Covid-19 Brought out a different side of people

I understand what you mean.  I don't know if it's Covid or just all the weirdness going on in the world.  It's not just here on HSBBW.  I have friends I've known for years and I have no idea what side of things they are on.  I never really cared, never thought it was something to think about.  But last week I went golfing with a buddy and checked with my wife if I needed to stay clear of certain topics.  Weird and sad.  I hope we can get back to the way it was.

There used to be a political venue on the board. If posters didn’t want to see politics on the board all they had to do was not enter. One (not the) of the reasons Woody (Got Wood) left the board was when it was eliminated.

There isn’t much about baseball or other sports to discuss. A lot of advice on recruiting in the current environment is shooting darts in the dark. I remember a thread I thought to myself, “Every one of these many pieces of advice are nothing but conjecture.” But it was the best anyone could do. 

We are living through a time where a virus and a political situation are more relevant than trying to play pin the tail on the recruiting scenario. Hopefully, when students are back in school and baseball returns next spring there will be enough baseball to discuss the other discussions will disappear. 

I have a tendency to visualize posters on a board as being my neighbors unless I know otherwise. We get to know posters without prejudging them based on gender, race, appearance, economics, etc. It’s too bad more people in reality land can’t do the same.

PitchingFan — that's an interesting observation. I have long thought there were a lot of very conservative people on this board. 

While I realize that not everyone loves the coronavirus/political conversations on here, I think it's encouraging that we've managed to have those conversations without getting shut down or anyone getting really bent out of shape. There have been a couple of comments that made my ears steam, and more than a couple of responses I've written and deleted before hitting post reply.

Maybe that's a skill we'll all carry out of this.

I’m a liberal atheist and a lover of baseball, must make me an outlier.

Thanks, PF.  We have people on here from Hawaii and California to Florida and Maine, from Texas to Wisconsin.  It's amazing.  I love the variety of viewpoints.  Always loved that about youth baseball, too.

pitchingfan,

Keen observation, and that is what makes the world & sports great...always changing.   If we were all the same it would be pretty boring.   As each day goes by I learn more, and sometimes I'll change my mind about something typically based on facts or a gut-feeling I get.   I look at my parents as examples of people changing over time.   Their political and religious views when I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s are very different now.   Somehow they've morphed and the change is almost 180 degrees.   Is it my parents that changed or the times we live in?   I'm still trying to figure it out.

Is it my parents that changed or the times we live in?   I'm still trying to figure it out.

Both. Over time we accumulate more information and change our views. Time and the impact of those around us changing their minds over time impact our decision making. As we mature we pick our battles more wisely and tolerate a lot more.

I’ve sometimes confused people by having a different view on how I believe I should live my life and how I view others. Based on how I’m communicating on a given day sometimes confuses people. I’m personally reasonably conservative. But my view of other people is I don’t care what people do as long as it doesn’t negatively impact society and individuals in general. 

I have a trans 18yo cousin. I roll with it. I only see the family three times per year. One day my cousin (her dad) commented he could tell by my visual response to something his daughter, err son said I wasn’t buying into her claims of being trans. I told him I believe it’s an attention getting ploy from a kid who has failed to stand out by traditional methods.** But, if she claims she’s a banana peel I’d tell her to be a good one.

** For a lot of girls 14-18 are awkward years. There’s a lot of pressure and self imposed pressure to fit in. From doing research on trans (girls to boys) I learned 80% of girls get to college and realize they’re not trans or the attention getting game is over.

Ancient proverb:

"A young man who isn't a Democrat has no soul; and an old man who isn't a Republican has no money"

I enjoy "talking" with folks here, including those with whom I rarely agree.  But I admit I find it disturbing that you can pretty accurately infer someone's political views based on the opinions they express about epidemiology...  

PitchingFan, I enjoyed your post, but I don't share your sense that the commentariat here tilts left (or even left-ish).  I guess it's partly dependent on which threads you follow and just on your own views.  But IMO, there are folks from most points on the political spectrum here.  (Enough to repeatedly form circular firing squads when COVID-19 comes up, anyhow...)

Cheers to all.  I really value this site--for baseball recruiting advice, and just for community.  Especially the latter for the past few months.

@T_Thomas posted:

Ancient proverb:

"A young man who isn't a Democrat has no soul; and an old man who isn't a Republican has no money"

 

Funny, I heard it differently:  A republican before the age of 30 has no heart, a democrat over 30 has no brain.

I don't subscribe to either ideology.  It is our nation's worst sport. 

