Navin R Slavin
Fifth line center
One of the things I've always liked about the internet is its anonymity. Sometimes that's a bad thing. Sometimes it's a good thing.
We've got black hockey fans on F26. Because we know them only as usernames, we come to know them as hockey fans and hockey fans only. And over time we relate to these people as part of our hockey family.
So when a username suddenly becomes A Black Person, it means that we've now got one more close member of our hockey family who hurts for real over all this stuff, and the stakes feel a little different, and a little more personal. Maybe that's how change happens.
I don't know what to say beyond that, except to say thanks for being willing to say something you didn't have to say, and thanks to everyone for being mostly respectful and kind to each other here.
I guess that's why I've kept coming back here all this time. God knows the hockey hasn't always been compelling enough.
We've got black hockey fans on F26. Because we know them only as usernames, we come to know them as hockey fans and hockey fans only. And over time we relate to these people as part of our hockey family.
So when a username suddenly becomes A Black Person, it means that we've now got one more close member of our hockey family who hurts for real over all this stuff, and the stakes feel a little different, and a little more personal. Maybe that's how change happens.
I don't know what to say beyond that, except to say thanks for being willing to say something you didn't have to say, and thanks to everyone for being mostly respectful and kind to each other here.
I guess that's why I've kept coming back here all this time. God knows the hockey hasn't always been compelling enough.