Moderator complaint - Yogi stewart

[ratul]

Yogi stewart locked this thread when we were having a decent discussion about whether raptor fans should support Lin and the knicks while in the raptors arena. Nothing was offensive and I think raptors fans should be passionate about their team even when they struggle.

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1161078

Yogi locked the thread and then suggested I should have been suspended for arguing my case and then
accused me of screaming for 'white power' and all sorts of 'racist things'

I believe this moderator should be reexamined and this thread should be reopen. It is an important discussion.

Thanks,
Ratul

[SDM]

It wasn't a decent thread. There was no interesting discussion, just a bunch of people with hurt feelings and a bunch of people with unhurt feelings arguing. It was a ridiculous thread that should have been closed sooner.

[LittleOzzy]

I have reviewed the thread and agree with it being locked. The thread was quickly changing from being about Raptor fans cheering for the Knicks to being about the race of Jeremy Lin.

Race has no place in a basketball discussion, especially considering the player in question does not play for the Raptors.

Yogi is a great mod and he looks out for the best interests of the forum always. A thread doesn't need to be offensive for it to have no place on the Raptors forum. Yogi understands that and I agree with his judgement.

[YogiStewart]

Something needs to be re-examined, alright.
here are your latest posts.

I actually hate that some asians here are co-opting the lin story and making it something about race, when it is his race that led to him being not noticed. Surely, now that Lin is 'equal' the idea that we should keep reinforcing his race seems like it is creating an artificial division.

We appreciate what Tiger did for golf, but we like (or liked) him because he is great, not because he is black. The same applies for Barack, or Eminem, or Oprah or whatever.

Lin is a baller, by focusing on his ethnicity, you are only disrespecting him.

Why is it 'Asian MJ?' Why not the NEW MJ??? So pathetic - we are creating an artificial division based on race, when that is the last thing anyone wants, including Lin.

A couple of things

1. Why do Asians jump on the bandwagon to cheer for Lin because of his race? Surely the whole point is that Lin is equal and the problem was he was being identified by his race. Isn't that perpetuating the stereotype and creating an artificial division that Lin did not want. I think he like being referred to as a baller, plain and simple.

I actually think this story is getting worse - why are Asians making this a race thing? Wasn't that what got Lin in trouble in the first place - people were just considering his race and overlooked his talent?

I actually hate that some asians here are co-opting the lin story and making it something about race, when it is his race that led to him being not noticed. Surely, now that Lin is 'equal' the idea that we should keep reinforcing his race seems like it is creating an artificial division.

We appreciate what Tiger did for golf, but we like (or liked) him because he is great, not because he is black. The same applies for Barack, or Eminem, or Oprah or whatever.

Lin is a baller, by focusing on his ethnicity, you are only disrespecting him.

then you posted in the NBA General Discussion board a few times.

I feel like you are danish and also like to draw religious cartoons. The response to this will not be pleasant.

and you posted here:

definitely darko vs. mutombo - darko is insane.

or Karl Malone vs. Barkley

Yao ming vs. that Australian douchebag

You're very focused on people's nationalities. I found your comments to almost be worth a suspension. Definitely some anger and some racist tones. Not sure if that was your intention, but since you wanted some feedback, we'll see what other people have to say and if it gets you a suspension, mkay?

[The Duke]

I have already read through the thread also and agree with it being locked.

-The thread was majorily related to Jeremy Lin (which we have another thread on the board currently un-locked)
-Also in my opinion the thread was also starting to turn in the wrong direction, with some of the race generalization being used.

-Yogi is a fine mod and I agree with his professional judgement.

-The Raps Mods have left an open thread thus far about Jeremy Lin for users to post in. We understand that there is alot of excitment about his success on our board, but there is a difference about talking about his (the players success) and conotations about race (positive or negative or direct or indirect).

Duke

[ratul]

Um sorry yogi , but you have missed the point of my posts - and selectively picking them is wrong/

My focus is on not cheering for the knicks while the raptors are trying to win - people said they cheered because of race, and that argument I defended in THAT context.

My argument regarding the RAPTORS was that we should support our team - because you are confounding my arguments into a 'it's a race discussion, therefore offensive' paradigm, you ultimately did not understand the nature of the thread - which is why I pointed out the examples of Canada rowing and the leafs.

The RESPONSES I got were race natured - to which of course I responded, but I focused on the fact that people cheered for the Lin in the raptors home floor.

I believe there should be a thread about whether raptors fans are bandwagoners and I think they are, and that is bad for the karma of our team and the support of that. If I veered off topic, then fine, but I want this discussion to be had, because what happened last night was one of the most pathetic things I have seen as a Toronto sports fan, and people should be disgraced by their behaviour.

