Our nonprofit brought back mask requirements sooner than most. And it really ruffled some feathers.
Anonymous people doing anonymous things. Sending hate mail behind a computer screen. Trolls who don’t even live in the state of Utah coming out of the wood works.
All because someone didn’t think it was fair to wear a mask to a free rock climbing clinic.
The irony is, they didn’t pay for the program and they had no intention for paying for our services. Instead, they overreacted to a policy that interfered with their worldview.
We could have overreacted too. We could have tried to compromise or explain our actions. Instead, we ignored the trolls.
Not everyone is going to agree with the work we do. And the one star reviews are not going to make our work better. Why change for anonymous people?
If it’s not for them, it isn’t for them. Our work is for somebody. Not everybody.
So let’s just get this out of the way:
We are truth seekers. We believe in science. We believe we are in the business to help people. And that means, for the time being, we need to wear masks to protect students, the staff and their circle of people they interact with.
Further, just so we are clear, if people think that coming to Pivot Adventure is going to “make them gay”, we can show you the door. Yep, we’ve had comments like those. Inclusive doesn’t mean we pick and choose and exclude others because of who they are. This is a course to build resiliency. And if you are ready to learn, to take a leap forward, we’re here for you. That journey can take many years and Pivot Adventure is here to help speed that process.
If that doesn’t work for you, that’s fine with us. We will keep doing the work we do. Because it’s important and it matters. Not to everyone. Not for the trolls. But to the people we seek to connect with and help light a spark.
It’s not possible with our finite brains to be empathetic to everyone. To a specific group of people who can’t get a vaccine and want to get one or to those who are at high risk, we mask up. And by making that choice, we are making others upset. We can’t make everyone happy here. We have to make a choice. And we are okay with that. We didn’t do it for them. And since millions of children are not dying from wearing a mask, we are sticking with our decision.
Lastly, if you didn’t pay, you don’t have the right to boo. You don’t get to complain about voluntarily showing up to something you didn’t pay for. If it’s not for you, give your spot up to someone who needs it. A simple, “No, thank you” would suffice. Why tear down a nonprofit trying to help teens get outside to improve mental health? Did you not have anything else better to do today?
Josh Allred's Blog 