News Article: Fans Back in The Stands

[Fordy]

i just don't live my life and make all decisions through the lens of "safety" let alone an abstracted sense of "public safety" mediated by corporations and politicians who, believe it or not, don't actually care about you. life is unsafe. so what?

 

[Scandale du Jour]

I think your second paragraph is a big part of it.

Like at least for me, in my schooling and upbringing, the individual freedoms we are afforded were emphasized almost as American identity.

Yup, definitely.

In my schooling and upbringing, I learned that the freedom of the individual will be greater if MORE people are confortable and free. So, the freedom of the individual will be enhanced by a strong collective. Quebec is VERY social-democrat (Bernie Sanders/AOC being the closest to this ideology in the USA - NOT USING THEIR NAMES TO HAVE A POLITICAL DISCUSSION, JUST AS A FRAME OF REFERENCE!!!!)

Therefore, it might be better if I do not debate COVID with people that have a VERY different culture/world view. The root of the disagreement having nothing to do with the specific situation and all to do with overall ideas/beliefs/views. At the end of the day, I love and respect you all and that's all that really matters. Be safe and happy... but safe first

 

[Fordy]

Yup, definitely.

In my schooling and upbringing, I learned that the freedom of the individual will be greater if MORE people are confortable and free. So, the freedom of the individual will be enhanced by a strong collective. Quebec is VERY social-democrat (Bernie Sanders/AOC being the closest to this ideology in the USA - NOT USING THEIR NAMES TO HAVE A POLITICAL DISCUSSION, JUST AS A FRAME OF REFERENCE!!!!)

Therefore, it might be better if I do not debate COVID with people that have a VERY different culture/world view. The root of the disagreement having nothing to do with the specific situation and all to do with overall ideas/beliefs/views. At the end of the day, I love and respect you all and that's all that really matters. Be safe and happy... but safe first

i'm quite sure you do unsafe things every day

 

[Scandale du Jour]

i'm quite sure you do unsafe things every day

Yeah, I post and moderate this board. Can be tough on the mental health

 

[Fordy]

Yeah, I post and moderate this board. Can be tough on the mental health

alrighty. at the end of the day, you can spend a year of your life hiding inside and hating anyone who doesn't if you so choose. but you still die at the end

 

[PenguinSuitedUp]

I am not judging any individual for doing what is allowed. I am however critical of the authorities allowing things that might not be safe. The only thing I hope people going to the gym or to a hockey game are doing, is following the rules and be as safe as possible. I also hope they are weighing the personal benefits vs the societal risks. The current situation is difficult for EVERYBODY!

As I mentioned earlier, to me, it is not about personal choices... at all. It is about public safety.

The more I read the arguments are, the more I feel like it is a cultural disconnect between me (a French-Canadian) and many of you (Americans). Maybe I should just stop looking at your situation with my Canadian eyes.

Understand where you’re coming from. And asking people to be safe and take the right precautions while they’re out is certainly reasonable and should be expected. It’s just hard to ask people to put their lives on hold for a year or stay stuck in their homes for a year, or ask the government to keep everything closed for a year, when the health and livelihoods of most depend on the things that make our lives normal. For me, the gym is a way of maintaining mental and physical health, and I believe the benefit of going outweighs the risk of Covid (but I also infrequently come into contact with those in my life who would be considered more at risk).

 

[Gurglesons]

sorry, but the fear mongering doesn't work anymore. after it wore off in the summer of last year, i've gone and seen my grandparents, who are in their 90s, regularly. because i'm not sick and neither are they, and they could die tomorrow of anything, and i'm not going to waste the time they have left. trust me, i don't care more about your grandma than my own. i'm sorry they scared you so badly. it wasn't the right thing to do. i'm gonna go to a hockey game, lol

if you truly care about other people's lives, you shouldn't drive at all. you could kill someone while perfectly sober

I’ve had over 20 associates pass away from COVID including an EVP. Their ages ranged from 20-65.

