AbeVigodaLive wrote:It was just a bunch of beaten down fans of a beleaguered franchise coming together to commiserate in our pain and relish the tiniest glimmers of hope. We disagreed at times... errr... ummm... sometimes more often than others. (Damn you Andrew Wiggins!)
But it was a respite from almost every other social media platform. From the old ESPN basketball forum, three outlets broke out. One place is now a borderline third-rate Stormfront site where I'm considered a "faggoty cuck libtard faggot" for reasons that escape me.
The other site skews hard left, where I'm considered a "Trump apologist and racist" for reasons that escape me. I don't post any differently at either site... and I've even posted the exact same post sometimes to see the crazy difference of opinion to it from both sites.
Both sites rarely discuss basketball anymore. And, when it happens, it's usually for the non-court-related reasons. So, I've always had a soft spot for this forum. It's been where I can come for my more hardcore basketball nerdy fix.
And now, damn politics has seeped into this forum too. I do not like politics. I think many of those who work in politics do so for very self-serving reasons, despite the guise of doing it for "the good of the people." I despise... HATE... partisan politics. And mostly for the reasons I described above and have hinted at during previous points. Social media gives us infinite sources to cement/support our takes and to find like-minded people. That's not inherently bad.
Trying to "walk in another man's shoes" is a dying, antiquated trope. I'm watching as so many people balk against learning about others different that them. It's harder. It's super duper hard because there's no concrete answer. And it's not fun to admit we don't know... or even could conceivably be wrong about stuff.
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This is a preachy post. Acknowledged. And I'm not saying my take is the right way. Only that I'm a bit of a pragmatist, good or bad. And that I've seen what happens to a sports message board that begins to discuss politics more ... and more... and more.
Polarization sets in. Anger sets in. And people dig in harder. And harder. And it's not a very friendly place after awhile.
That doesn't mean it's a worse experience for those interested in that sort of thing. Heck, it might be a better online forum for them. They might even thrive in that type of environment.
I don't.
I miss basketball. I miss talking about basketball.
"Still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend."
[Note: I love basketball. When you play basketball, everything washes away. You're thinking about when is that that guy is gonna cut from the wing, or when do I go try to help defend that big lug in the post, or I'm gonna drill the next jumper I take... you don't think about work. Or, family stuff. Or politics. Maybe I also just miss playing basketball. Damn it. We've all been cooped up far too long. And we all get a bit stir crazy, especially when uncertainty is the only real unifying thing we share.]
Um yeah....So the guy who thought "First round pick for Aaron Aflalo" was a good idea, "4 years $80m for Bismarck Biyombo" was a steal, and (FOR THE LOVE OF GOD) the guy who thought (thinks?) he could do a better job of building CARL EFFING POHLAD'S baseball team than (Pre-Cancer) Terry Ryan did is now saying "If you think I got sports licked, you should see me on easy topics like public policy and race relations!" I mean, I want to believe you, but can you say the name of those boards, so we can see your "talent in action" for ourselves?
If forced to guess, I would say you do the whole "Extremely knowledgeable passive observer" thing that you do here, but because the subject matter is more important, you actually get some pushback. A great example would be that time Joe Biden said cops should "shoot them in the leg". Shooting a true threat in the leg may not be enough to subdue them, a true racist wouldn't be satisfied by that (and if you were half as smart as you thought you were, you would look up what "cuck" means and you would still be explaining to republican supporters the irony), and last but not least, SOMEONE WHO HASN'T DONE ANYTHING TO DESERVE IT SHOULDN'T BE SHOT AT ALL. But I can see saying something that ridiculous, the self satisfied grin on your face, and the anger well up when confronted.
And for the love of God, there are THREE message boards you spend way-too-much time at? How about this: Next time you're at the grocery store, buy a box of plastic bags, and every time you feel like posting your "knowledge", and weather permits, maybe go pick up some litter.
That being said, you are absolutely right. There should be ZERO discussion of politics on this board. Not because it's a "sanctuary", but because a lot of these people suck at it. I mean seriously. One piece of garbage who never gets anything right, then says he's "exhausted" (in the middle of a pandemic in which one of the side effects is exhaustion) because the Vikes drafted two corners (because why does an NFL team need those?), then has the nerve to say that black people need to do a better job putting up with being choked to death by TAXPAYER PAID PUBLIC SERVANTS. Another prize from Northern/Western/Sourthern MN says he "ashamed" of MPLS because the black people get uppity when you choke them? And why is that? Because his one-horse town has an AM radio station that has Mark Levin AND Alex Jones? A super-neato town team? A McDonalds AND a Subway? And besides, it's not like if you took MPLS off the face of the earth you wouldn't have East Dakota, right? And who wouldn't go to a Sports message board dedicated to 3 teams that play in MPLS and write that?
Two other things
I found that Kahn video. Even though that guy who confronted him blew it because Kahn was absolutely going to use a first round pick on him, he did raise a good point: What does Kahn know? An NBA GM makes FIFTEEN decisions spread over years, and Kahn was one of the worst ever at it. A mayor? Yeah slightly harder.
One last comment on politics, then if allowed to, I'll stop: So Donny thinks he can win MN, and just to prove how well he knows the people of MN, and to reinforce the fact that the only black people he knows are the ones who have worked for him, he gets Herschel Walker to speak? LOL!