Different version of same joke:  What do call a Democrat with a job, house and Family?   A Republican.

Some point along the way, we as a country, decided that our political OPINIONS weren't opinions at all.  They were right or wrong and hence, they were who we are as people.  I have many strong political opinions, but recognize that they are only "right" for ME.  I struggle being targeted by people who consider my opinions wrong or lesser than theirs.  We all are much more alike than different, but there isn't one politician or news network that is sincerely interested in selling that narrative.  Not one.  Anyone with a loud voice or who is in any position of power is hell bent on destroying those who they say are wrong.

Me, I like to think our love of the game says more about us than which box we check on a ballot.  Being a liberal or a conservative doesn't make you any better of a person.  Loving baseball, however, does!

Thanks for bringing in back @DanJ. No one political party has a lock on intelligence, work ethic and patriotism OR ignorance, laziness and false idols. The sooner we remember that and start focusing on what brings us together (like baseball), the better off we will be!

I gotta drive almost two hours tomorrow for a scrimmage...120 days ago I would have probably made a snarky post about it, now I am dad bragging about it.

We all are much more alike than different, but there isn't one politician or news network that is sincerely interested in selling that narrative.  Not one.  Anyone with a loud voice or who is in any position of power is hell bent on destroying those who they say are wrong.

Keep in mind these loud voices on tv and writing columns travel in the same social circles despite their political differences. Laura Ingraham has dated Keith Olbermann and Bill Maher.  What they have in common is they are all Ivy Leaguers. They don’t hate the other side. It’s entertainment. It’s ratings. It’s revenue. It’s income.

So I'm curious in this conversation — who here has watched or seen Hamilton? I'm curious if affection for that show splits along left and right? I'm left and LOVE IT!!! Feeling like a kid at Christmas!! (which maybe has a little to do with also getting to see son pitch on Saturday). Ironically, he is a history major in college and has never seen the show. Whenever he tries, he ends up playing baseball.

I could never get tickets. I just signed up for Disney + so I can watch it there as of tomorrow.

I’ll probably get Disney+ for a month to watch. It’s only $7. It would be worth it just for the play. I will see it on Broadway at some point.

Saw it on Broadway, but not with the original cast.  I was skeptical that it would live up the hype, and the concept seemed a little strange to me--but it was very, very good.  (Full disclosure: I teach U.S. legal history and was a fan of Alexander Hamilton from way back, so you may want to discount for the fact I geek out about the subject matter.) 

If you're at all interested, I think it would be worth the cost of Disney+ for a month to check it out.  But it may lose quite a bit on the small screen. 

I'm definitely leaning liberal but I don't get this whole getting being offended by other political views and this whole cancel culture thing unless it is something super outrageous. 

I don't really care if a person has different political views unless he is something like a neo nazi or so and even then I'm not really offended but really more laughing about those guys.

Fortunately in my country there is less of this partisan thinking because with our government form the parties need to form coalitions albeit unfortunately we also developed an alt right group which is really outside this system and against "the establishment".

But overall it is less hostile because we have coalitions between center left and conservative, green party and conservative and liberal and conservative, just the right wing party is outside of this.

It also does have a negative effect tough because it means the far right people feel shunned by the conservative party and thus tend to believe conspiracy stuff and generally being anti state.

@Dominik85 posted:

I'm definitely leaning liberal but I don't get this whole getting being offended by other political views and this whole cancel culture thing unless it is something super outrageous. 

I don't really care if a person has different political views unless he is something like a neo nazi or so and even then I'm not really offended but really more laughing about those guys.

Fortunately in my country there is less of this partisan thinking because with our government form the parties need to form coalitions albeit unfortunately we also developed an alt right group which is really outside this system and against "the establishment".

But overall it is less hostile because we have coalitions between center left and conservative, green party and conservative and liberal and conservative, just the right wing party is outside of this.

It also does have a negative effect tough because it means the far right people feel shunned by the conservative party and thus tend to believe conspiracy stuff and generally being anti state.

This is why I voted for Gary Johnson (Libertarian) for president in 2016. It’s not that I thought he could win. If a party gets 5% of the vote they become eligible for presidential election campaign perks. I believe the US needs center-right and center left parties. They could form a coalition to get things done. The far right and far left could continue to sit in their corners playing with themselves. 

@Chico Escuela posted:

Saw it on Broadway, but not with the original cast.  I was skeptical that it would live up the hype, and the concept seemed a little strange to me--but it was very, very good.  (Full disclosure: I teach U.S. legal history and was a fan of Alexander Hamilton from way back, so you may want to discount for the fact I geek out about the subject matter.) 

