blogs if you start to have an impact. Fun stuff. There really does seem to be a conspiracy.
“…and even down to being censored in local blogs if you start to have an impact.”
It’s true, LV, we have a team monitoring your commentary.
It’s just guns and loud noises and kids who are going through active shooter drills and who are already a little overwhelmed. It’s not the end of America as we know it. And I think they should be able to come and be part of it if they still want to..
“being censored in local blogs if you start to have an impact.”
I don’t observe ANY impact. Sans impact, why would the conspiratorial overlords you imagine need to censor you? You proceed from the false premise that a throng yearns for your “truth”. Go ahead. Spill your notion of truth. We can observe events for ourselves, including any “impact” that might occur.
David: I’ve modified or changed my opinion on all sorts of things reading discussions on the internet, with one example being homelessness. If you get into discussions with those who actually do work with such individuals they emphasize that it is not a housing issue so much as it is a drug addiction issue, and in reality a large number would refuse housing and prefer to live as feral humans. I hope you are not proudly proclaiming you learn nothing, cause if I got nothing out of discussions I would do something else like learn woodworking. I’d never heard of this Devil Mountain thing before.
LV/et al –
We remind our readers – again – to please confine your comment(s) to the topic at hand.
Going rogue or “off topic” is Pet Peeve No. 2 after repetitive posting/flame wars among our readership. We would like everyone to remember this and adhere to this guideline, otherwise we have to do the “terminate with extreme prejudice” thing.
Much love,
The Red Team
With all due deference to Red Team directives, let me simply reply/end that I have never heard of the Devil Mountain Brigade before today. May they long live doing something productive at future events.
I have not a clue personally as to what to do about homelessness, god help us, but I hold in high regard woodworking and gardening as wonderful meditations.
OK, and I will add my two cents. I just watched two different short clips of these guys in red shirts firing off shotguns during the parade. I think it was annoying and I would not really want to have (what were) my little kids or dog or even me there. Fail. And I am mostly in favor of the second amendment but this is just annoying. That’s not my idea of entertainment. I suspect this is not just a cancel culture issue.
Yeah, I was not a big fan of the shotguns anyway.
Firestone 11R
The whining about this is hilarious. Ah, first world problems.
The Kiwanis Club of San Ramon Valley is grateful for all entries in the Kiwanis 4th of July Parade in Danville. This includes the Devil Mountain Brigade, who have been participating since Kiwanis was first involved as parade organizer in 1975.
The 2023 parade permit issued by the Town of Danville provides that no firearms may be discharged (either with live ammunition or blanks) in accordance with the Town Municipal Code. This provision was added to the permitting process this year. The Devil Mountain Brigade registered and was told of this permit requirement immediately upon notification of their registration and that we still want them in the parade but they can’t discharge their shotguns.
The Kiwanis Club of San Ramon Valley and the Town of Danville have worked closely together the past 48 years to have a safe and fun parade for about 125 annual parade entries and 40,000 spectators alike. The Club will continue to closely work with the Town of Danville for the enjoyment of spectators in celebration of Independence Day.
Thanks for that input, Kent…
NEWS24/680
Good post. Thank you.
“After 52 years, the San Ramon Valley Kiwanis has canceled the Devil Mountain Brigade from participating in the 4th of July parade.”
Per the organizer above, this letter to the editor has substantially misrepresented the facts. The only thing cancelled is your apparent need to fire shotguns.
Not surprising that Bay Area sensibilities strikes again. Remember how Chabot Gun Club met it’s demise. Similarly after 52 years of operation closed due to complaints by classic Bay Area types. It is more than Guns it is generally anti-masculine culture that pervades the region. Could say it explicitly in fewer words, but trying to be nice here. XD
My main remark is how the Parade is considered one in the top five in the Country. Need to get out more if one thinks the parade is that awesome. XD Its a nice Parade and great way to meet up with the community. Small Mid-West Towns parades are leagues ahead. One decorated John Deere wheat harvester rolling down main street has gotta be impressive.
Not surprising that apparently pro gun factions conveniently overlook or choose to ignore the fact that Danville is no stranger to gunfire – with two men dead on the street as a result. Anti masculine? Give us a break. And if you like parades in the midwest so much maybe you should move there and fire off your guns. I don’t think they’ll let you but you can try.
“Not surprising that Bay Area sensibilities strikes again.”
Bay Area sensibilities for the Bay Area sounds correct to me. We don’t import our sensibilities.
I hope they come so we can celebrate the 4th together. I’ll bring the triggerless noisemakers!
I’m a carpenter that does a lot of work in Danville. Some of my customers have said that we’re their favorite part of the parade. I’m not going to get into the semantics of this whole issue. We love to shoot our guns in parades. Danville was my favorite because it’s home. Alas we have other parades to shoot in and will continue to do what we love. We’ll miss Danville’s parade. See ya!
I ask that the DVB commander explain the procedure is that ensures there is a zero possibility of a live round in any of the weapons carried in the parade. For example, do you have a 3rd party armorer that checks each gun and returns it?
We do have our own safety officers that check the firearms. If they are not clean or safe we have them cleaned there on the spot before marching. If they are unsafe, they are not allowed in the parade. Period.
We purchase our ammunition blanks from a 3rd party. We do not load our own shells. This is required by our insurance. We have even lowered the amount of gunpowder we use, so the noise is less. We bag and seal all of our rounds (usually 40) separately. And hand them out 10-15 minutes before we march.
I understand a small percentage of the crowd will not like the noise. Small children and dogs probably shouldn’t be at a loud parade like the 4th of July. I for one, have trouble with the music blaring for the entire parade. At least the Devil Mountain Brigade only shoots every block or so.
We have always requested to be the very last entrant of the parade. This allows observers with small children, dogs, or are sensitive to loud noises, the chance to exit the parade route.
As for walking in the parade without shooting our blanks, what happens when someone is “triggered” by the crashing of the cymbals in the marching band? Do we cancel them? Take away their instruments? I don’t know. But I do know we are on a slippery slope.
After 52 years in this parade, we are not a surprise when we get there. I do wish that people would understand that once you start eliminating one set if people, don’t be surprised if your group is next. There is enough room in the parade for everyone.
I’m just disappointed in what the Devil Mountain Brigade called its home town, has become.
Everyone in the Brigade loved this parade.
Hi Ron, Most of Paradise is disappointed you will not be in the Gold Nugget Parade this year. Members of the committee are telling residents the brigade was given the opportunity to comply with insurance but refused. Is that true or did they simply eliminate your group?
Hi, there. I, for one, always enjoyed the presence and spectacular finish to Danville’s 4th of July parade by the Devil Mountain Brigade. However, as far as I know, it was NOT the Kiwanis who “cancelled” the DMB from the parade, in fact, it was The Town of Danville’s 2023 Municipal Code that prohibits the discharging of any firearm at any public event. The DMB registered to participate in the parade, the Kiwanis notified the DMB of the code and the DMB withdrew the application. Why would you say something that is untrue about an organization who supported your group for over 50 years?