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.