There's nothing wrong with being passionate about politics, in fact, that was why our fore-fathers founded this country on the principles they provided in this country's Living Document. As I stated elsewhere on this blog recently, our differences and diversity are what make us a strong democracy. However, allowing that passion and those differences to develop into biased divisions and hatred, was
not part of the vision of those who founded this great country. Most here who know me can probably guess to which side I lean, (if they don't outright know without question), and I feel as strongly about my views as anyone ... as adults we have to take responsibility for our decisions, and come to the conclusions and guidelines that define each of us, and sometimes stand up for those parameters, that's where conviction and individuality come from.
But I think the mistake many of us make, (and I have been as guilty of this as anyone), is assuming that our way is the
only way - that we have the clearest view of things, and that anyone who
doesn't agree must somehow be completely mistaken, or even worse things, (which I won't name). Politics are a subject that require us, to a certain degree, to be put into a group, (conservative, liberal, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Independent, Socialist, etc.), and unfortunately those groups label us. When that happens people who aren't in our group tend to make assumptions that because we belong to that group, we must
believe the exact same way as everyone
else in that group, and this is where party affiliation goes badly wrong. Yes, I may belong to a certain party, and a majority of my beliefs may coincide with that party's beliefs, but not
all.
When others start making broad generalizations about us, (and we about them), because of our affiliations, then the walls come up and the doors shut and the windows close and we can no longer have an objective discussion or argument because it's clouded by these broad assumptions, (that are usually not true to the greater extent). That's where constructive discourse ends and judgementalism and hatred begin. Personally, I have recently made the decision to try to stay off the political threads most of the time, because I am also a very passionate person when it comes to those subjects, and I am the type of person who can take things far too personally for my own good. It's hard for me to draw that fine line between "heated constructive discussion" and personal attack, and hard for me to not respond in kind.
Everyone must come to their own conclusions and find their own road, (which I think is why Brick has decided to do this, and I respect him for it), and to
me, this web site is primarily about the Celtics and our mutual love for all things green. I don't want some political or personal view of mine to get the best of me, and ruin what has become a place of positive expression and friendship. I have made this mistake many times in the past, and let my emotions get the best of me and ruin some friendships here that were very important to me, all for the sake of my personal, passionate views being different from someone else's. What I didn't see was that these differences are what make this place, (and most successful blogs/forums), so diverse, interesting and productive.
How much growth or constructive criticism could
ever take place if our views were never questioned, or there was never an opposite analysis from our own? Very little, I think ... and life would be very boring. What's hard for us as humans is realizing that, despite how foreign another's views may be to our own, and despite how those views may affect us negatively,
they are just entitled to those views as
we are, and we need to make a little space in our perspectives to allow for it, as hard as that might be. I have known Brick for quite a while, ever since I joined here in December of 2007, (less the year I was gone since then), and while I have had a number of disagreements with him, I have also seen things much the same way a good part of the time.
But regardless of our differences, I have always known him to be a person of integrity and intelligence, and knowing that, and while I will most assuredly miss his input here, I have to accept that he has made this decision because it's an important enough issue to him as a person, to sacrifice his enjoyment of this web site. I may not agree with his motives or his views on this subject, but I respect and admire him for making a stand for what he believes in. On the other side, I have to also respect and admire the people who manage this site and spend countless hours doing their best to make it a place of integrity and diversity and celebration, and that is no small feat.
To walk the fine line between letting a passionate person express themselves openly, letting topics be discussed thoroughly and heatedly at times, and making sure it's done within the strict guidelines put forth, (which may indeed be strict, but which nonetheless make this place as strong and respected as it is), is a very, very difficult thing to do. Factor into this that they are just human, too, with all the same passions and opinions and frailties that affect us all, and that they have to constantly moderate in a fashion that approaches objectivity, and you can see that it's a nearly impossible job to do. Those things being as they are, you can see that the only real tool they have to work with are the
RULES, and whether they or we or
anyone agrees with them all or not, they
must be adhered to, no matter who is testing the boundaries at the time.
The biggest difference that I have seen between this blog and others, (and the one thing that separates it from those that I personally feel are not anywhere near as good), is the feeling and cultivation of
mutual respect. If nothing else, the rules in place here at CB encourage mutual respect, and make it possible for a person of
any level of expertise or knowledge, to come here and contribute without very little fear of retribution or belittling. You may be an expert on the Celtics and basketball, or you may have just come to be a fan recently, but no matter
where you are on the ladder of the "Green Experience", you can have a strong voice here without having to worry about being attacked or belittled or condescended to, and that's because of the rules in place. I don't know Jeff very well ... yes, I've been here a while and have a few posts to my credit, but for whatever reason I just never wanted to bother him with any of my small problems or concerns, (and it's my loss, because I know he's a very approachable person).
