(This is a repeat of a post I wrote a few years ago, but I decided to repost it because I thought it fit in well with this month's posts.)
Who wants peace, understanding, or love? Apparently very few people, according to my limited research. Don’t get me wrong-- I’m not doing a doctoral dissertation or anything. But I have noticed that when I post anything that implies that we might need to rethink something in order to accommodate some other group or way of thinking, I get fewer “likes,” on Facebook, and often a good many “Yes, but…” responses. I have also noticed that many people seem to think they have to be “against” someone or some group. What happened to the idea that it’s okay just to allow people to be themselves and love them anyway? Another thing I’ve noticed is that this is not true as much on Twitter, which tends to get more of the younger generation. I believe that we are raising up a much more compassionate generation. That is encouraging.
Anyway, I am posting links below to a young eighth grader’s entry in a slam poetry contest, followed by an interview with the young man who wrote the poem. The responses to the poem have been varied, but some that I have noticed zeroed in on a couple of “bad words” in the poem, overlooking its message entirely. Personally, I think the interview shows him to be a very insightful young man. You don’t have to agree, and you don’t have to respond—unless you want to, of course. I just wanted to share these examples. Now remember that this is a fourteen year-old boy. He may have gotten a few things wrong. I saw some comments that indicated he did. But he is honestly admitting that because he is a young white boy, he has some advantages that everyone should have. Many adults don’t want to admit that.
#
SOCIAL MEDIA ADDRESSES:
Author Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/1HHkUXf
Goodreads Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6525216.Merrill_J_Davies
Web Site: http://www.merrilldavies.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MERRILLDAVIES
Amazon Author Page http://amazon.com/author/merrilljdavies
MY Email: Merrill@merrilldavies.com
Merrill, great job. Thanks for giving the link to the poetry recital. He was very good.
ReplyDelete