A statement from the staff of Bulbagarden

[BulbaBot]

A statement from the staff of Bulbagarden

In light of the recent US Executive Order on immigration and ongoing world events, the staff of Bulbagarden are making a statement reiterating our fundamental values. Courage and moral clarity are needed now more than ever.

Continue reading...

 

[Suicide by cop]

Bringing politics to a website about Pokemon is a mistake.

 

[Sunwyvern]

Thank you for this entry. Politics is people, not an abstract "thing". And real people run these communities we are all a part of. It's important everyone realizes that real decisions being made are affecting people and online spaces we love. Keep running the best darn Pokemon site ever.

 

[phidari]

Thank you for "bringing politics to a website about Pokemon". Politics affect all our lives. The current politics of the United States are hurting so many people, and that doesn't stop just because we're on a website about Pokemon. Anyone who disagrees is free to seek their entertainment on a site that doesn't care about its users.

 

[$aturn¥oshi]

Well, technically speaking, this sector of the websites is about the community who just happen to enjoy Pokémon, and yes, politics affect the members of said community.

 

[Fig]

Indeed. When politics hurt people in our community like this, we speak up. It's that simple.

 

[sc190191]

I think you might be running the risk that someone who is negatively impacted by politics wants to use this website or their love of Pokemon as an escape from the troubles of daily life and may not want to be reminded of it here

 

[Poke Trey]

I respect this man. It's terrible what's been going on as of recent with these attacks and keeping people out of things like this. Hopefully we can sort this out effectively.

 

[Fig]

I think you might be running the risk that someone who is negatively impacted by politics wants to use this website or their love of Pokemon as an escape from the troubles of daily life and may not want to be reminded of it here

It is a risk, but at the same time, we feel that there are probably more people who are negatively affected by those events who want to be reminded they are not alone ; than people who don't even want to hear that.

 

[Harmonious Fusion]

Thank you. I am part of multiple minority groups threatened by the current political climate in the US, and even online it's hard to catch a break sometimes. It's rare to see an internet community that's so dedicated to the well-being of its users, and I know I feel safer here already knowing that the staff are making a stand.

 

[Caterfree10]

I brushed off my nigh unused Bulbagarden account just to say thank you for this message. Y'all are fantastic. <3

 

[Bittersweet]

I love Bulbagarden and the community here so much, though I do not find time to post here as much as I used to.
I've always felt much more accepted and welcome here than in other online forums about Pokémon and other video games, because of Bulbagarden's policies on issues like this.

Thank you so much to the staff for posting this.
These are dark times, and I hope those who are affected can make it through...

 

[Creeping Ruins]

I make the occasional visit to bulbapedia to look up move info, tm/hm location, etc. I don't really post in forums but when visiting the site this morning i saw the statement from the staff and i felt the urge to contribute my opinion. Given the responses in this topic so far.. i don't think mine will garner much praise.


"The recent US Executive Order, which bans travel to the US from people born in 7 countries..."

Those seven countries were initially identified as "countries of concern" under the Obama administration. In December 2015, President Barack Obama signed into law a measure placing limited restrictions on certain travelers who had visited Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria on or after March 1, 2011. Two months later, the Obama administration added Libya, Somalia, and Yemen to the list, in an effort, the administration said, to address “the growing threat from foreign terrorist fighters.” Now correct me if i'm wrong (I was only able to give a cursory glance at Bulba's archives) but i didn't see anything posted by the staff about that in the past 2 years.

First of all, nobody got banned if they were already a legal resident here. The new executive order does not ban travel. It only reinforces the vetting process that you must go through upon entering the U.S. from one of those seven countries. In fact, since it's implementation hundreds of thousands of people have successfully entered the country (corroborated by the head of DHS and other DHS officials). With only a little over a hundred people (109 to be exact) having to endure the more extreme vetting part of the process. And this only inconvenienced them by a few hours. It is not a discriminatory measure. The idea behind this executive order is to be proactive against terrorist threats and not reactive. These seven countries are well known to harbor terrorists. It sucks that innocent people fleeing from them have to wait even longer to get to freedom. But remember, coming into this country is a privilege, not a right.

"We will continue to speak up against this and other actions which come into conflict with our core values of equality, openness, and compassion. We encourage you to do the same."

 

[phidari]

I make the occasional visit to bulbapedia to look up move info, tm/hm location, etc. I don't really post in forums but when visiting the site this morning i saw the statement from the staff and i felt the urge to contribute my opinion. Given the responses in this topic so far.. i don't think mine will garner much praise.


"The recent US Executive Order, which bans travel to the US from people born in 7 countries..."

Those seven countries were initially identified as "countries of concern" under the Obama administration. In December 2015, President Barack Obama signed into law a measure placing limited restrictions on certain travelers who had visited Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria on or after March 1, 2011. Two months later, the Obama administration added Libya, Somalia, and Yemen to the list, in an effort, the administration said, to address “the growing threat from foreign terrorist fighters.” Now correct me if i'm wrong (I was only able to give a cursory glance at Bulba's archives) but i didn't see anything posted by the staff about that in the past 2 years.

