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Originally Posted by SilenceNoMore
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I hate to break it to you SilenceNoMore, but I know who you are. I didn’t do the legwork myself, but I’m lucky enough to have friends and acquaintances on these boards that are very resourceful. I’m leaving your identity out of this post out of professional courtesy to you.
Your “Observations on Politics, Gaming, and Life in General,” the things you wanted anonymity to express without repercussion, have given you away. How’s the weather down there in Arizona?
I do not hold a grudge against your team. I would not instruct whatever teams I help in the future to blackball your team just because of your comments here on CD. I realize that they have no control over what you say.
It’s obvious that you and I do not share the same political views. I respect your right to have your opinions. I hope you eventually learn to respect others’ opinions, as well. It’ll make you a happier person in general, and show other people that you’re deserving of their respect as a person. Tolerance and respect are characteristics which make people and the world a better place. I wholeheartedly invite you to share your views, ideas, problems, and anything else you would want to talk about in a thoughtful and respectful manner.
On these forums we have had many discussions of controversial issues (“Should We Bomb/Strike Iraq,” “Democrat / Republican,” etc.) with almost all opinions known to mankind represented in one form or another. I know that you’re scared of repercussions for your team because of your opinions and posts on CD… It’s very rare that teams are actually discriminated against because of what someone’s personal beliefs are. In fact, in my almost 6 years of FIRST participation, I’ve only heard of this once. If your team is blacklisted by others because of one member’s outspoken political/etc. opinions then this only speaks poorly of the team, referee, judge, etc. doing the discriminating. You shouldn’t fear this. You shouldn’t be paranoid.
Please join us with an identity. It is possible to move past this whole “red dot” thing and make friends and acquaintances on these boards. I’ve met many people on these forums that I have tons and tons of respect for, but do not agree with when it comes to where I think FIRST should go, or politics, or religion. It’s possible to make friends without agreeing on everything. Given the things I’ve read about you, I think there are massive quantities of users on these boards who share your interests and your sociopolitical beliefs. Give it a chance. Although I would suggest that you go back to your old account, first
. Can we (the entire CD community, all sides of this) please burry this hatchet and move onto more civil conversations on both controversial and plain topics?