Sports Aren’t Our Escape Anymore

[Wedman13]

 

It's too much to ask because first, this isn't your site, and second, you can feel free to ignore literally every post on this or related topics.

 

Also, in the case of the players, I don't understand why it's so hard to separate the art from the artist.

 

I can enjoy a Mel Gibson film even if I think his past is pretty horrible. I can read an Orson Scott Card novel even if I find his politics deplorable.

 

At any time, should I feel their views/past become too much for me to personally handle, I will cease consuming their products and move on to other things.

 

No one is forcing you to consume this content and asking others to conform to your personal standards because their views make you uncomfortable is... well, yeah, it's just too much to ask of others. We all get to use our personal platforms for what we please; capitalism decides whether we succeed or fail while doing it.

Feel free to have folks ignore.... But is that what TD wants?  This is my concern as a very long time lurker.  I'm assuming, but do not know, if this site generates revenue off hits.  But if so, politics should not not be here.  3 years ago Sano was crucified on this site and I don't remember hearing of all the racism defense of his case, which he was cleared of.  It was venous.  Am I the only one that remembers that? 

 

Please owners, do not let TD become Canis Hoopus.  We come because we love the Twins, the great baseball insights and the minor league updates.  This site is incredible.  There are other outlets for social views.

 

I agree capitalism matters, and want TD to thrive.

[Squirrel]

 

Feel free to have folks ignore.... But is that what TD wants?  This is my concern as a very long time lurker.  I'm assuming, but do not know, if this site generates revenue off hits.  But if so, politics should not not be here.  3 years ago Sano was crucified on this site and I don't remember hearing of all the racism defense of his case, which he was cleared of.  It was venous.  Am I the only one that remembers that? 

 

Please owners, do not let TD become Canis Hoopus.  We come because we love the Twins, the great baseball insights and the minor league updates.  This site is incredible.  There are other outlets for social views.

 

I agree capitalism matters, and want TD to thrive.

 

This is our comment policy:

http://twinsdaily.com/topic/8228-twins-daily-comment-policy/

 

It might clear up a lot of questions you have about the site and what we are about. If you have further suggestions, questions or concerns about content, we have a forum specifically for those questions and comments, called 'Questions about MinnCentric': http://twinsdaily.com/forum/13-questions-about-minncentric/

 

Further, you can make your feelings known by PMing ownership directly. The owners are:

John Bonnes

Brock Beauchamp

Parker Hageman

Nick Nelson

Seth Stohs

 

If you have questions about policies or 'how to's' or other concerns, you can contact a moderator. They are listed in the Comments Policy. (I am one.)

 

But filling up a discussion thread with complaints about that particular subject matter is really, truly counter-productive and is off topic and considered thread jacking. Your continued complaints in this thread, when I've outlined the proper outlets, will be removed. If you want to comment on the subject matter, agree or disagree, do so. But if all you want to do is complain about the subject matter, saying it shouldn't be here, we have many, many, many other threads in which to discuss baseball only.

 

If you want an off-topic area, that would be the Sports Bar Forum, found here: http://twinsdaily.com/forum/12-the-sports-bar/

Keep in mind, specific political discussion ... i.e. elections, candidates, legislation ... are not permitted. We don't consider issues of humanity to be political issues ... until someone makes them so signaling toward a left or right agenda ... those posts are given little leeway and too far astray, removed.

 

We also have forums to discuss football, basketball and hockey. Sorry soccer fans, you'll have to use the Sports Bar forum.

[RedBull34]

 

I agree that it is very important for folks to be able to find time for recreation, and to be able to get away, to escape to preserve their sanity and themselves.

 

I have a number of privileges that allow me to have options when it comes to escape.  Some people are treated differently based on the color of their skin, sexuality, gender, etc. and this momentary loss of privilege helps me remember that.

