About the Politics section and opposing views.

[Mori Chu]

Hi all,

There were some messages in the Suns/NBA section saying that this Politics area is bad for the site. Specifically people said that this area only allows left-wing views. People have also said that the only person who posts in this area is the site owner (me).

I was curious what people here think. I have some thoughts:

* I do post a lot in here, probably more than anybody else. I guess I was trying to post "news of the day" stuff and seed discussions. Like, here are some new polls; Kamala did this interview, here's a clip; Trump did this rally, here's an article about it; there's a SCOTUS decision, here it is. I know I have my own biases and won't pretend that my content here is neutral. But my intent is not to dominate discussion in this area; I was hoping to keep some new content coming into this area so people would have things to talk about.

* As for not tolerating other views, we've had several people in here who don't align with left-wing views or my views or whatever. I think we have generally had civil and respectful discussion. Sometimes it has gotten a bit too hot, and in those cases I have tried to moderate and get after people who were making personal attacks and insults. It hasn't been perfect, but for a forum about so many hotly contested topics (abortion, guns, Trump/MAGA vs Dems, Israel/Gaza, on and on) I think we have mostly succeeded in talking about these things even if we do not all agree. It is noticeable than In2 doesn't post here any more, and I know some other folks don't post in this area, but I have tried the best I could to create a welcoming space here.

So, I guess I put it to you all: Do we need to change how this area is run? Should it go away? Is it not being run or moderated in the right way? Can we do more to welcome other points of view? What do you think?

[virtual9mm]

I wouldn't go so far. It isn't as useful without In2 posting but I would say that it still has some value. And it does help keep the political stuff off the main board.

Up to you, though. Thanks again for running the site.

[Nodack]

I don’t think anybody has ever told anybody not to post in this site because they’re Republican. Most of the people that post here are anti-Trump. I’m sure that can be frustrating for a Trump supporter

I’ll be honest. I stopped caring what Trump supporters have to say and have no interest debating them. Trump is the word of God and everything else is fake in their world. How do you debate that? You don’t. So what is the point?

Keep the politics thread or end it? I don’t care. I can always vent somewhere else.

[Superbone]

I think it's specifically the Hamas/Palestine/Israel war stuff more than American politics that I have an issue with as there are deep feelings there and some peoples religions are being attacked relentlessly. That is a complicated, extremely long term issue as well as having extremely ugly acts of violence to humanity from different directions and for different reasons. It has already been publicly brought up by some members as something that is pushing them away from the site and yet the piling on continued.

[Kryptonic]

I think it's specifically the Hamas/Palestine/Israel war stuff more than American politics that I have an issue with as there are deep feelings there and some peoples religions are being attacked relentlessly. That is a complicated, extremely long term issue as well as having extremely ugly acts of violence to humanity from different directions and for different reasons. It has already been publicly brought up by some members as something that is pushing them away from the site and yet the piling on continued.

Add to it the blanket disdain and hatred towards Christian’s on here too. Tbh…, I’ve been close to leaving over some posts in there because some people like to lump some Christian’s views as all Christian’s views.

You can say “just ignore the political section” but then again why the hell do we have on a phx suns site. Maybe you should change the header.

[Superbone]

I think it's specifically the Hamas/Palestine/Israel war stuff more than American politics that I have an issue with as there are deep feelings there and some peoples religions are being attacked relentlessly. That is a complicated, extremely long term issue as well as having extremely ugly acts of violence to humanity from different directions and for different reasons. It has already been publicly brought up by some members as something that is pushing them away from the site and yet the piling on continued.

Add to it the blanket disdain and hatred towards Christian’s on here too. Tbh…, I’ve been close to leaving over some posts in there because some people like to lump some Christian’s views as all Christian’s views.

You can say “just ignore the political section” but then again why the hell do we have on a phx suns site. Maybe you should change the header.