First of all, nobody got banned if they were already a legal resident here. The new executive order does not ban travel. It only reinforces the vetting process that you must go through upon entering the U.S. from one of those seven countries. In fact, since it's implementation hundreds of thousands of people have successfully entered the country (corroborated by the head of DHS and other DHS officials). With only a little over a hundred people (109 to be exact) having to endure the more extreme vetting part of the process. And this only inconvenienced them by a few hours. It is not a discriminatory measure. The idea behind this executive order is to be proactive against terrorist threats and not reactive. These seven countries are well known to harbor terrorists. It sucks that innocent people fleeing from them have to wait even longer to get to freedom. But remember, coming into this country is a privilege, not a right.

"We will continue to speak up against this and other actions which come into conflict with our core values of equality, openness, and compassion. We encourage you to do the same."

Do you really think this comment is necessary? 1) A five-year-old United States citizen was detained for hours without his parents. 2) Further, if it was really about countries of concern, why is Saudi Arabia not on the list? 3) Obama isn't the president anymore, so maybe the staff wants to focus on current events. The fact that courts have ruled Trump's executive order an overreach, even if it was building on a measure passed during the Obama administration, says enough.

4) (edit) A woman fucking died because she couldn't come to the United States to get medical care.

Finally, the descendants of genocidal colonists don't get to say that "coming into this country is a privilege, not a right".

Sorry if you don't want debate in this thread, staff. I just didn't want the bottommost reponse to be argumentative nonsense from someone who signed up just to pick a fight.

 

[Every Breaking Wave]

At the risk of being infracted because this is not the political forum (yes, there is one of those)...

"The recent US Executive Order, which bans travel to the US from people born in 7 countries..."

Those seven countries were initially identified as "countries of concern" under the Obama administration. In December 2015, President Barack Obama signed into law a measure placing limited restrictions on certain travelers who had visited Iran, Iraq, Sudan, or Syria on or after March 1, 2011. Two months later, the Obama administration added Libya, Somalia, and Yemen to the list, in an effort, the administration said, to address “the growing threat from foreign terrorist fighters.” Now correct me if i'm wrong (I was only able to give a cursory glance at Bulba's archives) but i didn't see anything posted by the staff about that in the past 2 years.

You are comparing apples to oranges. The two are totally different situations.

Obama did not cease issuing visas to those listed countries for any period of time.
Obama did not cut the total number of refugees accepted in half.
Obama did not halt refugees from any listed country for any period of time, let alone indefinitely.

First of all, nobody got banned if they were already a legal resident here. The new executive order does not ban travel. It only reinforces the vetting process that you must go through upon entering the U.S. from one of those seven countries. In fact, since it's implementation hundreds of thousands of people have successfully entered the country (corroborated by the head of DHS and other DHS officials). With only a little over a hundred people (109 to be exact) having to endure the more extreme vetting part of the process.

False. People with green cards were prevented from entering. People who are permanent residents of the United States of America who happened to be born in one of those seven countries were prevented from returning to their country. Scientists are not allowed to join their teams, doctors have been prevented from returning to their patients, students have been barred from returning to their place of study, and husbands and wives who were visiting family are now prevented from being together for a minimum of three months. Even the people who travel on other nation's passports are being prevented from flying just for the misfortune of having been born in one of the seven countries. There is an Australian teenager unable to travel with his class. There was a Somali-Canadian who was prevented from boarding his flight to France simply because it was flying through - not stopping in - US airspace. None of this happened under the Obama administration.

And why so much confusion? Because this EO was not even run by the Justice Department, or any other departments that it normally would be. All the chaos ensued because it was signed with no idea of how it would be implemented. Which is why you had the Department of Homeland Security saying it didn't apply to green card holders when asked for clarification, only to be then over-ruled by Bannon who said that it did.

Also, check your numbers. 109 is the initial number they had the day the order was signed. Despite them continuing to repeat that number, fact-checkers say the actual number is closer to 90, 000. That is more than 825x what Sean Spicer keeps saying.

And this only inconvenienced them by a few hours. It is not a discriminatory measure. The idea behind this executive order is to be proactive against terrorist threats and not reactive. These seven countries are well known to harbor terrorists. It sucks that innocent people fleeing from them have to wait even longer to get to freedom. But remember, coming into this country is a privilege, not a right.

A few hours? No. Some of them were stuck in detention for over a day. They were not allowed to see an attorney - a constitutional right even for non-citizens in America. Some are still in detention up to this time. A toddler was separated from his mother. Two ninety-year olds were not allowed access to their needed medication. People who helped the US army in Iraq are being prevented from coming over after years of waiting and risk to their lives. DHS employees are refusing judicial orders around this whole fiasco. From these seven countries it was not so easy to enter the US in the first-place. Some have waited years for the appropriate paperwork, only to be refused as they are about to step on the plane.