Now, will you let me open a new thread on this matter? I will explicitly ask for no comments on race. I just want to talk about raptor fans and our fan base.

[ratul]

like a discussion on this

http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sto ... ons/020227

[YogiStewart]

Now, will you let me open a new thread on this matter? I will explicitly ask for no comments on race. I just want to talk about raptor fans and our fan base.

No.

[bballcool34]

You're very focused on people's nationalities. I found your comments to almost be worth a suspension. Definitely some anger and some racist tones. Not sure if that was your intention, but since you wanted some feedback, we'll see what other people have to say and if it gets you a suspension, mkay?

I didn't read all of those quotes but the top ones (about the Asian MJ) are basically the opposite of racism--- so yeah, I kind of doubt that the poster is racist or has racist tones....

[YogiStewart]

I didn't read all of those quotes but the top ones (about the Asian MJ) are basically the opposite of racism--- so yeah, I kind of doubt that the poster is racist or has racist tones....

i beg to differ.
lots of "the asians", "why the asians"...
whether or not his intention was to make it an asian issue or not is not my concern; his posts clearly state repeatedly that "the Asians" are doing something that irks him.

now, perhaps he means something else, since he does say "Lin is a baller, by focusing on his ethnicity, you are only disrespecting him." But all of his posts focus on Lin's ethnicity.

It ran its course and its being locked. Debate a Knicks' player's merits on the general board or on the KNicks' board. if those moderators want to encourage the race card discussion, its up to them. but the discussion went in a direction that no longer had anything to do with Toronto's basketball team.

end of story.

[ratul]

Clearly Yogi - you misread or did not understand my post - this is about bandwagon people and how they are horrible - people said they support Lin based on his race, whereas I tried to refute that saying it SHOULDN'T be about his race, just like it shouldn't be about MJ, Oprah, Em, Obama whoever

And my concern is that whatever community was supporting Lin last night (by the way I know ten time more about him than you - I have liked him since his senior year in college) sought to make it a racial issue, and then dumped on the raptors.

Just because you can't handle the discussion (clearly which has not been solved - look at the Lin thread) about bandwagon fans because it doesn't fit your prism, you seek to lock the thread.

It is pretty pathetic and your feigned anger only disguises a shocking amount of ignorance.

Read this - you'll understand my point

http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page2/sto ... ons/020227

And, since WHEN is it right to discuss race when people are happy to support Lin and I am not allowed to refute such an argument and instead this leads to unecessary opporbrium?

[ratul]

Now, will you let me open a new thread on this matter? I will explicitly ask for no comments on race. I just want to talk about raptor fans and our fan base.

No.

Why? You don't want a discussion on a raptor related topic on the raptors board?

Please explain your decision.

[YogiStewart]

you know that you're starting to dig a deeper hole, right?

at least you're going down the familiar path that we see on the Feedback forum. i'll just sit back and watch hereon in.

[ratul]

And, just in case, saying someone is from Austrialia is not racist or anything at all. The guy was from Australia, or in this case, New Zealand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQw7Ss0m ... redirect=1

[ratul]

you know that you're starting to dig a deeper hole, right?

at least you're going down the familiar path that we see on the Feedback forum. i'll just sit back and watch hereon in.

don't threaten me - you have to explain why I can not open a thread on bandwagon fans - it happened with Dave Winfield, during the early raptor years and is specifically refuted by Bill Simmons (who many on this board read regurlarly)

This is about not supporting the raptors, and whether is should be done at all costs. There are fan rules. You have made a choice to not discuss something because you don't like the topic.

Sounds incredibly unecessary and by 'suspending' me arbitrarily, you haven't accomplished your feat - you have just yourself look oddly power hungry.

I want to talk about the raptors - and why we have useless fans. That is a FAIR discussion. And extends farther back than last nights debaucle.

[The Duke]

ratul,

Part of using our judgement is ensuring that potential outbreaks dont happen.
We dont like to ban/warning/suspend individuals.
Further from our experience we know that very good poster "lose their cool" and say things they typically wouldn't say when topics boarder on topics such as these.

So it not always that a poster went out of line, but when there is a high potential of the thread going south (and its not directly Raptors related) we use our discretion and lock the thread.

Sometimes its not a reflection of a set of posters specifically.

Duke

[Howard Mass]

I looked at the thread and agree 100 percent with Yogi Stewart locking it.

OZ pretty much sums up by thoughts here.

Well said Sir.