(A THREAD REGARDING MY GENERAL PERSPECTIVES TOWARD HUMANITY)

Before going into HOT TAKES, I thought it might be helpful to add some flavor context on my assumptions for human behavior and how they inform my work as a disc org ED and my thinking about ultimate's future.
I'm an instinctively CYNICAL person. My default setting is to assume that humans act from their own self-interest EVEN when their actions contribute to the greater good. When interacting with others, I'm always seeking to detect or understand their underlying motives.
To others, this can seem like a shitty way to operate, and it CERTAINLY means I'm not everyone's go-to person for happy funtime vibes. But I'd argue strongly that this approach has helped me a lot, both personally & professionally, to maintain a positive outlook toward humanity.
When you manage your expectations for human behavior, it's an awesome & pleasant surprise when folks do things which go beyond themselves. Also, and perhaps more importantly for surviving a year like 2020, you're much less surprised & disappointed when people act like dickheads.
Expecting raw self-interest from folks also provides a platform for creating empathy & compromise when folks are AUTHENTIC about their motives, their challenges & needs or shortcomings.

Expecting the worst of humans has been extremely USEFUL for my career in recreational sports. Assuming the worst from all participants, staff & officials has prepared me for creating policies & systems for mitigation and mentally prepared me for the inevitable conduct issues.
This outlook on human behavior also informs me on why hosting organized ultimate during the pandemic is virtually impossible. You can implement every safety protocols possible, but you can't prevent every single human involved from doing something awful.

Ultimate as a sport faces enough challenges in managing and eliminating toxic behavior BEFORE the pandemic. Combining that typical toxic undercurrent with the clear & present threats of an exploding pandemic is understandably a tough ask for disc orgs to tackle.
So WHY share this? Many of my incoming HOT TAKES address the governance of ultimate, or American sports more broadly. Lots of governance is deciding WHOSE interests we serve and why. Understanding the motives & interests in your community is foundational for effective governance.

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More from @being_ulti

2 Jan
HOT TAKE = The business of sports in America perpetuates white supremacy and reinforces systemic racism in our society.

(and the sport of ultimate is broadly trying to commercialize itself into this same oppressive system)
Karl Marx suggested that "religion is the opium of the people." In an increasingly secularized society, this function is performed by sports entertainment.
It's not a coincidence to me that the most active protest movements of 2020 came during a period when all televised sports were on pause. Sports didn't exist as the distraction they otherwise provide on a daily basis.
Read 16 tweets
1 Jan
The "How Did I Survive 2020?" FAKE ANSWERS ONLY tweet contest is COMPLETE!

The Top 10 submissions have been ranked and will be shared over the next hour until 2021 2021 2021 2021 IS HERE in Northern Virginia!!!
First, a big thank you to the folks who submitted responses but didn't make my final 10:
@wicked_sassy @asigal22 @Lana_del_rico @PeanutDweck @LayneScherer @joe_walsky @blakekrapfl @nards_deli11 @magscolvett @public_enembe @GraceRelf @ashleyowza
@wicked_sassy @asigal22 @Lana_del_rico @PeanutDweck @LayneScherer @joe_walsky @blakekrapfl @nards_deli11 @magscolvett @public_enembe @GraceRelf @ashleyowza Starting off at #10:

HOW DID I SURVIVE 2020?
Pouring myself into meaningless twitter arguments.

From @kdubsultimate
Read 16 tweets
31 Dec 20
My COVID thread was exhausting but we're NOT DONE YET.

Return-to-play questions aren't SOLELY focused on community health & the virus. Orgs are challenged to address how return-to-play plans will accommodate marginalized groups. There's serious risk of backsliding on DEI work.
To their credit, USAU addressed this in their Return-To-Play guidance:

"Barriers that prevent people
marginalized by society...from returning to play equitably are likely to manifest as playing opportunities are
reintroduced and are subject to special...requirements."
Indeed, the special requirements I addressed (cost increases especially) will serve to reduce opportunities for folks with financial barriers. Returning-to-play during the pandemic will cost more to organize. That's going to reduce opportunities for participation.
Read 5 tweets
31 Dec 20
And here we are. The LAST DAY of 2020!

I've thought a lot over how best to use my Being Ulti powers to close out this shitstorm of a year. What game or gimmick would be cheeky & fun but give folks a chance to blow off some steam without getting TOO heavy? Here's my idea!
The "How Did I Survive 2020?" FAKE ANSWERS ONLY tweet contest!

Submit your FAKE ANSWER for how YOU survived 2020 using the linked form. I'll rank and tweet out my favorite submissions TONIGHT in a fast & furious twitter storm to end the year.

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI…
My example =

HOW DID I SURVIVE 2020? By scrolling my Twitter feed as much as possible and gaining constant encouragement and inspiration from news and social media posts.
Read 6 tweets
30 Dec 20
Here’s a pic of myself and Chris Beach-Rehner. We were frisbee teammates with JMU @hellfishulti where CBR earned his nickname “The Unit.” Together we formed the Twin Towers starting forward line of the Hellfish’s intramural basketball team (and scored all the team's points). Image
@hellfishulti I’ve got fond memories of an overnight road trip to Red Tide Clambake in '06 (& awful memories of sleeping in his tiny-ass car). Unit couchsurfed at my house in Arlington VA one summer while interning in D.C. Later he moved to Portland, OR and was big in the ultimate scene there. Image
@hellfishulti Chris Beach-Rehner took his own life in the Winter of 2015. As one who is not typically predisposed to feelings of grief & mourning, losing the Unit was brutal. He was such a unique, over-the-top personality and I miss him a lot.

rhinoultimate.com/cbr-memorial-t…
Read 11 tweets
9 Sep 19
The class I teach tonight (poetry) is all set and the class I take today (boxing) won't start for a bit, so let's talk origins. I got into this lateish, 25, with no sports background and no one in my life who'd ever played, so some very specific stars had to align to get me here.
I gave some of this in the bio and a fuller rendition on @SinTheFields (starts halfway in, but like, listen to the whole thing, learn some league draft strategies, subscribe to Ultiworld, etc.), but the very short version is… ultiworld.com/2019/06/21/sin…
…on a whim (actually after one of @jodyavirgan's three annual frisbee tweets, so good work growing the sport), I started watching the 2017 college finals, and — intrigued by both the sport itself and this wild hidden world around it — went down a rabbit hole and never came back.
Read 26 tweets

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