I changed my mind

[dixiehack]

Hoping this won't get into political discussion, even though this originated with a post from the politics thread. On there, @YankeeFan listed three things he has changed his mind about since joining the board and challenged others to do the same.

I can't remember exactly when I joined (the oldest posts were lost in the Great Crash), but just thinking back over the last 10-12 years I have changed my mind about:

• The Democratic Party
• LGBTQ rights
• The Iraq war
• Soccer
• Mushrooms
• Spanking kids
• Economic policy
• Tort reform
• My marriage
• Wanting a second child
• Pass-first football offenses
• Trust in authority
• Evangelicalism

 

[Chef2]

Light vs Diesel

 

[YankeeFan]

Unless it's obvious, your going to have to tell us which way your views migrated.

 

[dixiehack]

Unless it's obvious, your going to have to tell us which way your views migrated.

For, for, against, for, for, against, squishy tree-hugger, squishy tree-hugger, against, for, tolerant but still kinda uneasy, eroding, drifting away (I'm on the verge of joining a Methodist church.)

 

[DanOregon]

I've never held on too tightly to my beliefs - too much I don't know.

Oh - I used to like Bill Cosby and Joe Paterno.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Newspapers - When I started posted here many, many, many years ago, I thought big papers were the only ones that would be severely hurt by the Internet.

Journalism - Back then, I thought it was the greatest career on the planet. For 20 years, it was. But it changed and I changed and I realized it wasn't for me any longer.

Meat - I was a full-fledged carnivore then. Now I'm a M-F vegetarian and have never felt better.

Hobbies - Then, golf. Every Sunday from March until August, I played. Heat or rain, didn't matter. Haven't touched the clubs in nearly eight years now.

Cycling - Then, those lycra-clad, Armstrong-wannabes are silly I'm a mountain biker! Now I own two road bikes and six full lycra kits.

Death penalty - Was for, but too many innocent people have been on death row the past few years for me to support it now.

Bill Simmons - I enjoyed The Sports Guy, but his act got really, really old after a few years.

Fantasy sports - If there was a league, I was in it. NFL to European soccer. I've been out of them for about five years now and don't miss it.

 

[Chef2]

Unless it's obvious, your going to have to tell us which way your views migrated.

Used to be Heavy exclusively.......now I'll drink Light as well.

 

[CD Boogie]

I used to think Robin Williams was funny
I used to think Cobie Smulders was hot
I used to like smoking pot. A lot. Now I don't at all.
I used to think addiction and suicide were signs of weakness.
I used to think all quiet people were shy and not really just judgmental assholes. (not all)
I used to think going to church was a silly pastime for children and old people.
I used to think just about any profession other than journalism was selling out to the Man.
I used to think that writing for major publications would mean I'd made it.
I used to think I'd always have a full head of hair bc it runs in my family.
I used to think I needed to publish a book before I turned 35, the age when Jack Kerouac published On the Road
I used to think Donald Trump was a joke that only morons took seriously.
I used to think it'd be a nice idea to try to read Gravity's Rainbow someday.

 

[Starman]

I defended GWB during the early months of the Iraq war. IMO getting rid of Saddam Hussein was a great idea (and most importantly should have been done by Bush Sr in 1991) but obviously the process was pretty bad.

I flip flopped on transgender / LBGT right, from moderately against to moderately for. It was never a hot button issue for me and still isn't.

I flipped somewhat on Rush. I used to think they sucked, now I think they're OK.

 

[Starman]

Obviously when SJ.com first kicked off I thought there still might be a limited future for print journalism. That's all over in the next 15-20 years.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Flip-floppers.

 

[User 4332]

I'm reposting and updating my post from the politics thread.

I used to think libertarianism was a viable political philosophy.
I used to believe in the death penalty - and still have no moral issues with it in specific cases - but believe that the chance of error is too great for it to be sound policy.
I used to think LeBron James was overrated.
I thought going to law school was a good idea.
I thought I could never represent the state.
I was somewhere between atheist and agnostic.
My perception of Christianity was largely colored by the hateful rhetoric that comes from the religious right.
I thought I would never have children, under any circumstances.
I thought newspapers would die faster than they have, hence my law school decision.
I thought the Colts would win multiple Super Bowls with Peyton Manning.

 

[expendable]

I'm pretty much the same asshole, today, that I was when I joined the board in 2005.

 

[User 11148]

I was wrong about how brilliant I am.

 

[YankeeFan]

I was wrong about how brilliant I am.

More brilliant than you originally assumed, eh?

 

[Stoney]

My trust in the reliability of polling data. This flip happened instantly in one November night.

Gay marriage.

Laissez Faire free market economics.

Universal Health Care

The Catholic Church (and basically organized religion in general).

Salad.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Fantasy baseball. I used to be really in to it, but a couple of leagues I was in broke up, and I just lost interest in playing in leagues with total strangers.

Sabremetrics: I used to think they were just stat stuff for geeks, but, while I still don't get real excited about it, I understand how they can help teams win games.

The designated hitter: I used to want pitchers to hit, then I was fine with both leagues having different rules. But now, as I see pitchers flailing away, I just want their bats put out of their misery.

Chairshots to the head in pro wrestling. I'll admit, I used to enjoy seeing guys get waffled. But now, with concussions being such a big issue, it's just stupid to hit people in the head with large metal objects in an industry where guys and gals are supposed to be pretending to hurt the other person.

 

[SpeedTchr]

Nothing to do with the board, but I did change my mind from thinking I had a good boss to believing she is the very incarnation of Satan.

 

[Songbird]

The designated hitter: I used to want pitchers to hit, then I was fine with both leagues having different rules. But now, as I see pitchers flailing away, I just want their bats put out of their misery.

Anyone who believes in the DH should be castrated.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Hoping this won't get into political discussion, even though this originated with a post from the politics thread. On there, @YankeeFan listed three things he has changed his mind about since joining the board and challenged others to do the same.

I can't remember exactly when I joined (the oldest posts were lost in the Great Crash), but just thinking back over the last 10-12 years I have changed my mind about:

• The Democratic Party
• LGBTQ rights
• The Iraq war
• Soccer
• Mushrooms
• Spanking kids
• Economic policy
• Tort reform
• My marriage
• Wanting a second child
• Pass-first football offenses
• Trust in authority
• Evangelicalism

This is a terrific idea for a thread. Thank you for starting it, and thanks to YankeeFan for what appears to have been the inspiration for it.

It might be hard to believe, but part of my reason for returning to the board after so much time away is that I wince about and regret a lot of my posting behavior over the years, and feeling like a very different person now, or more aware of my more authentic self, I wanted to revisit this community in light of that. Try to see with a more open mind. Maybe mend a fence or two. Yeah, I know, that must sound like B.S. after what I posted on the politics thread, but really, it was more about trying to process my thoughts and put them into words, not to attack. I understand if people don't see it that way, but that's its genesis.

I have to go to work now, but I'm going to think about the things I've changed my mind about because of SJ. Heck, maybe the fact that I'm here again is a significant change in its own right.

It's really great to connect again, especially on the nostalgic thread about my move to the Pacific Northwest seven years ago. (Funny, I began the drive Aug. 9, 2010, exactly seven years ago today). I know that I've taken more from this site than I've given to it, but I hope to change that. And I really appreciate the candor and introspection on this particular thread. Again, well done, dixiehack. I feel like we probably sat in the same press box a few times, even though I have no idea who you are, and I've enjoyed your posts. Thanks again for starting this thread. It feels like a winner already.