On occasion I interact with parents of BC athletes. One of my first
recommendations is “don’t read the BC message boards.” I base this
advice on history and the nature of the forum. Mostly unmonitored and
relatively anonymous posters pick apart all aspects of the players and
coaches lives with little worry about fact, slander or the consequences
of their posts. I am not condemning the medium. I am active on one
board and have spent numerous hours reading and enjoying both. They are
vital to BC sports. However, every message board (including those
outside of sports) builds up its own patois, list of references and
humor that can easily be taken out of context by outsiders. At the end
of the day, message boards are not for the faint of heart. If you are
easily offended or sensitive, it is best to avoid and ignore them.
That preamble leads me to this bit of news via the Brighton blog:
community activists are aware that they are being discussed and mocked
on the BC message boards. For better or worse, BC is getting involved.
The school has apologized for the behavior of the boards and may take
action against Scout and/or Rivals.
In my opinion, BC should
steer clear of this whole mess. Neither site is owned or officially
affiliated with the school. If these remarks had run in the reader
comments section of a
Herald or
Globe article, would
the school feel the need to get involved? In my opinion these activists
will never be happy with any BC solution for the Brighton campus (nor
any changes to the main campus). Engaging in dialogue about these
offensive comments or apologizing for the actions of anonymous message
board posters just distracts from the bigger issue at hand -- the land.
The neighbors have shown very little flexibility or willingness to
discuss realistic solutions. Acknowledging this message board nonsense
or even taking partial responsibility just reinforces the activists
firmly-held (and unlikely to change) beliefs that BC and its community
are a bunch of ogres trying to destroy Brighton.
As for the
comments themselves…I don’t condone them. They are in poor tastes. But
I don’t think anyone should give them any attention. I’ve seen much
worse on the internet. The reality of today’s world (where anything can
be said on a message board or blog and personal information is readily
available via google) is that the minute these Brighton folks got
involved and started writing, campaigning and giving interviews they
opened themselves up as targets.
I
would love to see this all get resolved. BC needs the Brighton campus.
It would also add to the community around campus. But any long-time
observer of the situation can tell you this won’t end smoothly or soon.
Let’s move forward. The focus should be on solutions that work, not
offensive online nonsense.