If you're at all interested, I think it would be worth the cost of Disney+ for a month to check it out.  But it may lose quite a bit on the small screen. 

No matter how good a show is streaming on a large screen it’s not as good as live on Broadway. The one I wasn’t sure was JC Superstar due to all the movie special efforts. But I turned out to be wrong. The recent live tv production with John Legend was very good. 

@RJM posted:

This is why I voted for Gary Johnson (Libertarian) for president in 2016. It’s not that I thought he could win. If a party gets 5% of the vote they become eligible for presidential election campaign perks. I believe the US needs center-right and center left parties. They could form a coalition to get things done. The far right and far left could continue to sit in their corners playing with themselves. 

At one point the Democrat and Republican parties were just that.    Just to the left and right of center respectively.   In the last 5-10 years it has changed drastically.    The Democrats seemed to have made a hard left and the Republicans drifted further right.   Both sides deal only in absolutes - "If you are not for me, then your against me." (I believe that was a line from a Star Wars movie).   There doesn't seem to be any room for compromise - neither side will give even a little.

Jeez - I remember when the Democrats stood for the little guy and the Republicans were more for big business.

@Dominik85 posted:

I'm definitely leaning liberal but I don't get this whole getting being offended by other political views and this whole cancel culture thing unless it is something super outrageous. 

 

It used to be that way.  It used to be that if you didn't like a candidate you'd poke holes in the candidate, find fault, criticize, whatever... all in good fun.  You could discuss and debate issues.  You didn't have to agree on policy.  Since Hillary called Trump supporters deplorables, it became ok to attack the voters.  It is now the case that supporters of a candidate are called racist, misogynist, nazi, idiots, losers and all manner of insults.  Both sides do it and the media piles on.  This is what our kids are seeing and it is playing out in the streets as we speak.  I appreciate what Joe Biden is trying to do but he is such an awful and incompetent candidate...

I would rather watch soccer than a musical...which way does that make me swing?

@Smitty28 posted:

It used to be that way.  It used to be that if you didn't like a candidate you'd poke holes in the candidate, find fault, criticize, whatever... all in good fun.  You could discuss and debate issues.  You didn't have to agree on policy.  Since Hillary called Trump supporters deplorables, it became ok to attack the voters.  It is now the case that supporters of a candidate are called racist, misogynist, nazi, idiots, losers and all manner of insults.  Both sides do it and the media piles on.  This is what our kids are seeing and it is playing out in the streets as we speak.  I appreciate what Joe Biden is trying to do but he is such an awful and incompetent candidate...

I believe it started when Democrats were unhappy Bush beat Gore. It continued when Obama won. It exploded with Trump doing the unexpected and beat Clinton. 

I didn’t vote for Trump. I didn’t know what to make of him. But, I watched the election results and laughed harder and harder as it appeared he would beat Clinton. Clinton and the left thought she was a slam dunk win. 

Aside from Trump’s behavior he’s not business as usual. There are a lot of people in Washington on both sides of the aisle who aren’t happy. 

The point that politics changed was 1989 - End of Cold War with Russia.

For those of us old enough to remember before 1989 the overriding political issue from 1945 until 1989 was we have to beat the damn Commies.  It was glue that held everyone together.  There is irony that the children of the generation that engaged and won that struggle now think that some form of Communism might be a good idea....it really isn't. 

The change 1989 brought was single issue litmus test politics.  Abortion, immigration, LGBT etc. became increasingly hardened positions and without and single overriding issue of national consensus became fault lines that would eventually become what we have today.

I am of the opinion that we have been poorly led since that time.  Sexual scandals, bad wars, weaponizing of government institutions, abandonment of US workers, bad immigration strategy, proliferation of terrorism and nuclear weapons.  Some of that could not be avoided but IMO we could being doing better on almost all of these things - if we stick together.

All of the Hamilton references are heartening but as it is now July 4th it was on that date 157 years ago that Gettysburg occured.  Lincoln the great American poet captued the Amecrican soul and said it better than anyone before or since in his immortal words.  When we find our way back to Union these words should always be close to the heart of our leaders and ciizens:      

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth

And another topic takes a different turn than originally intended, sorry for adding to that.

When was the last time we had two good candidates and weren't choosing the lesser of two evils or anyone, but ...? Over the last 5-10 years the how has changed (mostly social media), but not the "quality" of candidate. Love/Hate him, but Trump wasn't the "chosen one" or "the next one" by the Reps 4 years ago.  For the Dems, it was Hillary's "turn" (or whatever for 8 years of Obama support), but she wasn't the best option (nor was Sanders).

