The ''handpan community'' is nothing more than a cult. To be more specific, it is a cult of personality where the personalities are handpan makers who have cultivated their own individual cult followings.
The more we study the ''handpan community'' and document the general behaviors and attitudes of its members for the purposes of this blog, the greater the extent that their inherent corny nature becomes clear.
What is the ''handpan community'' after all, if not a self-serving construct of the Handpan Mafia, which they established and currently maintain in order to drive their own sales and generate revenue? There is not a single online forum/discussion group with active members that is not strictly controlled by the Handpan Mafia and its flunkies. The flunkies are not necessarily directly connected to the bosses, but they crave recognition from those at the top, and often bicker and jostle for scraps and leftovers from the tables of the bosses. The scrap miners in the handpan community are often those capitalist oriented individuals who organize various gatherings, festivals, hangouts, etc. Other scrap mining flunkies sell shells to wannabe makers.
Everyone is in it for the taking and as the ''handpan community'' proves, a sucker is born every minute. Admittedly, it is amusing to watch a new sucker get turned out and ''jumped in'' to the ''handpan community''. In fact, watching a newbie getting brainwashed and programmed by the handpan community handlers is a lot like the scene that plays out when street level drug dealers in Berlin fight with each other over who is going to serve the tourists on the prowl in the park looking for a fix.
For those of you who have personally witnessed prospective cult members posting their videos of non-Handpan Mafia-sanctioned handpans being played, and getting subsequently flamed and roasted for not buying one of the ''good'' Handpan Mafia sanctioned handpans, you should be all to familiar with the jist here.
And after the cult/''community'' has thoroughly lambasted the prospective cult member for buying a handpan which is not sanctioned by the cult, a small army of handpan hawkers will begin making their capitalist sales pitches with the intent of pushing their product onto the newbie, just like drug dealers in the park who are fighting over who is going to serve the starry-eyed, fiending tourist on deck.
In any event, the point of this cult initiation ritual that takes place day after day is to drive home the fact to all prospective cult members that one can only become a member of the ''Handpan Community''/Handpan Cult when he/she kicks up money to the Handpan Mafia, and purchases a Handpan Mafia-made instrument. If you own a spritually clean, cultural misappropriation-free KaribPAN handpan, chances are you do not desire to become a handpan cult member. If you own one of our handpans and desire fellowship with the handpan cult, it is virtually guaranteed you will not be welcome as an owner of a KaribPAN handpan.
And forget about common sense when discussing anything in a ''handpan community'' forum, since the cult is driven primarily by emotions and white supremacy. The fact that Dr. Anthony Achong completely debunked PANArt three weeks ago and Felix Rohner has yet to bark orders to his lap dog, Michael Paschko, imploring him to make an official statement on the matter speaks volumes. In this case, their silence reinforces their guilt.
Not to mention the fact that aside from Daniel Bernasconi, not a single soul has raised the issue of the fact that the whole ''handpan community'' was built on one big white supremacist lie. In fact, when Daniel Bernasconi raised the issue, he was essentially attacked and reprimanded by the ''community'' for merely raising the issue. It is clear that the entire ''handpan community'' recognizes they are in contempt by virtue of Dr. Achong's article, and like their idol and default cult leader, Felix Rohner, they continue to remain silent and hope that the issue will disappear.
Is it exremely corny to live a white supremacist lie (''handpan'') that is based in negro history and culture (steelpan)? We think so.
Is it laughably corny to sleep in a handpan fantasy world and refuse to awake from your slumber once a cold bucket of water has been thrown in your face? We definitely think so.
But as we have maintained all along, the ''handpan community'' is not concerned with truth since they prefer to be driven by emotions. The handpan cult as a whole could care less about spritually uplifting steelpan vibrations capable of healing, as the Handpan Mafia would like the public to believe. This musical therapy selling point is just the mask or the the front of the operation, an operation which ultimately revolves around sales and growing sales through the indoctrination of new suckers into the handpan cult/''community'.
Living Colour - ''Cult of Personality'' Lyrics
Look in my eyes, what do you see?
The cult of personality
I know your anger, I know your dreams
I've been everything you want to be
I'm the cult of personality
Like Mussolini and Kennedy
I'm the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality
Neon lights, a Nobel Prize
Then a mirror speaks, the reflection lies
You don't have to follow me
Only you can set me free
I sell the things you need to be
I'm the smiling face on your T.V.
I'm the cult of personality
I exploit you still you love me
I tell you one and one makes three
I'm the cult of personality
Like Joseph Stalin and Gandhi
I'm the cult of personality
The cult of personality
The cult of personality
Neon lights a Nobel Prize
A leader speaks, that leader dies
You don't have to follow me
Only you can set you free
It is not really Marks fault. He is just another example of the weak minded following he who speaks loudest and most frequently. He constantly lies to, badmouths and cheats the very people who hold him high. But there are none so blind as those who will not see.
