Covid Discussion on GRB

[TheoSqua]

As we reopen the coronavirus thread on the Social, I wanted to bring up a couple of things about GRB and how we discuss the pandemic on the forum.

• My below points are not directed at anyone specific. We have a wide array of opinions on the pandemic on GRB and even more opinions of each other and our posts. My intent is not to side with one particular view, chide a specific poster, or call out anyone in particular. This is a clarifying post on how we want to discuss the pandemic at GRB going forward.
• This pandemic has impacted all of our lives. A lot of us have had COVID, and many posters here have friends, mothers/fathers, siblings, children who have died from COVID. Even those of us who have not lost a loved one has had their life hugely impacted over the last few years. COVID is personal for all of us and I think it's critical that we are empathetic in our conversations and views of the pandemic. For some this might be a political sticking point, others an inconvenience, but we can't deny that many people have have their lives and families irrevocably disrupted by COVID and that is a cost that is way more important than an opinion or view on how this pandemic is being handled, the politics of the pandemic, how well vaccinations work, etc.
  
  My point is this: We want an empathetic view here at GRB and we feel the personal cost of this pandemic is the most important aspect to discuss and we ask that everyone consider their posts in this lens.
• GRB is primarily a baseball forum and we want to keep it that way. We have no problem allowing social and political conversations to happen on GRB, but we also don't want to forget that the tone of this site is supposed to be centered around sports and past times.
• Going forward the Social thread on coronavirus will be designed to discuss how COVID is impacting our lives and the mods will be focusing on a less political tone in that thread. This will be an emphasis on all threads in Social.
• Going forward we will require sources for all statistics and scientific information. I know not everyone trusts the mainstream media and the accuracy of evidence supplied by our governments, but I don't feel that GRB is the place to get to that level of scrutiny. This is a baseball forum and we do not have the knowledge or bandwidth to vet the accuracy of mainstream sources.
• We will continue to allow a bit more open dialogue and less moderation in the Politics thread. We still will not allow personal attacks or the spread of misinformation, but we do expect politics to be home to more polarizing viewpoints.
  
  We hope to keep the forum fun and entertaining. I know we can't make everyone happy and there will be posters who feel we are attacking them, and posters who feel we aren't doing enough with this post. But we can't make everyone happy and we as Mods are trying our best to find a middle ground between all viewpoints that will allow this forum to continue to be a fun place to discuss Cardinals, Social, and Politics.

[G. Keenan]

Let the discussion about the discussion begin!

[heyzeus]

Let the discussion about the discussion begin!

GRB: It's a message board about nothing!

[haltz]

Is this the thread where we post the Rogan clips

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

I really like people proving stats they use. MSM will typically link the study they reference, so even linking that gets easy access to back up what is being said.

[MinorLeagueGuy]

and who decides what is "misinformation"? Sure seems like A LOT of recent taboo talking points have had their day in the sun. What is deemed malarkey today because of whose mouth it came out of, has been debunked and now MSM is allowed to 'report' on it. Slippery slopes for everyone.

[TGantz]

I want to start by saying that I appreciate the time and effort that mods put in, and I appreciate that some people fund this personally. I am grateful to be a part of it, and it is a private forum that ya'll can run however you see fit. Feel free to ignore the following:

Baseball is what originally brought us all here. It is the one thing every one of us has in common. But I think certain current events supercede our love for baseball simply because it directly impacts our lives more. I think Social and Politics get a lot more traffic, particularly in the off season, when people need a sense of community. Most active posters have been here for years, some of us like 15 years, and it's more of a semi-anonymous group chat with friends sometimes. Sometimes, they turn into vent sessions for people. Their views come off as extreme because that vent session was imprinted. I would easily be able to sit and have a beer with almost anyone on this forum because humans do not act like this when facing an actual person.

I'm totally fine with striving to keep Social apolitical, but the reality is that this virus affects every aspect of our lives. It greatly affects all sports. MLB probably got the worst of it. It's going to seep its way in to other threads. It already has, and it's not just people that are against the Covid vaccines, regulations, etc. I think while this message was delivered by mods in a respectful and professional manner, it has clear bias towards the majority (to be somewhat expected).

To say, "Thank God for my vaccine" is not considered to be a political statement. If I said, "Thank God I never took the vaccine" it would be considered an incredibly insensitive political statement. I'm not asking that a statement about being thankful for a vaccine to be considered political.

I'm asking that a statement saying, "Thank God I didn't get the vaccine" should be a statement I can make without having to provide a source (from the same sources that I do not trust) to justify my statement.

The concept of GRB not being a place to handle that level of scrutiny, I don't really understand. If you can only reference stats or messaging from government sources or "prestigious" institutions, then why not just post a link to current messaging from those institutions at the top of the forum?

I think GRB is EXACTLY where these conversations need to be had. It is a perfect format for voicing opinions, possibly inner doubts or concerns, that you wouldn't otherwise voice in your life. Regurgitating nothing but "trusted" sources is the same as the Social forum being changed to a link to CDC website. People need a place to risk being offensive so they can express themselves in a world where they are encouraged not to.

[Jocephus]

If I said, "Thank God I never took the vaccine" it would be considered an incredibly insensitive political statement.

no it wouldn't. this is fake victimhood. i'll grant you both statements are silly but you are free to say that. you might get push back however because, unfortunately, you and a few others are mostly in the minority about that kind of statement here. thats the position you've made and held and you are free to defend it or not.

[TGantz]

If I said, "Thank God I never took the vaccine" it would be considered an incredibly insensitive political statement.

no it wouldn't. this is fake victimhood. i'll grant you both statements are silly but you are free to say that. you might get push back however because, unfortunately, you and a few others are mostly in the minority about that kind of statement here. thats the position you've made and held and you are free to defend it or not.

Fake victimhood is extreme, but sure bad example. My post was getting too long. Fwiw, I would never say, "Thank God I didn't get the vaccine." Almost everyone that I love is vaccinated. Being in the minority with responses is one thing, I've done that for years. But we're talking about biased censorship on something that I don't consider political. I don't condone insensative statements that are personal. But requiring any dissenting opinion to have a link to a source we disagree with is a strong response. Again, not my website. But just throwing it out there.

[Jocephus]

remember your lil story about how we are all brainwashed drones in grocery stores because a public health announcement gets addressed over a PA system? how is that dystopian covid fan fiction a dissenting opinion? why should anyone here take that with any level of seriousness?

the mods can set whatever standard they want. personally i'd be fine with just shutting down all the covid discussions here. if we've learned anything about GRB conversations (non-baseball wise) it doesn't solve anything (and the baseball discussions prolly don't solve anything either).