 

I can watch a movie, and go to sleep in my own bed without fear that the police will break down my door and shoot me (Breonna Taylor)

 

I can watch a baseball game and not fear that the broadcaster will unknowingly broadcast hateful language about my sexuality (Thom Brennaman)

 

I can let my 12 year-old children play with toys in the yard without being mistaken for 20 and shot (Tamir Rice)

 

I can drive my car and have the taillight go out and not have a police officer overreact and shoot me out of fear (Philando Castile)

 

I can watch professional sports anytime they are on without having to hear coded language for racism. I can watch white athletes never be asked to speak for their entire race.

 

I can escape because my skin color lets me.  This break is time for me to reflect on how I can work to create a world where everybody can truly take a break, recreate, enjoy life without fear that somebody else's racism will tarnish the experience.  Imagine never having baseball.  Imagine never being able to truly escape.

You do your thing, and I'll do mine.  I'm not gonna try and justify anything to you.  I don't need to.

 

But when I turn on baseball, it's to watch baseball.  If MLB wants to broadcast something else, more power to them.  But they shouldn't be surprised if I go watch something else.  

 

I'm not mad about the cause of the Twins postponement.  It was a one day thing, whatever.  Rain Delays happen too.

 

My work provides me plenty of opportunity to deal with difficult choices and fear of the unknown.  Injuries abound in my line of work. 

 

No one needs to remind me that life can really suck.  I've seen enough dead and wounded for that.

[Brock Beauchamp]

Feel free to have folks ignore.... But is that what TD wants?

There are at least three articles on this site written every day that do not interest me.

 

My point is that we write for a varied audience with different Twins-related interests.

 

Feel free to curate our content to your tastes, just like pretty much everyone else on this site. I don't want to see writers stop writing just because that particular article doesn't interest me; it exists because it interests others so I just ignore it and move onto content I want to talk about.

[Wedman13]

 

There are at least three articles on this site written every day that do not interest me.

My point is that we write for a varied audience with different Twins-related interests.

Feel free to curate our content to your tastes, just like pretty much everyone else on this site. I don't want to see writers stop writing just because that particular article doesn't interest me; it exists because it interests others so I just ignore it and move onto content I want to talk about.

This, unlike Squirrel's response, is completely fair and makes sense.  I Just don't want the site to be a platform, as there is such awesome content about the team we love (and hate at times!).  The Author was great, the responses started to bend.  Thank you Brock, this makes a lot of sense

[Brock Beauchamp]

This, unlike Squirrel's response, is completely fair and makes sense. I Just don't want the site to be a platform, as there is such awesome content about the team we love (and hate at times!). The Author was great, the responses started to bend. Thank you Brock, this makes a lot of sense

How Twins Daily operates as a platform is almost entirely at the discretion of the individual writers. We coordinate topics to minimize overlap but rarely step in to say “don’t write Thing X” and never say “we need someone to write Thing X” unless it’s a transactional move like a trade, promotion, or demotion.

 

What you read on Twins Daily exists almost entirely because some individual sitting behind a computer somewhere thought to themself “I really want to write about this thing”.

[Wedman13]

 

How Twins Daily operates as a platform is almost entirely at the discretion of the individual writers. We coordinate topics to minimize overlap but rarely step in to say “don’t write Thing X” and never say “we need someone to write Thing X” unless it’s a transactional move like a trade, promotion, or demotion.

What you read on Twins Daily exists almost entirely because some individual sitting behind a computer somewhere thought to themself “I really want to write about this thing”.

Thank you Brock.  That's a good mission and why the site I great.  It seemed I disagreed with Squirrel, who I maybe had mistaken as a moderator, and then was told to be hi-jacking by him.  Go twins, don the masks, get healthy, and bring the World Series to Minnesota!  And long love Twins Daily...

 

[h2oface]

I watch the Twins ...... for a special form of punishment. To be disappointed and get angry and scream at the screen..... and I do it over and over and over, all my life. I am glad people put this game in perspective, and speak out about what is really important in the world. Come to baseball to ESCAPE? I don't know what anybody is talking about.

 

I skydive to escape. 