Well, despite the fact that I haven't had as much interaction with him as I have with other staff members, I can tell you that he is a person of unparalleled insight when it comes to blogs. The fact that he took the time and forethought to create and refine the rules of conduct here to the extent he has, and the energy and analysis that he has put into implementing them and acquiring a staff that works so diligently to apply said guidelines as objectively as possible, is nothing short of genius. I recently saw a thread here where some young people were starting a blog of their own and asking for help on putting it together, and Jeff supplied a number of suggestions, (as did some other people here), and I was thinking how great it was to see people at the age of 16 who were willing to take on such a project, all because of a passion for their team, (major kudos to them, by the way).
But I was also thinking of the incredible amount of things behind-the-scenes that Jeff has undoubtedly done over the years to mold this dream of his, and the endless sacrifices and deeds and discussions and thoughts and implementations and compromises and headaches and tears and joys and plain old pain-in-the-butts that have gone unseen, that are required to turn such a dream into reality. I remember thinking of what a long journey those young people had ahead of them between where they were, in the initial stages of creating a new blog, and ever getting it to the amazing level success that CB has. Most of the newer blogs, and even some of the more successful ones, seem to treat rules and guidelines as secondary, and they don't want to implement anything too strict for fear of chasing off prospective members.
While I understand that way of thinking, I also believe that's where they go
wrong. Jeff made rules the center of what he built this blog around ... the foundation, if you will, for what has become a castle of Celtic community, and those rules are what has made it strong, and why it has survived and accumulated the amount of respect that it has. Without rules and guidelines, you only cultivate chaos, and sports blogs where you can swear and belittle and bash to your heart's content, are a dime-a-dozen, and they don't last because there is no foundation. Regardless of how I feel about this situation, and while I feel this place is a richer place when Brick is a regularly contributing member, rules are rules, and there can be
no favorites or exceptions when it comes to implementing those rules. If there
were exceptions, they would be the cracks in that foundation, cracks which would inevitably cause that foundation to crumble.
I know there has been a great deal of "Us versus Them" around here lately, and I have been as much a part of it as anyone, (and I apologize for my part), because I have taken some things too personally and have at times felt attacked "en masse" by certain people who I know don't care for me and some of my views. Whether there's anything to it or not, I don't know, but whatever has transpired is all just a part of the human condition, and the fact that we
ALL are subject to the same fallibilities and weaknesses ... we
ALL have people who we like more than others, (for whatever reasons), we
ALL have those who rub us the wrong way, we
ALL need to vent to our friends about things we feel are wrong or even to just purge for the sake of releasing that negative emotion, we
ALL tend to gravitate to those who see things the way
we do, and we
ALL tend to support our friends when we feel they're being attacked or wronged in any way.
So while I was seeing those incidents as being "ganged up on", all that was happening was someone was disagreeing with me, and some of the people who saw their same point of view, (or people who were just their friends), were being supportive of them and that view. If a part of that was because I may not be their favorite person, or I may rub them the wrong way, well that's just human, and I would do the same thing myself, and in fact
have done the same thing. It may not be what some categorize as "fair". but it's part of being human, and we shouldn't hide behind it. Now, what prevents those negative feelings we all have towards certain others from turning into something poisonous, are the rules and regulations that have been put in place to confine our emotions and put a limit on how far we let those emotions take us into the realm of
non-objectivity.
By being human there are times when we
WANT to tell that guy we don't care for where to go, times when we want to call others names and just let them have a taste of our verbal fist. But people like Jeff, (when they put a successful blog together), see ahead of time how such things would be destructive, and that a successful forum could not exist for long without guidelines, and the more thoughtful and fair those guidelines, the more successful the site. While we may all feel differently about certain things, and while other
blogs may be different, and while we may want to just "let someone
have it" once in a while, we are all members here at Jeff's invite, and we must respect the guidelines he set up while we're here. It's
his house, and you wouldn't walk into another's house and start destroying things, (I would hope), because you respect that it's not your property.
We've been invited to a celebration here, a celebration of the team that we love, and while we can discuss and cheer and argue and party, we need to remember that we're all
visitors, and we need to do everything we can to keep Jeff's house as tidy and warm and welcoming as it was before we walked through the door. I will miss Brick and his contributions, but I pray that after some personal reflection, he will come to realize what I have of late, that our differences aren't so much what keep us apart, but are the things that give clarity to the unique individuals we all are, and that because others may see things from another perspective, doesn't make them wrong ... just
different.
Besides, there's only
one Brickowski, and he's irreplaceable ... he may be only one voice, but that's all
any of us have. Peace.
