Ponder

I received a little potted Lisianthus for my birthday in June, and I’ve been trying to keep it alive for the last 2 months.  As everyone knows, I’ve been known to kill plastic plants, but I keep trying to grow things.  This morning I woke up to see that a whole new flower had bloomed!!  I was so excited!  I took photos of it, immediately notified my family, and stopped just short of taking out a full page newspaper ad to let everyone know that I kept a plant alive for over 2 months.  (Don has been laughing at me; unlike me, he’s able to grow pencils in concrete and he’s amazed that I couldn’t even keep an African violet alive for more than a week.)  The tiny monster suddenly needs to be petted all day long, and if I am not patting him, he’ll be on my feet pressing on me.  My support worker was here today, and Jerry had to let everyone know that someone was in his space.  It got even noisier when another friend dropped by to pick up some stuff, and Jerry protested at this invasion.  Don is still in pain, and was struggling to breathe today as it was muggy.  After my scan last night I was in some pain.  I opted not to use a wheelchair, but didn’t fully realize how far I had to walk.  I was a little sore when we got home, but I’m better today.  My pain overall is much lower, and I’m happy to have been able to reduce the painkillers.  As a bonus, I slept for a good 6 hours uninterrupted last night, and my sugar did not plummet in the middle of the night.  Virtual happy dance!

It seems that the universe had some more messages for me.  The buzz today relates to questions of inclusivity, and the reactions to it.  I don’t intend to offend anyone, let me start with that, and I hope that you can appreciate what I’m trying to say.  It started off, innocuously, with a quote from an author that I enjoy, in part for his broader views of humanity, in which he made reference to political correctness.  That’s a subject that generates a lot of reaction, usually negative.  Then a friend said something about “trying not to be racist, but it’s hard.”  My reply was that it’s very easy not to be racist — if you find yourself about to say or do something racist, just don’t.  That led to a discussion (very animated one!!) on how do you know if you’re being racist.  Again, I said that it’s easy.  Whatever you’re about to say or do, try saying it about your own race.  If it offends you, then it’s probably racist.  Same test for sexism — if you flip genders and you’re upset at the result, it’s sexist.  See?  Easy.  The key is to pause before reacting, so you think about what you’re saying.  If you want to tell a joke, ask first, does it make fun of someone for something intrinsic to them, like their sex, gender, race, colour or culture?  If yes, then tell another one.  There are lots of jokes that aren’t hurtful to people, and the ones that attack should be allowed to die an early death.

It’s unfortunate to focus on differences to create divisions, as opposed to welcoming differences to increase diversity.  It is possible and lovely to have friends who are from different backgrounds — various countries, religions, sexual and gender identities — because each perspective gives depth and richness to our lives.  In a homogeneous society, everyone is like everyone else — they have the same beliefs, speak the same language, eat the same selection of foods, worship in the same place, and all see things through that viewpoint.  When someone different comes along, they might introduce a new food, which becomes a favourite, or a new style of dressing, or a new way to see others.  There’s nothing in that to be afraid of, is there?  No reason to attack, kill or destroy.  It’s different if one group determines to impose its values on others, but even then, death seems an excessive response.  I get that it’s a little scary to be put in a place to try new things, but new experiences are enriching, more than negative.

The attack on Salman Rushdie was one of the things that sparked this discussion.  Someone with an overly rigid view of the world decided to call for the killing of an author for his book.  Censorship, in my view, is dangerous and unnecessary.  Open dialogue and conversation about controversial issues is a much better approach.  But no… this man wrote a book (which, frankly, I found to be tedious and not worth my time) and a howl of “Blasphemy!!” started.  I don’t get the blasphemy, but my understanding of the Qu’ran is not adequate to address that.  I’ll skip over to the equivalent in Christianity — The Last Temptation of Christ.  Banned in many Christian towns, burned by heretics, and there were all sorts of calls to shut down stores that sold the book; later there were calls to destroy cinemas that showed the movie including some firebombing.  I found the book confusing and dull, and the movie was such a slog that I’m not sure that I even finished watching it.  There are other books that have been banned and burned, and people who agitate to destroy them.  I.DO. NOT. UNDERSTAND. BURNING. BOOKS.  It’s one of the stupidest things to do!  If you don’t like it, don’t read it.  Don’t buy it.  The mob mentality that allows for burning books or attacking people with whom you disagree is — not to put too fine a point on it — dumb.  Stupid.  Moronic.  I’m always fascinated by the banned books list, as it gives insight into the prevalent fears in different areas and can demonstrate just how people can be manipulated into cruelty.  Start by burning books, and it leads to burning / bombing / mass murdering of people.

I’m sorry, I’m rambling.  But I’m honestly trying to make sense of the people who call for the death of others just because they’re different.  I don’t think that calling for the death of someone who disagrees with you makes any sense.  Worse, if you want to join with others to attack, harass or kill people because they’re different.  Yes, there are some people who are a threat to a peaceful society, but it’s not your role to call for their death!  Or to share their personal data so they can be harassed.  After that lengthy harangue, I’ll just summarize and circle back to the main point.

It’s extremely easy to not hate.  To not be racist / sexist / homophobic / anti-difference.  Consider that if you treat everyone with respect, then you’re already far ahead in avoiding hate.  If something is going on that you don’t understand, it is better to ask questions to learn more than to condemn the differences.  If you flip genders in a situation and the result makes you uncomfortable, recognize that the situation is not healthy.  Be kind always, and you’re ahead — there’s no need to repeat jokes that denigrate others; there’s no reason to laugh because someone doesn’t understand something, and definitely don’t kill or threaten just because people are different.  

OK, that’s heavier than I planned, but I’m horrified at how easily people fall into the trap of attacking or blaming people who are different for things that happen.  I’m going to stop now, before I get myself into really bad trouble.  Besides, Jerry is complaining that it’s way past his bedtime and his tummy massage is late.  Good night!