[Han Joelo]

Man, I have not commented much in the last few months, but this article is exceptionally powerful.  Precisely because it is not what anyone expects from Stu.  It's like you popped in a Will Ferrell movie looking for a cheap laugh and instead you had to reexamine your life while watching Everything Must Go. 

[strumdatjaguar]

There is sure a lot of hypocrisy from Pro Athletes. Just a few months ago the NBA came down hard on the Houston Rockets GM for expressing support for Hong Kong protesters against the brutality of the Communist Chinese Regime crackdown in their town. LeBron James explained poorly why the NBA needed to appease China (real reason: for the profits they receive from the regime that sends a million Muslim Uighurs to concentration camps). Now all these leagues paint Black Lives Matter on the courts, fields etc. Selective wokeness. Let me just watch the game. Don’t pressure all your teammates into joining your cause. Do it on your own time like Curt Schilling and Drew Brees (and they get lambasted for comments on their own time). Play ball and let the legal system give a fair trial for the accused without people in the streets with torches calling (figuratively) to string up the offending cops or they’ll burn down the town. The parallels to To Kill a Mockingbird are chilling. The failure to see all the irony is overwhelming.

[Wedman13]

Given that this post and many of the comments have been spam-liked by all of the Top Dogs and the power posters who drive the culture discussions have all weighed in to support the post, I feel like I’m taking my life in my hands by even hinting at questioning it but sorry it feels like one of those people who take joy in telling other people “this is the new normal!!”.

 

What has happened to society that we aren’t even allowed to enjoy simple pleasures like a sporting event?? What exactly is wrong with that??

 

Would it be possible to create a political/cultural issues page for everyone to comment on, so that all of us who JUST WANT TO ENJOY BASEBALL can live in peace?

 

Probably too much to ask.....

[Wedman13]

Great post.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

You're literally arguing in a thread you have stated you don't wish to read.

 

There are 27000 baseball threads. Did you know the Twins DFA'd Coulumbe today?

No i didn't.

 

One moment... I'll track that thread down.

[sampleSizeOfOne]

I feel for the plight of the bullets as well. From the factory to the chamber, then one brief agonizing flight.

[launchingthrees]

Athletes have every right to make political statements like this. We have no right to tell them what they should do with their labor. This is also true for writers/reporters who are, by my measure, universally supporting the player's stance. Good for them. What else can they do?  But it's important for everyone involved to understand that many may choose to tune out when sports are no longer an escape. There will be real financial consequences moving forward for franchises. 

 

Tv ratings should be much higher for the NBA and MLB than they are during covid. Engagement on reddit and other platforms should be higher than it is. Reporters are being shed at an astonishing rate from newspapers. Only this time, the athletic isn't scooping them up. Far from it. The Athletic layed off 8% of its staff in June and the writers who remained were forced to take a pay cut. More layoffs and paycuts will follow industry-wide. It will be interesting to watch play out.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I watch the Twins ...... for a special form of punishment. To be disappointed and get angry and scream at the screen..... and I do it over and over and over, all my life. I am glad people put this game in perspective, and speak out about what is really important in the world. Come to baseball to ESCAPE? I don't know what anybody is talking about.

 

I skydive to escape. 

Okay, this is hilarious.

 

Well done.

[MABB1959]

I do not condone the police officer who killed George Floyd.  I do not have enough facts on why Jacob Blake was shot so many times. I do have an issue with putting Jackie Robinson name into the issue.  Jackie went out of his way maybe too far to bring African American's into baseball peacefully.  He was and always will be remembered as a hero in baseball.  George and Jacob were in the act of criminal activity that put them into the situation.  I believe the force was excessive but I have never been in the shoes of a police officer so it is hard for me to comment on what should have been done.  In the George Floyd case the police officers have been arrested and charged and depending on the facts of the case the Kenosha officers will most likely be charged too.  What kind of "justice" are the rioters burning down buildings and looting looking for justice for or is it just a reason to be destructive?  They have not given time for justice in this last case.  It took 3 years for the drug addict who murdered my dad to justice.

 

[GNess]

Fantastic article.