There ya go. That's another good example and one I wasn't aware of. Lumping all of anyone or anything into one basket is never a good idea. Anything on this site that makes Suns fans uncomfortable should be questioned. The main purpose of the site is to bring Suns fans together. We should concentrate on those qualities and avoid things that push Suns fans away.

Like others have said, you can have these conversations elsewhere. In fact, it's probably more appropriate at those other locations. I could easily live without the Politics forum here on phx-suns.net.

[Nodack]

I haven’t seen a hatred of Christians here. Maybe you are talking about me. I don’t believe in religion. That doesn’t mean I hate Christians or Jewish people or Muslims. A good chunk of my friends and family are those people. I do have a disdain for religion sometimes when I see wars based on them or a stat that says most evangelicals vote for Trump. I can’t change the way I feel. Closing down the politics folder is probably a good idea to make sure nobody offended by viewpoints that are different than theirs.

[virtual9mm]

This is really a microcosm of what America is becoming, isn't it? Truth becomes ignored and what hurts folks' feelings matters more than truth or fiction.

That being said, it is a basketball site. Sports is one of the few things that still brings people together. Have to defend this. We can discuss truth elsewhere.

[Mori Chu]

Thanks to all for the feedback. I don't 100% agree with everything said in this thread, but what I'm definitely not seeing is much anybody defending this section or saying they enjoy reading it or participating in it. If its net effect is to upset and divide people and not to generate interesting discussion, I think we should shut it down. I'll close down this section effective immediately. Thanks again.

[Charlie Smithy!]

This is really a microcosm of what America is becoming, isn't it? Truth becomes ignored and what hurts folks' feelings matters more than truth or fiction.

That being said, it is a basketball site. Sports is one of the few things that still brings people together. Have to defend this. We can discuss truth elsewhere.

Thanks to all for the feedback. I don't 100% agree with everything said in this thread, but what I'm definitely not seeing is much anybody defending this section or saying they enjoy reading it or participating in it. If its net effect is to upset and divide people and not to generate interesting discussion, I think we should shut it down. I'll close down this section effective immediately. Thanks again.

Just wanted to throw my two cents in here along with the rest of you, for what it's worth.

I hear (and vibe) with a lot of what you guys were/are saying.

And while I do realize that none of us are responsible for each other's feelings, and that there is more than a little truth in truth itself being affected due to feelings, I feel (ha!) that that was not the main issue here, again, for what it's worth.

For me, I feel that it was the combination of both the intensity of some current events themselves, juxtaposed with the intensity of both the opinion(s) and difference(s) from them, that in large part created the catalyst(s) for what we saw play out here. And that's a lot of (s!).

At any rate, I wanna wax a little personal here, on you guys, in terms of my gratitude towards you all.

As some of you know, I was born into some reeeeeeeally heavy generational rot in terms of trauma that pinged pretty high on the clinical scale, for various reasons.

Throughout most of my adult life, I've had to both find myself and find my own surrogate (found) family, if you will. And straight-up? So many of you guys have been a part of that since 2002.

And on the day where I found out that one of my sisters, whom I was forced to keep at more than arm's length for my own safety, has died, I find myself not just (re)processing all that, but I also am in a contemplative state of mind, where I am just reevaluating my journey. A journey that, to be honest, has felt like having already lived through two lifetimes, although I just turned 38.

Anyway, the point of all this rambling is, is that I may have put in all the work to get to wherever I am. And I can promise y'all that any skills I may have picked up that I've applied in my life both personally, and professionally as a crisis counselor, have been because I have been extended the support from people like you, even from a distance, that I never, ever received from my parents or siblings.

So yeah, this site's bigger (and infinitely more meaningful) than politics. I legitimately love all of you guys. I believe in all of you for who you are, your talents, and your personal convictions, whatever they may be. I believe in this country, and most of all, I believe in the human spirit, individually, and collectively, that I truly feel will see me (and the rest of us) through anything that may come our way.

-Charlie Smithy/jared