All Forum Posts by: Bryan Beal

Tony, congratulations on such a successful first BRRRR venture! Here's to many more and continued success.

@Matthew McNeil I know there's been A LOT of back and forth on this thread and I don't expect people to read the whole thing.  In an earlier post I acknowledge that I overreached with the "Totalitarian" comment as I was trying to make a point.  I should have been more careful with my words and that's on me. 

Respectfully, I disagree with this assertion that somehow my interpretation of rights is "shallow."  Is it "shallow" for a small business owner to keep his doors open so they can make a living?  Is it "shallow" for a real estate investor who depends on monthly rent collection to expect that their rent get paid?  Is it "shallow" to want what's best for your family?  Maybe we have a different definition of "shallow" but there's nothing "shallow" about wanting to make a better life for yourself and for your family.  

@JD Martin I literally know physicians and/or nurses in eight states scattered across the country and I've literally talked to each and every one of them.  A couple are in NY & NJ and they paint a much darker picture than those I've spoken to in North & South Carolina, Illinois and Arizona, for example.  I acknowledged it was a matter of perspective based on what we see and what we hear but it seems you're accusing me of exaggerating and/or lying about those contacts.  That I'm not OK with.  I had these conversations with them because I wanted to be educated about the subject.  I wanted to know what was going on down on the front lines in different parts of the country and not take what I read and see on the news at face value.  I'm convinced it's OK to go back to life as normal BECAUSE I had these conversations - not the opposite as you insinuate.  

We'll never know what would have happened had we not shut down the country - there's no way to know.  Predictions are fine and I understand and respect your viewpoint that this would have reached critical levels had we not shut down.  Maybe it would have and maybe I would have been proved incorrect in my assertions.  But in my opinion, and that's all it is, my opinion, we are close to if not already at the point where we're doing more harm than good by closing country.  That's where we need to draw the line.  I don't care if the state is red, blue or purple - the answer is not universal no matter the direction you believe things are headed.  I welcome your opposing, intellectual stance on this and thank you for your insight.  

@Jennifer Petrillo - I know many physicians and nurses around the country dealing with this right now.  The majority of them say this is overblown compared to what is being reported.  It's all a matter of perspective, I guess.  You're in NJ, the state that ranks 2nd in infections and death in the country, and you work at a long term care facility.  Of course your perspective will be shaped to the viewpoint you have because you're surrounded by the most at risk in one of the most contaminated areas.  You can find research and articles to support either side of this argument.

You talk about being selfish.  Indulge me and let's play out a scenario.  A family has built a small, family business from the ground up.  They're not rich, they're not poor, they are the average American family who went into business for themselves and have carved out a nice living.  Then, COVID-19 hits.  They aren't too concerned about contracting it themselves but they're forced to shut down their business against their will and halt all revenue and income.  The SBA runs out of small business loan money (which happened in the blink of an eye) and unemployment falls way behind (also a harsh reality) and without producing any income, they still have to pay their mortgage, their lease on their commercial building and pay for the everyday necessities.  All of the sudden, this family that was doing OK, is now forced to shut its doors and that nice little family business they put together is gone.  Taken away because they were forced to shut down.  Is that fair?  Is that selfish?

This isn't hyperbole - this is happening all over the country.  They're considered "non-essential" but they are certainly essential to the families who own these businesses. 

There is no "one-size-fits-all" to this - people suffer on either side so there has to be a middle ground.  That isn't all or nothing.  That is why, in my original post, I say that we can make personal choices surrounding this issue.  If people are in self-quarantine, they're isolated from the infection - whether or not someone else goes out and does something social is of no consequence to them if they truly stay in isolation.  

When I first wrote this post, I knew there was going to be a mixed reaction.  I knew there would be some who supported by stance and I knew that most would blast me for it.  @Steven Lowe and sure enough, the insults came flying - name calling, attacking my character, coming after me for my race, gender and sexuality, wishing harm to my family and myself - you name it, I think I've heard it in the last few days.  It's sad but that's the ugly reality we're in now and maybe even sadder that I expected this to happen.  And quite honestly, I've had a large number of people reach out to me offline about this who have shared their support for my post but don't want to face the backlash I've been taking since this started. Hard to
blame them... @Peter Rodriguez is a perfect example of this - "anyone who disagrees with me is trash."  Productive.  And to insinuate that it's better for the entire country, economy and business to fail is both irrational and shortsighted.  We (should) ALL care about the economic and real estate ramifications on this site - that's why we're all here.  Do you not think that would cause more hardship and suffering than the current issue at hand?  Might be time to rethink this a bit...  

@Spencer Gray - I don't disagree with your stance at all.  I think (as I've said from the very beginning) we should always take care of those that need it.  That's a paramount responsibility.  But, at a certain point, as you mentioned, we need to reopen and we need to reopen sooner rather than later.  At a certain point (and I believe we're very close to this point) the cure becomes worse than the virus.  That can't happen.  That's where we need to reassess our goals and tactics on how to best move forward.  

@Taylor Fontaine - no one has to agree with me.  I didn't post this with the idea that anyone would agree with me (see above) and that was never the point.  I firmly believe that we grow and evolve through having constructive and intelligent discourse.  I always want to hear the other side of an argument and I always want to understand it.  I don't have to agree with it or like it but I can appreciate their standpoint and respect their right to have it.  This is why I'm responding to your post specifically - you had a well-crafted, thought-provoking argument and disagreement with me.  That's fine.  That's all within the guidelines of these civil liberties and basic freedoms I discussed from the beginning.  But if we're all having that "private thought" to reopen the economy, we should also be able to have a public one that's free of insults and finger pointing. 

@Natalie Schanne - thank you for your thoughtful post, as well.  I want everyone on your side to be happy and healthy during this time.  And while my thoughts are (obviously) not shared by most, thank you for being respectful in your discussion and understanding a difference of opinion.  Nothing but success and well-being!  

@Lindsey Clark - to end on a positive note, completely agree that this has gotten out of hand and when this dust settles and this is all over, we all have wild success in our REI futures!

@Carrie Matuga glad this was helpful! I started taking OPM about halfway through my investing portfolio and it’s opened up a new world of possibilities. Happy to discuss further if you’d like - shoot me a DM and we can talk offline.

@Libby Truesdell what a mature, well thought out and constructed response.  We should all aspire to be of such intellectual engagement - I disagree so I'm going to call you names.  Lovely.  San Fransisco is the perfect place for you and they are just so lucky to have such a progressive thinker like yourself.  

@Ana Marie B. What I think is interesting is that we’ve become a country who puts the needs of the few above the needs of the many. A small group wants to throw a temper tantrum - scream, shout, and yell when they don’t get their way and because they’re the loudest, we cater to it. Not because we should but because we’ve lost the ability to have a conversation about anything. In fact, there is no reasoning with the unreasonable - which I’ve seen a lot of. In my experience, the loudest one in the room is the weakest one in the room. Seems like there are a lot of screamers here. “Respectfully” call me selfish and spoiled, huh? Looks like you don’t know what “respectful” is.

@Dylan Vargas thank you for the note and the support. People tend to be illogical and unreasonable in times of stress... We’ll keep pushing the conversation forward.

@Danielle N. And that’s well within your rights - go for it.