This is my own personal opinion. I think it's valid and important to raise concerns.
I also think there is a difference between voicing concerns and accusing people of knowing what was going on and not doing anything about it when they have said that they didn't know and when those who were attacked have defended members of the DIS Unplugged and Dreams UT team and said they did not know. I believe them when they said they did not know. I believe them when they say that there are going to be changes.
People may have been discussing these issues for a long time, but the management team did not know about it until a couple of weeks ago.
I don't work for them, nor am I privy to what they discuss behind closed doors. What I have witnessed, and continue to believe is that John is a stand-up guy. He's facing a no-win situation at a bad time for them - hosting an event for people that paid a lot of money while working to ensure clients and agents are protected. On top of that, he's having to read accusations against him, Kevin, and others for something they didn't do and weren't involved with. Dustin has repeatedly asked that we not attack the others. What I'm seeing are people legitimately concerned and also people that relish drama and want to hurt a company and the collateral damage to the several Dreams agents and others that have been working in good faith, and are depending on John to continue to ensure that they have a place to work while serving their customers.
I've seen legitimate concerns and I've seen trash talk. For me, at least, it's not hard to differentiate between the two. Legitimate concerns are valid and the Admin team is giving space for that. I also believe that they are reading, learning, and will act on it. Trash talk only hurts and tears apart people and lives without regard.
If it were me being talked about, I would be more apt to read the thoughtful responses, and disregard the attacks being from people that don't know me. Again, this is just me talking, and I'm part of the community on these boards, and friends with pretty much all the people that are being talked about here.
And, I'm not ignoring the ones who really have been hurt. Dustin and I have communicated recently, and I believe Sean and I are okay, too (though he barely knows me).
Thank you Mary Jo for finding the exact words to communicate my thoughts. I'm going to go in a couple of different tangents off this post. First, I want to say how much I enjoyed meeting you, I think it was on the Cruise, but maybe it was the last GKTW DisUnplugged fundraiser. You were so very kind.
It has definitely helped my faith in the remaining team, that Dustin (God Bless him) has stated that no one was aware. When horrible things happen, as humans, we always look for someone to blame. And, the bigger our hurt/disillusionment is the more we want to spread the blame around. I understand why people would think John HAD to have known what was going on. However, they had VERY different roles within the companies that didn't intersect in the physical realm perhaps as much as it might appear. While perhaps, John should have separated his posts, I can only imagine what he and the rest of the team are going through. This is a lot to process/manage, plus redirect a company and its subsidiary, plus be the contact person for a massive group trip
ABD and a
Disneyland event. (As a TA ,not with Dreams, trust me, those group trips are a lot. You are on call 24/7.)
I'm not the most well spoken, so I hope I haven't fumbled the ball here and overstated. But, I would like to reiterate 2 things. First, our concerns have been voiced and they are obviously taking steps to address those (i.e. Pete is out as CEO). Further accusations will get us nowhere unless additional proof comes to light. Secondly, these boards have been the beginning of so many magical trips and incredible friendships for many people.
I posted this on another thread, for those of us who have been around a bit, before we post, let's ask ourselves, "What would Heidi do/say?" Let's grant each other kindness, patience, and above all magic.
To EVERYONE affected whether owner, staff member, TA, webmaster, moderator, or fan I wish nothing but the hope for your disillusionment/hurt to be healed and that this place can be somewhere we can grieve together and move forward to a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.