Especially at a time when there’s a lot of division, I try to look at the positives that can come out of difficult situations. I may not always be so successful, as I’ve shared over the past few wks, how what we’re seeing in media/social media’s been taking its toll on me.
Despite this wk starting off w some very divisive msgs that the media relishes – comments abt Hitler, antisemitism, more direct racist comments to the Black community, etc…it’s ended w some signs that we CAN come together, by understanding each other’s vantage pts.
We ALL grew up in diff households (even ones in the same neighborhoods had differences bc no 2 fams are the exactly the same). We were all exposed to diff things by our parents/guardians. We all became hyper alert of some things over others. That doesn’t make anyone a bad person. It makes them exposed to, & understanding of, what they learned abt & were shown.
What could make them bad, is a desire to remain steadfast in their beliefs, not being open to the opinions of others, not being willing to self-educate, nor to be educated by others, & instead just yelling louder abt how they see things, alone.
It’s not helpful to repeat the specifics of some of the negativity from this wk; it just furthers the divides. But in the sports world – a world where there are true leaders that emerge, I’m happy to see leadership coming to the surface to bring abt healing. Some examples:
Desean Jackson having an open dialogue w a 94yr old Holocaust survivor. Julian Edelman offering to go to the Museum of African American History & Culture as well as the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in DC w Desean to learn abt each other’s lineage/struggles. Zach Banner, a Black man from the Steelers, talking abt his Jewish friends & how the shootings in Pitt affected his city.
Why do we measure “levels” of injustice & hatred? Aren’t hatred/injustice things we should want to band together on & eliminate for ALL ppl, if equality (& yes even equity) is what we’re after? I’m a stubborn SOB, but I love debate – I want to learn how experiences shape diff viewpoints. Isn’t that more productive than yelling loudest?