 

[Fordy]

I’ve had over 20 associates pass away from COVID including an EVP. Their ages ranged from 20-65.

i've had 0. seems like it's a crapshoot? which is my whole point. you could die any day for any reason, and trying to control it is trying to regulate god. a fruitless effort. all those people and yourself were probably living in fear of getting corona and doing all the right things, all for naught

let me put it this way. 90% of the women and 50% of the men in my family work in hospitals. so i know a ton of people who've had it - they got it at work. but they also pretty much all have remained active and socialized in the last year. do you think it may be possible that getting out, exercising, and interacting with other people including strangers actually strengthens your immune system? maybe having a reason to live and things to enjoy makes your body stronger and better able to fight off infection? maybe going to a hockey game is actually the healthiest thing you can do right now

 

[ColePens]

Yeah, I post and moderate this board. Can be tough on the mental health

I'll second this.....

 

[Gurglesons]

i've had 0. seems like it's a crapshoot? which is my whole point. you could die any day for any reason, and trying to control it is trying to regulate god. a fruitless effort. all those people and yourself were probably living in fear of getting corona and doing all the right things, all for naught

Inference of your personal situation to a large scale one is a bad take. I’m fine with the Pens having people in the rink.

I think it’s pretty telling most of the people bashing this decision are located in Canada. They are handling things differently there. To be honest, I think the Pens games are probably one of the safer activities I’ve seen. I saw a 200 person concert in a back yard on Friday here in SoCal lol.

I don’t think our friends up north have that perspective and tbh. If you’re telling people they have to go to work, why can’t they go to a Pens game in the same type of limited capacity or a bar?

 

[ColePens]

1 final time - people CAN disagree with a mutual respect. This internet thing where we disagree but have to add a snarky comment (i'm guilty as well) needs to stop in this thread. We've stopped the thread twice already. So let's roll with trying to be kind when we disagree.

 

[Fordy]

Inference of your personal situation to a large scale one is a bad take. I’m fine with the Pens having people in the rink.

I think it’s pretty telling most of the people bashing this decision are located in Canada. They are handling things differently there. To be honest, I think the Pens games are probably one of the safer activities I’ve seen. I saw a 200 person concert in a back yard on Friday here in SoCal lol.

I don’t think our friends up north have that perspective and tbh. If you’re telling people they have to go to work, why can’t they go to a Pens game in the same type of limited capacity or a bar?

i think it's not just canadians, but anyone who has the luxury of staying home all day that feels that way

 

[The Old Master]

It's interesting how we can get desensitized to 1400 Americans dying from one virus yesterday, just based on relativity and time.

If it were a terrorist attack, that one day would be remembered as a tragedy forever.

i think it was a terrorist attack. but that's another discussion. as for those of us in the high risk group that has not had a chance to get the shots, not being able to see my children, grand children, would be worse than getting the virus. let us make that choice, please!

 

[ColePens]

I understand the argument that COVID is different from people eating poorly, not exercising or doing drugs, because it can affect others and due to that we have to force compliance and shutdowns.

However I think the inverse of that- forcing compliance and shutdowns- can affect other people in negative ways as well.

I think there’s a happy medium here with the limited capacity and procedures. Compromise is a good thing.

This is a great example of how it most likely sits in the middle.

And I would even go as far as saying being healthy is so critical to COVID and it's laughable we penalize ways to be healthy. So i can at least admit I am so unbelievably bias when it comes to fitness/health and people ignoring mental health/fitness connection & the mental health/lockdown connection. I will just stop here before I go on a 30 page rant.

But I wanted to give you kudos to finding that middle ground.

Are those who are sensitive to and judging people for going to a hockey game also judging people for going to the gym?

