Some of you may know me, some of you don’t. For those that don’t I have been involved in classic Donzi’s since I was a kid; literally, and consider the Donzi family as close to my real friends and family as I have. My involvement has ebbed and flowed as I have grown up with life changes, professional changes, and even personal and hobby changes.
I plan to post this a few places, how long it lasts where I post it, is to be determined. Some may know, some may not, that over the last 3-4 years there has been a terrible rift in the Donzi community. From the divorce of the .net/.org websites; to the feuds about reproduction parts, conflicting events, side choosing, bickering; it has degenerated into what can only be considered a high school (at best) drama fest fueled seemingly by selfishness, ego’s, and general childlike behavior.
I have tried for a long time not to care. I have tried to just let it be what it is. But I can’t. The Donzi family, group, and life, is a part of me. I can directly trace my choice in college, my career, the company I own, my best friends and even my wife to be, to this darn community. I grew up grinding fiberglass, painting, wrenching on these stupid objects and now they mean little compared to the personal relationships, experiences, and life long friends I have made.
Today we feud, hoard, and play petty games with people we all used to help, for the common goal. In a time when our hobby is venerable, a time where the future of the glue that started it all, and holds it together, Donzi itself, is seemingly in limbo instead of joining together we more and more split the community, divide the people, ostracize the friends, and ruin what, in my opinion, is the best community of people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. In the history of owner’s groups what small owners group has been better divided than a whole? As a wise man said this weekend “this feels eerily like the split of APBA into APBA, OSS and SBI. Split up a really good thing and destroy it all.”
None of us are perfect. Myself included. I have friends on all sides of this. And while I try not to care, I find it against the fabric who I am.
What is the point of this post? I really can’t say. Do I think I can fix it? No. I am sure some of these “issues” are real to some. But it’s pissing me off royally and damn if I stand idly by.
Chris “CDMA”
Christopher.d.allard@gmail.com