[blkwings]

I feel bad I missed a chance to respond to RJ88's thread before it was closed. His topic is the current global conversation that's literally raging all around the US as we speak, and as a POC he wanted to be heard and clearly wanted to listen. I'm sad I missed that. We're all here on the forum for a very random reason, we own the same model car, and happen to passionate about it, (or just need to know how to fix something). That means we're likely a VERY diverse group here, with a great opportunity to hear and speak to people outside of our social and political circles, and even our own countries. We just had a new member join from Indonesia this week. It's a unique opportunity to learn and get perspective we wouldn't on a typical reddit or FB thread, because we enter in to these convos from a place of respect already. We need that level of perspective very much now.

I understand Sabertooth's concern that such a topic could quickly turn into a divisive shitshow, which we certainly don't need here or anywhere. So, I get it. I was an original member of the club4g.com forum before joining here in 2010. I'm absolutely grateful for Sabertooth's patience and hard work keeping this site thriving, as well as all the helpful advice and guidance he's given me directly. I'm not gonna argue forum rules about it. My main point is that as a community here, if we're on the fence about talking about an issue, I say we do. We need more communication right now, or just don't click on it if you want to stick to cars. My 2¢.

 

[Sabertooth^2]

Well said.

There's definitely value to a discussion, and it wasn't an easy a choice to not have that conversation on the forum. I did receive complaints immediately from multiple members wishing RJ88 would be removed, I tried explaining the situation to him, and still am not exactly happy with the outcome by any means. But, it's where we're at, and I can feel it was democratic at least, and kept to the spirit of it being a car club.

Many people use hobbies to escape the harshness of the world. And I feel it's unfair to them to take away their haven to shut the world out for a little bit. Between Covid, riots, protests, political instability, financial instability, and religious issues at hand, it's a lot to deal with. If it helps make a community member here help stay out of a depression and lower some anxiety to keep this area clearer, I feel it was a success. If it causes unrest, I'll admit to being wrong.

It's a tough situation for all, and my heart goes out to all who are suffering. Unfortunately it's so many right now, and it seems impossible to keep everyone satisfied.

I don't have a eloquent way to end this, not everything wraps up nicely. But together, we can find the ending that works for us.