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If you don't like it, then DON'T look at it!
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I'm sorry, but I had to write something about the person who asked if Dan would remove posts about the war. Isn't this America we are living in? Cant we write about whatever we choose? Cant we make the decision to NOT read something we are offended by? To ask Slowtwitch to ban all posts regarding the war is just ludicrous.

I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but put yourself in the place of a service man (or woman) in Iraq. Can you even imagine having to do a job like that and know that there are LOADS of people back in your homeland that publicly disagree with what you are doing? Wow, that would be tough (on me anyway).

So, I'm only standing on my soapbox because I feel that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but with these brave souls in harms way, why don’t we do EVERYTHING we can do to try to support them. After all, they are just doing their job.
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Re: If you don't like it, then DON'T look at it! [Blue Troy] [ In reply to ]
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"Isn't this America we are living in? Cant we write about whatever we choose? Cant we make the decision to NOT read something we are offended by? To ask Slowtwitch to ban all posts regarding the war is just ludicrous."

Yes, this is America, or more properly described, the United States. Not all of the Americas have guaranteed freedom of speech. And thats not completely free speech we have here either, its only that we're assured the government will not make any laws abridging your right to free speech. That has nothing to do whatsoever with a personal enterprise as this one.

You are free here to speak your piece, but if the owner chooses to remove it, you have no say. Its his property you're speaking on and he can silence you in a minute - without violating any free speech laws.

We can make decisions to not read something, ff course. It might not be a bad idea to suffice off topic posts with an OT: so one won't even bother going into it if one only wants to read about triathlon here.

And while I'm not going to get excited enough to complain about someone posting war topics on this forum, for you to suggest that someone doing so would be ludicrious would seem, at least to me, to be suggesting clamping down on the very free speech you have become so excited about.

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Elivis needs boats.
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Re: If you don't like it, then DON'T look at it! [Blue Troy] [ In reply to ]
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BT, apparently you misunderstood, or didn't take time to understand the underlying sentiment behind my post. I don't frankly care what your politics are. I entertain all sides of the issue myself. If you knew me you would understand that I have an open mind on these sorts of issues. I have over 16 years current service alongside my brothers who are under fire. I certainly support them more that you will ever know. I CAN put myself in their place. I HAVE BEEN IN THEIR PLACE! I have only recently returned from that area myself. I support them because I AM one of them. Check my profile to see more about who I am.

MY POINT, HOWEVER, WAS THAT these sorts of discussions will ALWAYS color people's perceptions of each other. Please witness your reaction (ill-informed though it is) to my post. You have wrongly assumed many things about me. I don't necessarily fault you for this. Our exposure to each other is very limited in this case. Your reaction points out the pitfalls inherent in such discussions.

In reference to the current conflict people feel strongly about both sides or even stand strongly in the middle. The potential for damage to the otherwise free exchange of ideas on this forum is strong. The shame would be if divisions occured in an area having nothing whatsoever to do with the unifying sport that brings us together. It is NOT ludicrous to think this may happen. As a veteran of many specialized forums (multisport, photography, guitar, etc), I have seen all to often where forums have been destroyed by off-topic discussions of this sort. I too used to think that forums that regulated off-topic posts were overly reactionary. The evidence points to the contrary.

I am NOT for capricious censoring on the forum, and indeed I have called Dan on it before regarding on-topic issues. I AM for free speech. The wise man, however, knows that true democratic freedom requires some abrogation of individual freedoms. In this case, our free discussion on this forum depends on abrogation of many freedoms of speech, as moderated by Slowman. A certain Ape found himself tossed right off the board for violating the most basic courtesies necessary for free and open discussion. If a certain thread threatens our "free" discussion of ideas I contend that it should be censored. This is exactly what I suggested to Dan. He took my reasoning thoughtfully on board and offered his version of how he will moderate the forum. THAT was a free exchange of ideas regardless of whether or not he agreed with me.

I care about what YOU think about multisport, BT. And I can certainly disregard threads dealing with these sorts of subjects. I just note that more and more are off-topic threads are showing up and that alarms me for the reason I stated above. I trust that, given Dan's thoughtful editorial in response to my thread, he WILL moderate the forum to prevent any real division in order to protect this very valuable resource.He has chosen to allow these off-topic discussions, and I respect that decision. I have NO DOUBT that he will squash any outright hate-mongering or other disruptive behavior.
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