Where to hold US Go Congress...

[shapenaji]

Wow, all I can say is wow.

See, I like to view people as individuals. So when and enthusiastic guy is willing to work (like a dog quite frankly) for a year to give the go community an event - I want to say thank you very much.

What I do not do, is look at his postal code and think, hmm, I wonder if he is one of them with "their history".

I mean it is really, really remarkable. I have read reams of posts from you about how the AGA needs to break down barriers and let folks in, that the AGA needs to be welcoming to everyone. I thought you stood for letting the new guy in, do not worry about when you joined or if you have ever played in an AGA event - the important thing is you are here now and interested and we want to grab that interest.

But...if you are one of them with "their history", you are apparently out of luck. Just how big of a South are you defining, with your Congress boycott? I mean Mason Dixon or is Virginia ok. You know we had a pretty good Congress in North Carolina. What exactly does a Southern go player have to do pass muster with you?

Seriously, Rodney King was in California and people died in Boston regarding bussing and there is intolerance everywhere. I am not in denial, I am simply judging people by the content of their character and not which side their state took in the Civil War.

See Kirby and topazg's posts. I am not against Alabama holding a congress, my comments were entirely directed at the outrage toward Joaz's statement. "Congress Boycott"? I never said anything of the sort.

Yes, lots of places have an ugly history with racism, but most wouldn't get so touchy about the association. I think if you said something similar regarding the upcoming LA congress, you wouldn't get the knee-jerk outrage you have here. Something of the form "As long as white stones and black stones are only fighting on the board", I highly doubt you'd offend many Californians.

My family is from the south, I wouldn't boycott it, the only point of my statement (which apparently topazg and Kirby saw right away), was that Alabama has no reason to be touchy about that statement if there are no problems.

[daniel_the_smith]

I'd rather not see this thread turn into a "your state did worse stuff than mine" thread... I'm sure Joaz meant it in jest but I agree it's not very nice to insult a state willing to host a go congress. As for sensitivity, shapenaji's conclusion isn't warranted-- if you're constantly accused of something you feel is not true (any longer), you get sensitive to it after a while. Finally, I don't think shapenaji said anything about boycotting anything.

Topazg, I'm not sure how well America's racial tensions are understood overseas (not accusing you of anything, just stating I genuinely don't know). Joaz's comment is something you laugh at if your close friend says it ('cause you know they don't mean it in a bad way) and wince at if your grandpa says it (because you're not sure). (says the 28yo white male) Not the safest thing to say on a forum, but who says you should always be safe?

Edit: ninja'd, still feel like posting it...

[Horibe]

I agree shapenaji did not say boycott, he simply said he would not venture into the deep south, which I took to mean he would not go to a Birmingham Congress.

The logic of shapenaji's last remark suggest that their are no racial problems in California - because they can take a joke. I echo danielthesmith's remark - there are different reasons you can be touchy about a remark other than its truth. Furthermore, to my knowledge, no one from Alabama has proven themselves to be touchy about the remark.

I simply think it was wrong to even jokingly suggest a defense on this issue was warranted, and I thought entering an element of race into any discussion was a questionable move by an admin.

[shapenaji]

I agree shapenaji did not say boycott, he simply said he would not venture into the deep south, which I took to mean he would not go to a Birmingham Congress.

The logic of shapenaji's last remark suggest that their are no racial problems in California - because they can take a joke. I echo danielthesmith's remark - there are different reasons you can be touchy about a remark other than its truth. Furthermore, to my knowledge, no one from Alabama has proven themselves to be touchy about the remark.

I simply think it was wrong to even jokingly suggest a defense on this issue was warranted, and I thought entering an element of race into any discussion was a questionable move by an admin.

No, I said I wouldn't wander much in the deep south, and that larger areas (ALA, cities, where go congresses would be held) were fine, I'm just a little leery of the rural deep south.

There are racial problems everywhere (Including, perhaps especially, in California), and joking is a lighthearted way of asking the question "How's that whole racism thing?".

There's also a problem with the logic of your counter argument,

I said:

Not being able to take a joke implies a problem

this is not logically equivalent to:

Being able to take a joke implies there is not a problem

The only other thing I'll say is this:
There's a lot of talk nowadays about living in a "post-racial" society. But as long as people look different, and have different cultures, there will always be friction. Everyone is going to have a gut response to something different, that's just human nature. But if you know that you're going to have that gut reaction, then you can start dealing with it.

[Chew Terr]

I am excited to hear about the Birmingham Congress, and am eager to hear more about it. While it's still a few years off, I'm already hoping I'll be able to make it and have started working on talking a friend into it. He went to the other big U of A campus, but thinks he's got friends living in Birmingham currently. Thanks for your work in helping with it, Balmung, and I look forwards to hearing more!

[hyperpape]

I took Joaz's statement to be tongue in cheek reference to the history of the South, rather than the attitudes of anyone involved in a 2012 Birminigham congress. For that reason, I didn't see a reason for offesnse. The problem is always the ambiguity of any particular joke or reaction, and that cuts both ways--just as the original joke is ambiguous, the reaction is ambiguous.