Honest question, because for me this time period proved to be unhealthy and difficult for me when the gym closed, and promptly improved when the gym re-opened. Losing an outlet for physical activity that fits my lifestyle caused me to gain 20 lbs and just had a trickle down effect that impacted my mental health and other areas of my life. I could have coped better in retrospect, but having the gym open now, which allows me to focus better on my physical health, motivates me to manage my nutrition better, and get better sleep and just feel better and happier makes a huge difference in my life. But frankly, I think going to my local gym is a bigger Covid risk than going to a 15 % capacity hockey game and I could understand where people might like to go to a sporting event and have some normalcy in their lives. So I’m not going to judge people for making that choice, because they should be free to make their own decisions about what’s best and healthiest for them. And mental health is a big concern right now.

And I wanted to quote this post because this is my feeling. People will do one of two things: 1) they ignore this... not realizing how big the impact is because it's not an easy measurable stat; 2) they'll completely try to act like it's not a real thing because once again... there are 10 trillion variables to it.

 

[Gurglesons]

i think it's not just canadians, but anyone who has the luxury of staying home all day that feels that way

Ok. But like, most of them are Canadians in a totally different situation. I can understand their feelings just like the Kiwis feeling different about this.

 

[PenguinSuitedUp]

i think it's not just canadians, but anyone who has the luxury of staying home all day that feels that way

I have the option of staying at home all day, everyday. I’ve been working from home for a year now. If I need to go into work, I need to get approval days in advance. And this is not a luxury. It sucks not being able to work around my coworkers for both business and social reasons. And I have many friends and coworkers who feel the same way. So please don’t group everyone into the same bucket with a large, sweeping generalization like that.

 

[Ryder71]

The emotional scars this virus has caused unfortunately will be with us until we're gone. Be it a year from now, or 20 years down the road. Regardless of your opinion and perspective on the matter, I can't imagine anyone going unscathed.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Inference of your personal situation to a large scale one is a bad take. I’m fine with the Pens having people in the rink.

I think it’s pretty telling most of the people bashing this decision are located in Canada. They are handling things differently there. To be honest, I think the Pens games are probably one of the safer activities I’ve seen. I saw a 200 person concert in a back yard on Friday here in SoCal lol.

I don’t think our friends up north have that perspective and tbh. If you’re telling people they have to go to work, why can’t they go to a Pens game in the same type of limited capacity or a bar?

Very valid point.

Easy for me to say "don't go to the game" when I have been working from home for a year. Most people who work in an office here have been mostly working from home for a year.

 

[EightyOne]

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[Ryder71]

At least Geno finally plays with Jake. Hopefully.

 

[pistolpete11]

I think with social distancing and masks, limited fans is no problem.

The only concern I have is those who think having to wear a mask is such an infringement of their rights that they don't wear one or follow social distancing. I was on the road recently and stopped at a rest stop. There were multiple people walking around inside without masks. I get it, wearing a mask is not comfortable. But when you're in a crowded area, you can wear a mask for 5min while you take a piss. It's not that big of a deal.

But I think that concern is minor because the vast majority of people are fine. There's always that one guy, though.

 

[Dipsy Doodle]

i think it was a terrorist attack. but that's another discussion. as for those of us in the high risk group that has not had a chance to get the shots, not being able to see my children, grand children, would be worse than getting the virus. let us make that choice, please!

When there's a pandemic, any social choice someone makes affects everyone.

 

[Gurglesons]

At least Geno finally plays with Jake. Hopefully.

Does he though?

 

[Ryder71]

I think with social distancing and masks, limited fans is no problem.

The only concern I have is those who think having to wear a mask is such an infringement of their rights that they don't wear one or follow social distancing. I was on the road recently and stopped at a rest stop. There were multiple people walking around inside without masks. I get it, wearing a mask is not comfortable. But when you're in a crowded area, you can wear a mask for 5min while you take a piss. It's not that big of a deal.

But I think that concern is minor because the vast majority of people are fine. There's always that one guy, though.

Maybe they already got vaccinated?

 

[Ryder71]

Does he though?

As I added, ''hopefully''.