2016 - Trump/Clinton, 2012 - Obama/Romney, 2008 - Obama/McCain, 2004 - Bush/Kerry, 2000 - Bush/Gore, 1996 - Clinton/Dole/Perot, 1992 - Clinton/Bush/Perot, 1988 - Bush/Dukakis, 1984 - Reagan/Mondale, 1980 - Reagan/Carter, 1976 - Carter/Ford, 1972 - Nixon/McGovern, ...

This year, we may be voting for the VP - think about it.... Trump wins and Pence is next... the Dems will spend 4 more years of impeachment attempts.  If Biden wins, then whomever is his VP may end up filling out the term as he just doesn't look all that healthy. 

Ok, this thread originated wit PitchingFan's beautiful statem,ent about the unifying power of baseball. It has devolved ino politics, which technically isn't allowed on this site.   So, could those of you who have turned to politics possibly move your posts to the Elephant in the Room thread, which seems to be a repository for that sort of thing?

Pence will never win a presidential nomination. He’s as exciting as vanilla ice cream. A lot can happen in four years. Candidates can come out of nowhere. Nikki Haley is a current possibility. Dan Crenshaw will be 40 and viable in 2024. Kristi Noem is a rising star. But look how fast Scott Walker and Bobby Jindahl fell out of popularity. 

I wish Haley could replace Trump. I’d love to see her and Rubio on a ticket. 

@FoxDad posted:

...  Both sides deal only in absolutes - "If you are not for me, then your against me." (I believe that was a line from a Star Wars movie)   ...

Anakin Skywalker:  If you're not with me... then you're my enemy!

Obi-Wan: Only a Sith deals in absolutes. I will do what I must.

Anakin Skywalker: You will try.

------------------------------

But, I think it was also said a little earlier:

"Whoever is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me scatters abroad" (Matthew 12:30)

Study being done in CA, La Jolla Institute of Immunology .   New strain of corona replicates more easily, but doesn't necessarily make people sicker. 

So basically it's not over yet folks.

@2022NYC posted:

I would rather watch soccer than a musical...which way does that make me swing?

Depends on the musical. Although I find soccer boring. Probably because I don’t understand it. Hamilton is an outlier musical and you should try it. 

Agree about soccer!

So every time that I took my yearly visit to NJ/NY tried to get tickets for the original. It played down in South Florida but it was ridiculously expensive. I was told that no one beats out Lin-Manuel. So I waited for the movie he would be in, not sure I want to watch it on my TV.

My daughter has a movie screen in her home but she us away.  I will wait.

Apparently back in the day, you couldn't type the word "soccer" on hsbbw, it would be automatically rejected.  People had to use "so##er" etc.  Look in the old threads!

I would rather do just about anything than watch a soccer game.

But, does it bring as many different types of people together as baseball does?

@TPM posted:

Study being done in CA, La Jolla Institute of Immunology .   New strain of corona replicates more easily, but doesn't necessarily make people sicker. 

So basically it's not over yet folks.

The mutation of this virus has been documented pretty well.  The original strain mutated in Europe and European strain is what caught on in NYC.   Viruses want to stay alive so they mutate to be less deadly and more easily spread too.   Seems the data that his mutation is spreading more easily is pretty compelling.  Now is it less deadly?  My guess is yes but I will wait for the data here.   Cases have been spiking since June 10/11, so 3-4 weeks into the increased spread, hospitalizations are increasing, ICU too if you don't see an increased death rate than I think we can agree its less deadly too.  Its not apparent yet (death rates, not counts).

One of my Dallas people, who thought he was bullet proof, just got over Covid.  He's actually humiliated because he was so cavalier.  Fever 102 was persistent.  He was tired.  Once they put him on Steriods and a Z-Pak fever went away and he's back to normal.  4 days from contact to symptoms (his wife had it), 8-10 days to back to normal.  He's on the other side of it now.

Speaking of so##er and stuff to watch on the screen, "The English Game" on Netflix is not terrible.  It's a period sports drama done by the Downton Abbey creator, and it's pretty much exactly what you would expect to come out of that combo.

As for the political discussion in this thread, you are all absolutely, 100%  dead wrong, but this is a baseball board so I won't correct you.

@Iowamom23 posted:

Depends on the musical. Although I find soccer boring. Probably because I don’t understand it. Hamilton is an outlier musical and you should try it. 

Watching it tonight, it is date night. I hope I survive act 1.