Carolina Hurricanes: Differing Opinions Are Fine. Hateful Remarks Aren’t.

I joined the Cardiac Cane team a little over a month ago because I love talking about the Carolina Hurricanes and writing. Seems pretty straightforward that this would be a fit. By writing your opinions, you open yourself up to scrutiny and hateful disagreements from just about everyone on the internet.

I’ve touched on several topics during my short time with the site. My first piece was on the then-pending Tony DeAngelo trade and how the league stepping in might be “divine intervention.” From what I remember, it was relatively well-received. I’ve also talked about “Bracelet-gate” with Erik Haula. My focus tends to be on history because it’s more concrete, largely indisputable, and, therefore, less likely to cause a riff. How we interpret history is where the room for disagreement can grow.

Over the weekend, an article was published about Tony DeAngelo’s return. The comments section was very lively. Everyone weighed in, including tennis player and huge Caniac John Isner. It was many of the same responses we’ve seen with news about DeAngelo in the past. There is no denying that he is a highly polarizing figure in Raleigh and around the league. Just mentioning his name makes you react, one way or another.

I promise this is not another article about Tony DeAngelo. I’ve been there and done that, and like you all, I believe it’s a little overdone at this point. I’ve made my opinions on DeAngelo known. This is about the hateful responses to that article. Many people took direct aim at Cardiac Cane and the author when leveling their criticism. I have a little skin in this game since I’m part of this team. This site allows fans to write about the teams they love, and we all love the Carolina Hurricanes. We are fans, like everyone else, that are writing about topics that we care about. Just like everyone commenting, we all have strong opinions.

I am 100% fine with people disagreeing with what I have to say, both about my thoughts here and in general. I draw the line at hateful speech aimed at myself, any members of this group, or people in the comments. I’m more than happy to engage in the comments on any social media platform respectfully and civilly. Emailing people directly with hateful remarks is a line that should never be crossed.

I know that someone out there is going to say that I need to stop crying or whining, and others will continue to assert that Cardiac Cane is the worst site in the history of the internet. You are entitled to your opinion of me and the website. We’re all adults. If you care so deeply about something, I encourage you to write about it. I can’t tell you how many things I’ve written in my lifetime, solely with the purpose of decompressing.

Writing something that pleases everyone is impossible. No matter the subject, there will always be one person that thinks you’re an idiot. Disagreements are a good thing. Hating others for having a different opinion than you isn’t healthy and shouldn’t be seen as ‘clickbait.” Some people like certain players. Other people don’t. These ideas are inevitably going to clash. I’m all for discussing areas of contention as long as things don’t get out of hand.

At the end of the day, we all want to see the Carolina Hurricanes achieve a second Stanley Cup victory this season. More than one name goes on the cup. Frankly, the only name that will matter will be the one at the top.