And yet again, the Swift KaribPAN sword cuts the hearts of the wicked.
As if Mark Sijj is worthy of being disproved on karibpan.com, when he disproves himself everyday by using his fb group as a personal platform to push his products that no one wants. Mark, face it, your group is boring and dull and your cowardice in censoring everything you do not personally agree with and holding up posts for approval is WEAK. You are a fascist and so are your corny buddies who recently started holding up comments for approval in the handpan instruments group.
If we tell so many lies, then you should have nothing to fear and you would have easily disproved KaribPAN by now with all of our 40+ blog posts over the past 3 months.
Dr. Anthony Achong jumped on board and weighed in and convicted the lot of you handpan heretics. Address THAT and stop trying to play cult of personality games. Rudy is irrelevant as this is about the PRINICIPLE of what the hang/handpan communities are really about; cultural misappropriation, paganism/nazim, satanism and wholesale THEFT!
But no one wants to address any of that. Don’t worry, we will continue to address it because this is what INTEGRITY is all about, its not about sales and pushing product.
Just to remind you Rudy…
You were the one that at the beginning if this joke-for-a-blog did not want to disclose your identity, claiming that Karibpan does not need to disclose anything to anyone.. unless your are Trini of course..in your own words!!
And heres another freebee for you: this is an online open blog. Deal with it. Usually shitty blogs attract no attention or a high amount of trolls. You are getting a lot of both…
Hey Rudy / Admin, and Elliot Smith
Here Mark Sij,
Yes…, the real Mark Sij!
Of the FB-Group: “The Handpan Community” and I do not represent the “handpan community” at all, it’s just a nice, great group, with lots of good people, new stuff, music and videos.
You are saying here stuff about me, which you never can proof, simply because I have never ever said them. Come with proof, I can proof the opposite.
And I never ever have “Sales-pitched” your blog, or your website here.
Whahahaha, you must have confused me with somebody else, and then state you speak the truth? Man, truly pathetic.
Saying I made a sales pitch, like “here”? Are you freaking kidding me? :/
Whahahahahaha…, L.M.A.O.! — Why would I even try that ????
I hate your guts man, and your fake steelpan audience.
The real steelpan people, they are friends of mine, I love them, but not your audience. You’re just dirt, which need to be on the ground.
The way you speak about people, shame on you.
And wow man, congrats to all the lies you post.
However, Yes I did block you in my own Facebook Group – yes that is true, but that is just because we ban “hate” and those who create it, so that means you! ;)
Toy-toy-toy!
Namaste Steelpan-Faker.
BTW:
Who the heck is in heavens name: Elliot Smith ??
I have no records of any chat with this person, of emails.
So again:
Good luck with your lies, because that is what I see in your blogs; just a whole bunch of plain lies, and lots of them.
Dear Elliot,
I am glad you made it out of the handpan cult with your mind and critical thinking faculties in tact! A lot of people who join that community just fall deeper and deeper into the abyss to the point they lose touch with reality!
Mark Sijj is really a cowardly little man who is very underhanded as you clearly recognize! He is definitely a cult leader in the sense that he has the power to censor critical handpan discussions that take place on active fb Handpan groups. Mark Sijj rallied hard to ban our articles in his domain, yet he tried to come on this site and promote his handpans to customers seeking spiritually clean instruments!
Of course we deleted his sales pitch, but these guys like him are nothing more than some very sinister opportunists who really strike me as quite desperate to push their products on people.
Dear Handpan Mafia Anon,
Back for me, eh? Haven’t seen you around in a while, welcome back!
Did you know that Rudy is a dual citizen, with one of those citizenships being a Caricom nation very close to Trinidad? Do you know that some of the most famous calypsonians come fromGrenada? Reggae is Jamaican, so are you saying a Trini or Barbadian has no right to be involved with reggae?
Haha, you just never quit guy. All people with roots in the Caribbean are family! When we travel to America or Europe, we are all Jamaican anyways according to most people!
It is pretty clear to me that Rudy never claimed to be a Trini and this is precisely how you know he is not, as he has stated his nationality previously for the public!
If the reason behind the name KaribPAN was not clear to you, hopefully it is now.
All Caribbean people are family and we have shared history and shared culture throughout the community. Proof of this is in Caricom so I suggest you do better research in the future!
Also, you call the names of real individuals in an attempt to indict them, but yet you have chose to remain anonymous since the beginning of this blog!
There is a good chance you are Mark Sijj based on your ignorance and cowardice.