I think Southerners are entitled to not automatically be viewed as racists. I'm not trying to ask for pity, but it is true that there are a lot of anti-southern stereotypes out there. On the other hand, we're not entitled to avoid any mention of our past, or hide behind the know-nothing attitude that "other places have had problems too".

But that leaves a lot of miscommunication possible. Someone could think Joaz's comment reflected a stereotype* of contemporary southerners, and therefore react badly. And then that reaction is itself subject to misinterpretation--did they think Joaz was stereotyping, or are they the kind of person who wants to whitewash the South's history? In both cases, I prefer to be charitable, at least in this case.

* Well, this is complicated, because it's no stereotype that if you go down South, you'll see a lot of confederate flags. Not all our problems are in the past by any stretch of the imagination. But it's a stereotype when it's applied too broadly. Odds are that the guy from the South who visits L19 winces when he sees that flag.

[Mef]

I took Joaz's statement to be...*snip*

I must admit, in looking back at this post I now feel almost silly in writing this but nevertheless......

Perhaps this discussion could be continued somewhere else? I feel like there was a really interesting and productive discussion going on about possible locations for go congresses, and while this discussion may be intrinsically worthwhile, doesn't necessarily contribute to the topic at hand. Maybe there could be a thread started in off topic for this or something, and we can continue discussing the potential congress locations here?

[Joaz Banbeck]

...we can continue discussing the potential congress locations here?

I second this.

[Mef]

As someone who holds absolutely no affiliation to the city, and only marginal affiliation to the state (roughly translated I probably wouldn't be the one to set it up (= ) - what about St. Louis? It's a nice town, several schools in the area that might be able to provide gaming areas, there are places to go sightseeing...Though there's also Kansas City, which offers great barbecue....

[ethanb]

As someone who holds absolutely no affiliation to the city, and only marginal affiliation to the state (roughly translated I probably wouldn't be the one to set it up (= ) - what about St. Louis? It's a nice town, several schools in the area that might be able to provide gaming areas, there are places to go sightseeing...Though there's also Kansas City, which offers great barbecue....

Wow, we've already had a fight over the merits of Alabama vs. North Carolina barbecue on this thread - you trying to get it locked?

[hyperpape]

Don't be silly. Fights about barbecue are always topical. No admin would dispute that.

More seriously, I liked St Louis on my one short and narrow visit (I didn't stray that far from Wash U) and geography and all that suggests it might have reasonably priced accomodations.

But is there actually a club with people who'd express interest? It makes sense to talk about regions of the country where it might be nice, or major cities where you expect a club might be up for the congress, but without a club to organize, nothing will happen.

[scsfello]

I looked at the AGA Tournament Database for the past year to screen potential cities who might hold a go congress. (on the theory that holding tournaments is a good place to start to prepare for a congress)
I eliminated any city/region that has held a congress in the past 10 years.

Go Heavies

1. New York City
2. Northern New Jersey (last congress 23 years prior)
3. Massachusetts (last congress 19 years prior)
4. Northern California (last congress 13 years prior)
5. Chicago (last congress 10 years prior to 2012)

Other Major Tournament Cities/States

Vermont, Salt Lake City, Orlando, Ohio (16 years prior), Michigan, Iowa, Arizona

I think this is the richest hunting ground.

On the theory you would like to move East for 2012, then the top contenders:
New York City, New Jersey, Massachusetts with 2 dark horses - Vermont, Orlando

[balmung]

I looked at the AGA Tournament Database for the past year to screen potential cities who might hold a go congress. (on the theory that holding tournaments is a good place to start to prepare for a congress)
I eliminated any city/region that has held a congress in the past 10 years.

Go Heavies

1. New York City
2. Northern New Jersey (last congress 23 years prior)
3. Massachusetts (last congress 19 years prior)
4. Northern California (last congress 13 years prior)
5. Chicago (last congress 10 years prior to 2012)

Other Major Tournament Cities/States

Vermont, Salt Lake City, Orlando, Ohio (16 years prior), Michigan, Iowa, Arizona

I think this is the richest hunting ground.

On the theory you would like to move East for 2012, then the top contenders:
New York City, New Jersey, Massachusetts with 2 dark horses - Vermont, Orlando

Those are ideal locations for one reason the Go community is big enough to hold constant tournaments due to some way that Go was spread. The reason we are most likely to get it is because the AGA focusing more on spreading Go then bringing Go to big go playing communities. Thanks to the many contacts the birmingham director has we will finally be able to bring a Go tournament to alabama that people will play in. With the 10,000 we get from this we will spend it all on Go materials and promoting Go. This summer we are working on a montgomery Go club, but montgomery isn't big into chess so I don't know if they will be ready for Go. We will advertise as best as we can. My Goal is to have a solid club in montgomery before I leave for japan in 2013.

[waldo]

next week we will officially know if Birmingham is where the 2012 or 2013 is.

That was posted 2 Oct 2010. A week has gone by. So what do we officially know?

[Joaz Banbeck]

...and what does 'officially' mean in this context? Who is agreeing to what?