A different spin on things.

[KenWittlief]

Being a part of FIRST and posting on CD makes us all part of a unique global community. We all have common interests in science and technology, and we are all people who function in the same world.

Almost every year something happens in the world that affects us profoundly. The Columbine shootings happened during the build/regional time of year in 1999. The shuttle Columbia was lost on a saturday during the build season. 911 had a tremedous effect on FIRST (travel, funding....). SARs affected some teams who had plans to goto the Canadian regional.

When these things happen people need to talk about their feelings. They need to talk to the people they connect with on a daily basis. That includes the CD community. Many of these things make us feel uncomforable, they're hard to talk about.

But banning discussions is not the answer. I rememeber back in 1988 there was a book that came out, something like "88 Reasons why Jesus will return in 1988". I knew a guy who read that book and came completely unglued. He more or less had a nervious breakdown and was hospitalized. He believed the world was coming to an end. Who knows, if he had someone to talk to, instead of keeping all his fears bottled up until he snapped, things might have been different.

Sometimes life really sucks. Telling people they cannot discuss it doesnt make it any better. Letting people express how they feel does give them a sense of connection and community, even if no one is able to fix the problem.