Inclusivity and the NHL: We Have a Problem

[Alpha_Q]

Like me, many if not all of you have probably heard that you need religion to lead a moral life and be loving and forgiving etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum. I can tell you with 100 percent conviction that in fact you need religion to hate. And Reimer et. al. hate, don't be fooled by their nice little speeches.

With a son who came out as gay when he was 14, I have been very in tune to the people in my life who make even the most subtle of homophobic remarks, and although there are very few in my life who have done so - thankfully - all those who do show and hold homophobic tendencies - ALL of them - eventually bring their reasoning and argument down to the Bible or the Quran. ALL OF THEM.

The bible (and Quran) has very strong passages of intolerance, hatred and violence, therefore Christianity is a religion of intolerance, hatred, and violence. For something that is so old, it still needs to grow up and modernize. Stop following hateful ideas set down by people who lived and shat in caves, whose great technical device for spreading ideas was ink and a ####ing feather.

On a similar note, I can't wait until that Derek Reimer guy (wow, what a coincidence, that) starts protesting inside churches and ministerial gatherings where children are present, since they are far more likely to be molested by a priest in a church than they are a story-teller at a library.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

Karl Popper is my jam! One of the great thinkers of our time.

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf_Phan

Enjoy it while it lasts.

Exactly

[Phaneuf_Phan]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Please do go on.

Free speech is under attack. Personally, I like to listen to the view of both sides then I'll use a rare skill called critical thinking to make up my own mind on any subject. It's OK for someone to disagree with any of my views and we can still be friends.

[Toonage]

I would love to see the reaction of anyone supportive of Reimer, Provorov, the Wild etc if any player refused to wear a jersey or support Cancer Awareness, Black History, or to Cecil's point, Military Appreciation.

It's infuriating. It's not even your game jersey. You wear it for 15 minutes in front of a handful of fans. Auction it off for charity.

[FlatLandFlamesFan]

Always amazes me how many modern Christians fall back on old testament teachings and forget the teachings of Jesus .
That Biblical quote is specifically mentioned gay sex/sodomy , nothing about gay love ,let alone gender diversity

By old Testament standards there are multiple cities that would be razed to the ground.
The Pope himself has covered this , the "holiest of the holy" in the religion

I have always valued the teachings of the various prophets ,it's how they are taught that scares the crap out of me.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

I’d love to see a player come out and refuse to participate in military appreciation night because of the atrocities committed by the US in Iraq or Afghanistan. Or say they are against promoting the armed forces due to their religious beliefs.

Then we’ll see how much the league wants to support freedom of expression when a sponsor who paid to have their own special jersey gets upset.

I hear that to some extent, but it would be ####ty to beat up on a member of service who was trying to fulfill his duty and keep his bunkmates alive for their tour. It's completely beyond a single individual, but I do take your point about tacitly endorsing military actions and personnel. I have languidly clapped along many a time thinking in my head "I don't really believe in this." But I did so anyway because I don't need to be a ####ty person to someone who likely ended up in service because of financial reasons.

Now, if it were a 5 star general who ordered a bomb on a civilian population, have at'er.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf_Phan

Free speech is under attack. Personally, I like to listen to the view of both sides then I'll use a rare skill called critical thinking to make up my own mind on any subject. It's OK for someone to disagree with any of my views and we can still be friends.

This is literally what we're doing right now. Many here are saying, after critically thinking about the issue, that Reimer's opinion sucks, is outdated, and lacks logic or critical thinking.

If we hope to do better, we should expect everyone to carefully think about any position they have before conducting themselves publicly in this way.

[Barnet Flame]

The fact that a very small percentage (low single figures) of players refuse to wear the jersey doesn’t mean the NHL has a problem with inclusivity. But it does have a problem with inclusivity because players do seem to feel it is difficult to be open about who they are. The NHL - and just about any team sports league is in no way a mirror of wider society in relation to openness in regard to LGBTQ+ representation.

The wearing of jerseys for for these theme nights are just that - theme nights. They mean nothing if people wearing those jerseys don’t feel safe to be who they are and be openly live life without fear of prejudice.

[FlatLandFlamesFan]

Ok i chuckled

https://twitter.com/user/status/1637200735841681408

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf_Phan

Free speech is under attack. Personally, I like to listen to the view of both sides then I'll use a rare skill called critical thinking to make up my own mind on any subject. It's OK for someone to disagree with any of my views and we can still be friends.

God what a tiresome statement. How exactly is free speech under attack? Is criticism censoring now?

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by Barnet Flame

The fact that a very small percentage (low single figures) of players refuse to wear the jersey doesn’t mean the NHL has a problem with inclusivity. But it does have a problem with inclusivity because players do seem to feel it is difficult to be open about who they are. The NHL - and just about any team sports league is in no way a mirror of wider society in relation to openness in regard to LGBTQ+ representation.

The wearing of jerseys for for these theme nights are just that - theme nights. They mean nothing if people wearing those jerseys don’t feel safe to be who they are and be openly live life without fear of prejudice.

You mean Reimer right?

[ripTDR]

The friends that I have that are gay don't really care about these initiatives. They want to live normal and be treated as normal without this fanfare.



To them, the money and attention should be focused on education that they are regular people who contribute like anyone else.

[flames_fan_down_under]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

God what a tiresome statement. How exactly is free speech under attack? Is criticism censoring now?

Painfully exhausting to have to read this free speech crap. Reimer freely spoke his mind, it was accurately reported on, he still has all the freedoms guaranteed to him after he said his asinine comments, but free speech is somehow under attack.

Odd that in an environment where free speech is allegedly "under attack" I have never been inundated with as much blatant hateful homophobia, racism and intolerance than I am right now.

[midniteowl]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

God what a tiresome statement. How exactly is free speech under attack? Is criticism censoring now?

Isn't Phaneuf_Phan in a way doing exactly that? Saying people here shouldn't express what they think of what James Reimer said and did?

[butterfly]

I love the Native American night, Lunar New Year night, Fighting Cancer night, Black history night, Pride night, etc. etc. It's fun. You can celebrate it even if you don't belong to one of the groups. You might even learn something and make a new friend.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by ripTDR

The friends that I have that are gay don't really care about these initiatives. They want to live normal and be treated as normal without this fanfare.

To them, the money and attention should be focused on education that they are regular people who contribute like anyone else.

Agree with this, but the worst part is that the members of the LGBTQ community that actually cares about these things and would actually be impacted by these decisions are primarily children.

Nothing says “good Christian” like ensuring a gay kid knows you don’t support their “lifestyle.”

Originally Posted by midniteowl

Isn't Phaneuf_Phan in a way doing exactly that? Saying people here shouldn't express what they think of what James Reimer said and did?

To idiots like Phaneuf_Phan, free speech extends only to them getting to say whatever they want without anyone questioning or disagreeing with their opinion, or casting any judgement on their opinion whatsoever.

[Phaneuf_Phan]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf_Phan

Ever notice how the people who scream for tolerance are extremely intolerant themselves?

I know this post triggered a lot of people on here, but that's OK, I don't mind.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf_Phan

I know this post triggered a lot of people on here, but that's OK, I don't mind.

Thanks for quoting yourself again.

Looks like the woke mob didn't catch that one.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Phaneuf_Phan

I know this post triggered a lot of people on here, but that's OK, I don't mind.

Complaining about an attack on free speech and then patting yourself on the back sure seems to illustrate a sense of unearned self-importance.