This is a much bigger issue than you are making it out to be.

 

[Crabben]

I was just looking at bulbanews to see what's up with pokemon and saw this. I immediately made a forums account just to say thank you. I'm not a minority (i'm a white dude) but I respect everyone and am concerned about many minorities when Trump was elected and then banned Muslims. I was horrified. I'm glad bulbapedia is speaking up, and when people say "it's none of their business" they're wrong. It's everyone's business. I have more respect for bulbapedia and it's people more than ever. You guys are more than friendly people with good pokemon info and great intentions, You have great ideals too.

THANK YOU!

 

[Cookies and Creme]

Oh Jesus I just love Politics on a video game forums. I do think Trump's decision was a bit abrasive, though. Just an opinion.

 

[Creeping Ruins]

First off, i apologize if i should be posting this in a different forum or section of the website. I came to bulbapedia today on my lunch break, saw the OT and made the account so i could post. I probably won't be coming back here any time soon just fyi.

I just didn't want the bottommost reponse to be argumentative nonsense from someone who signed up just to pick a fight.

I didn't sign up just to pick a fight. I think we can all agree on one thing and that is that we like pokemon a lot. That's why i visit bulbapedia from time to time. To check out to see what's going on in the world of pkmn. I signed up today so i could speak my mind freely. Actually i've signed up in the past under a different email but that's neither here nor there.

Is it safe to assume that everyone here supports diversity? I think it is. So then it's perfectly okay for me to come and express my opinion as it offers a different view point than the one shared here. I don't mean to be argumentative. I simply saw something that i disagree with and i wrote a response to it.

2) Further, if it was really about countries of concern, why is Saudi Arabia not on the list?

Ask Mr. O. He's the one who made the list. Although, they did donate 20 million to Hillary's campaign... I can't help but think there's some sort of connection there. But that's a bit off topic.

This is a much bigger issue than you are making it out to be.

Actually i think you're making it out to be a much bigger issue than it is. Again, the intent behind this Executive Order is to prevent terrorism in the country by being proactive about it, not reactive. Those were Sean Spicer's words, or Trump's, or whoever briefed Sean, but i sure can't think of a better way to say it.

Iran won't let you in if you're an Israeli citizen. Cuba wouldn't let Americans in for 50+ years. Good luck getting into North Korea, although i can' see why anyone would want to go there in the first place. Muslims are the most conservative people on the earth. Do you honestly think this Executive Order is about race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or national origin? When you have certain spots on the planet where bad people thrive, it would make sense to bottleneck the flow of people trying to get into our country from those spots. It's not going to be perfect, people are going to get lost in the shuffle, yeah. I know this next sentence might make some people's stomachs churn, so small ***warning***.


Small price to pay for safety and national security.

Finally, the descendants of genocidal colonists don't get to say that "coming into this country is a privilege, not a right".

This one is very telling. But honestly i suspected it all along... *yawn*

 

[Every Breaking Wave]

Actually i think you're making it out to be a much bigger issue than it is. Again, the intent behind this Executive Order is to prevent terrorism in the country by being proactive about it, not reactive. Those were Sean Spicer's words, or Trump's, or whoever briefed Sean, but i sure can't think of a better way to say it.

Iran won't let you in if you're an Israeli citizen. Cuba wouldn't let Americans in for 50+ years. Good luck getting into North Korea, although i can' see why anyone would want to go there in the first place. Muslims are the most conservative people on the earth. Do you honestly think this Executive Order is about race, gender identity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or national origin? When you have certain spots on the planet where bad people thrive, it would make sense to bottleneck the flow of people trying to get into our country from those spots. It's not going to be perfect, people are going to get lost in the shuffle, yeah. I know this next sentence might make some people's stomachs churn, so small ***warning***.


Small price to pay for safety and national security.

If the intent is to prevent terrorism, why fill the list with seven nations whose citizens have never committed terrorism in America? Why would you not include the countries whose citizens actually have done that? Saudi Arabia, Egypt, etc. It has nothing to do with safety and security. Bangladesh, Malaysia, or Nigeria would be just as logical choices as the countries currently on the list. This is just scapegoating on the part of the Administration at the expense of places people imagine the worst of.

 

[Creeping Ruins]

If the intent is to prevent terrorism, why fill the list with seven nations whose citizens have never committed terrorism in America? Why would you not include the countries whose citizens actually have done that? Saudi Arabia, Egypt, etc. It has nothing to do with safety and security. Bangladesh, Malaysia, or Nigeria would be just as logical choices as the countries currently on the list. This is just scapegoating on the part of the Administration at the expense of places people imagine the worst of.

Part of me would love to sit around on my pc and go at it on this stuff. but i've got a busy couple weeks coming up and i just can't devote any more time to this. i'll leave you all with this


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNu4xU9qOEM