Come on People Now

It doesn’t take a genius to realize that we’re kind of a shit show right now. When I heard a rumor that there is a demand to remove Chase the police dog from Paw Patrol, I threw my phone down in disgust. Do a little digging and you’ll probably find out that the whole Paw Patrol demand originated from some deranged internet troll whose only job is to stir the internet pot and laugh at us for eating it all up. Shame on us. Chase is still on the case, people. Get over it. 

Whenever tensions are high and change is upon us, we humans love to dig in our heels and plant ourselves in one or the other camp. This has been going on forever and now that we have the internet and an instantaneous way of sharing our thoughts and feelings (guilty!), we are all too aware of the opinions of others without any real, in-person, discussion. Suddenly, if you stand firmly with Black Lives Matter, you must be anti-police. And if you stand with the police, you are anti-Black Lives Matter. There is truth to that. I have talked to white people who believe BLM is a terrorist organization and I have seen lots of Blue Lives stuff in recent days which is just another way of diminishing a movement of the oppressed. OF COURSE blue lives matter. They’re just not an oppressed, marginalized, disenfranchised group. I know and love many officers. I grew up with the ones that work in my kids’ schools. They are good people and work hard for the community. I can respect and admire them and still demand that huge changes be made for people of color in this country. We can still weep for the death of officers as we do for the death of George Floyd. This is not about this or that and, for the love of God, let’s not turn it into a one side or the other issue. This is about the future of humanity and what kind of world we want our children to inherit. So, please, let’s stop our bickering for the sake of the kids.

My 12-year-old heard about the Paw Patrol debacle and said “Let me get this straight. They want to fire a cartoon police dog?” He’s not on social media so I think that helps in his ability to shake his head at just how ridiculous adults can be right now. If I were to bet, I think 12-year-olds could probably all get together and have more meaningful discussions about racism in our country than we adults have. Unlike us, their pubescent minds are in the grey area of life all the time. Neither child nor adult, they straddle two worlds and I imagine could be quite good at untangling this mess we have woven. Because, let’s face it, in a gathering of preteens it’s only a matter of time before one of them farts and they’d all share a laugh. Perhaps it will be the universal inclination to find farts funny that unifies our youth in the common goal of creating a better future for all. Perhaps I’m onto something there and maybe I’ll nudge my kids to start a movement. Hmmmm….

I had a discussion with colleagues yesterday about recent events and we discussed the “call out culture” that has become a problem in our communities. People are making sweeping claims about others on social media, leaving no room for dialogue or meaningful discussions. I’ve seen a few exchanges on Facebook that are downright nasty and it makes me angry. No real progress is going to be made by demonizing people in a comment thread. Social change comes from actual discussions in which you force yourself into the shoes of others (EMPATHY. TRY IT) and work together for our common goal of liberty and justice for all. It’s time hold ourselves accountable to those last words of our pledge of allegiance and let’s not get tricked by the internet trolls with stories about cartoon police dogs getting fired. As the Youngbloods sang—“Come on people now….Try to love one another right now.” Not easy but if you listen to that song a few times, you just might start rocking some tie dye and peace signs as your inner flower child slowly blossoms to help make the changes we so desperately need.

Here you go: