Jim, Appreciate what you do to keep the group going. We have "known" each other not quite 25 years, but I think I sent my first entry to your cyclofiend website in the mid 2000's. Since you own this group, your wish to keep the group insulated from exclusively rivendell-related threads rules the day. I suspect 90%+ of the threads would not come close to touching the boundary, though as someone who no longer owns any rivendell, whether I can start any thread is questionable by your current set of rules.
"Neutrality" is quite an artificial concept. I don't think that's quite the proper word here. I think many of us would readily acknowledge we have views, but what you ask us to do on this forum is to be "silent" about them here. However, I also think if the group wishes to really be "neutral", then applying and enforcing the rules fairly is important. Calling something "divisive crap" is decidedly not neutral. As I said, I think 90%+ of threads will be fine, but rules are tested in the margin, so I just want to check out a few edge cases. Is talking about Grant's blahg, if it does not pertain to Rivendell bikes directly, also off limit now? What about a hypothetical ride report that includes the following observation: I was on the Capitol crown trail in Bethesda, MD, and saw a cyclist charged three teenagers who were posting fliers about a protest. Later I found out that the cyclist has been apprehended? Could I include in my ride report hostility I encountered from motorists (there were definitely threads on how many times we have been 'coal rolled' by diesel trucks)? How about if those hostility were racially motivated? Is that too much for this "refuge" then? I don't know what percent of list members are people of color, women, and/or members of LGBTQ community. I guess my point of asking that question is that when I ride, I encounter things that relate to the core issues of what people are protesting about. Should we exclude those from our ride reports? Finally, I just want to echo what Jonathan D. said in the other thread, the expectation to be able to insulate oneself from the "noises" is a form of priviledge. I understand that people want to maintain that privilege here, and in the context of a bicycle group this maintenance is harmless enough. But it it's priviledge nonetheless. Btw, even our names are political and have systemic racism in it. I came to this country in the early 90s as a teenager. Before 9-11, immigration officers and government workers would openly encourage people to pick americanized names because their native names are "too hard to pronounce". "Franklyn" borned out partially from that, but also is created from my internalized colonization, as an attempt to assimilate and fit in. I do value the group interactions and the threads, and I want to reiterate my appreciation for what Jim has done. And all that are not in conflict with my wish for the group to be more reflective of the time and history we are living through. Best, Franklyn -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/4c4949a7-3df0-4b25-bab1-d737db73ed3bo%40googlegroups.com.
