I don't want to retread the Desper situation too much, and I certainly value his knowledge and experience with the BBs and would always love to see more info from him.
But I do think there was a bit too much incredulity regarding his post favorably comparing Trump rallies to the band's touring setup, etc.. It was *obvious* why people saw it as an unneeded politically-tinged post, and that's because it was imbued with some politics. I found the comparison to be supremely odd; a thread about the BB's touring setup could have been started without any reference to Trump or politics at all. But it wasn't a big deal.
I'd point to some examples regarding that episode, but unless my forum search skills are not serving me well, it appears that entire thread is gone. Not locked, but gone completely.
In any event, that episode didn't strike me as a *huge* deal, and I certainly didn't see how it warranted Mr. Desper leaving. He was engaged in discussion about the overtones present in his post, and a discussion ensued. I think part of the hubbub on that old thread was debate over whether it should be moved to the Sandbox, rather than anyone finding anything about the post/thread so heinous. I hope Mr. Desper comes back. But I don't blame anyone here as if he was "run off" the board or anything. I've never been a fan of walking on egg shells here for fear someone will leave. Sometimes honored guests are needlessly trolled on boards (in which case it should be dealt with and usually is), and sometimes they're fairly and on even ground engaged in discussion or taken to task, or whatever the situation is.
But I do think there was a bit too much incredulity regarding his post favorably comparing Trump rallies to the band's touring setup, etc.. It was *obvious* why people saw it as an unneeded politically-tinged post, and that's because it was imbued with some politics. I found the comparison to be supremely odd; a thread about the BB's touring setup could have been started without any reference to Trump or politics at all. But it wasn't a big deal.
I'd point to some examples regarding that episode, but unless my forum search skills are not serving me well, it appears that entire thread is gone. Not locked, but gone completely.
In any event, that episode didn't strike me as a *huge* deal, and I certainly didn't see how it warranted Mr. Desper leaving. He was engaged in discussion about the overtones present in his post, and a discussion ensued. I think part of the hubbub on that old thread was debate over whether it should be moved to the Sandbox, rather than anyone finding anything about the post/thread so heinous. I hope Mr. Desper comes back. But I don't blame anyone here as if he was "run off" the board or anything. I've never been a fan of walking on egg shells here for fear someone will leave. Sometimes honored guests are needlessly trolled on boards (in which case it should be dealt with and usually is), and sometimes they're fairly and on even ground engaged in discussion or taken to task, or whatever the situation is.
The guy who mixed Sunflower to perfection (and who had a seemingly infinite supply of Beach Boys anecdotes and an unmatched knowledge of Beach Boys production) saw similarities between the different styles of campaigning and Beach Boys touring. It wasn't solely about Trump...he also included a paragraph about how Hillary's campaigning mirrored that of some eras of Beach Boy touring where they did more intimate tours. The whole point of his post was that he was reminded that both ways of reaching out to an audience are powerful.
I guess when it comes to a revered member who is actually contributing priceless information there should be a certain level of respect and understanding. I agree that walking on eggshells isn't something we should have to do on a messageboard, but when it comes to people who contribute information (and music) that no one else has, when they bring up a pretty harmless topic about being reminded of different touring styles, it's probably best for people not to go into total tantrum mode.
But I think people rightly got a bit hung up on the fact that Mr. Desper didn't want to admit that what he was saying was, as some would tend to read it, somewhat of a "positive" interpretation of something (in this case Trump's rallies) that many saw as so egregiously about so many negative things (people being beat up at rallies, hate and racism being spewed at the rallies, etc.).
I totally understand your perspective of things. And I admittedly didn't follow along with that thread too much. I didn't read any follow up posts by Desper (or don't remember them) but I do remember that his initial post was remarking on both sides of the campaign and how they compared to Beach Boys touring. Talking about how Trump went from one state to another in one day to rally at stadiums is not at all endorsing what was said that those rallies. In that initial post he never even mentioned what was said at those rallies.
When was the last time a band/candidate/etc made such a splash doing a state-to-state marathon tour multiple times a day with packed stadiums? It is only logical that someone who saw firsthand the Beach Boys touring of that same kind would draw a comparison.
Again, I totally get what you're saying, and I really shouldn't be the one defending his words as I only remember one of his posts in that thread. But I really do stand by the idea that, given what Desper has given us throughout the years, people really blew that whole thing out of proportion.