A Better Outcome - a photo on Flickriver

A Better Outcome

I've been having a really frustrating conversation with a human being who I have been friends with for a long time, over a decade in fact. it has to do with the way political arguments are presented and at the crux of it is the truth many progressives fear...how will we get the Trump fanatics to change their minds? But, it's not just the Trump fanatics...it's anyone who actually voted for him not once but twice. Initially, I asked myself if this conversation with my friend was frustrating to me because it challenged me and I needed to be challenged in a certain way. But, as I thought about it more, it frustrated me because it asked me to call into question what I consider to be at the essence of my own humanity. The truth is, it scares me to think that advocating for human kindness and changes that promote equality would ever be construed as radical because that represents a shift in our collective thinking. And, I guess when it comes down to it, I am not really all that willing to monitor my own sense of urgency and passion about politics. And, I hate the term sanctimonious...my goal is not to come off as that. But, I was recently reminded of this article that I read back in 2017 and I think it's worth re-reading. The article is entitled:

I Don’t Know How To Explain To You That You Should Care About Other People

www.huffpost.com/entry/i-dont-know-how-to-explain-to-you-...

I don't think it's particularly radical to care about other people and want them to have decent housing, health care, employment, education and not have to constantly be concerned they are going to be the victims of violence due to their race, religion, gender identity or orientation and I do think that not only does policy matter but the consistent hate speech that has been promoted by our president also has an effect.

Recently, Don Lemon wrote about the effect and the emotional toll it has taken in his own life to have Trump supporters calling him the N word constantly, for instance, and we now live in a country where this is the daily reality for some. How will they pursue happiness and equality under these terrifying conditions?

www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/11/09/don-lemon-cnn-gay-racist-ho...

I also don't think it's particularly radical to take a look at the years of research and supposed police reforms and advocate for those tax dollars to be used to fund communities and proactive mental health instead. I really don't. The facts are there.

I also don't think it's extreme to say we need an end to the vast majority of prisons, certainly the for profit prison industry which is, in many cases, today's form of modern day slavery as we all know that most poor men who are Black living in the South are not actually tried with a true jury of their peers and not appointed a quality lawyer and are serving time for crimes they did not commit or long sentences for petty crimes.

I think looking at the day to day interactions and effect of hate speech as well as the systems that have been upholding white supremacy for far too long is the bare minimum any ethical human can do in this country if they want it to become better for us all.

And, I don't know how else to put it to people who can't feel empathy but helping people helps yourself. Who wants to live in a world of selfish desires where only yourself benefits? Whatever happened to leaving the world better than when you came into it? That's a decent and kind notion we should all be considering every day in our lives. It's not radical to be kind, either. And when these viewpoints are seen as radical, I have to question our sense of humanity.

I titled this photo A Better Outcome partially because of the words visible in the ad on the bottom right hand side but I also think that it would be a better outcome if people could put aside whatever ignorant fears they have about others who may not look like them or worship like them or move like them or make love like them and be willing to share that same space in a state of harmony.

In many ways, you see, I think that what has taken place over the past four years is a change in our collective brains. Waking up to news every day of kids in cages and possible war all of the time has made us live in a constant state of fear. Our amygdalas have grown to the size of a body builder's biceps and this is not healthy. It is ruining us....it is causing a huge decline in our actual biological health...and that same area of our brain has led many humans in my country to react with hatred and fear and rally around a man who cares more about his golf game than the virus that has killed nearly 300,000 of us. Surprisingly,the areas hit hardest by Coronavirus were also the areas where the highest population voted for Trump and why? How could their lives be better now than they were 4 years ago at the hands of a man who would rather deny Science than save the lives of citizens?

But, I think what has happened for so many people is, while their amygdalas have grown in dendritic branching and increased connections, their frontal lobes governing their insight and judgement and what most consider wisdom have literally shrunk and it has become more challenging to see reality for what it truly is. To some of us, it is still very much common sense that Biden won the election and that Trump was literally trying to destroy our entire democratic system. But, to others in our country, they still want to believe that Trump was somehow the winner (even though several of the republican judges and other appointees continue to insist upon the fairness of the election and several recounts have not overturned results). They would rather continue to believe in madness and not logic and, to go one step further, they don't care if there was actual cheating and grifting as long as their grifter is king. (Some of them were willing to themselves drive armed Hummers to polling places just to threaten and try to falsely claim they had found votes for Trump.) It's the same group of people who were ok with Trump literally committing treason and colluding with other countries to try to conspire against the Biden family early on. They refuse to see the level of their dissolution.

And for what? So they can continue to get tax cuts? Many Trump supporters are not even wealthy. Is it the racism then? The utter happiness they seem to get calling Don Lemon the n word? What in the world is the motivating factor behind supporting a man who clearly only cares about himself? These are questions I have asked myself steadily over and over again and I don't have many answers for something that, to me, defies logic.

But, I am going to continue to be me. And that means that if you find my viewpoint radical and you think I am being sanctimonious because I do take hate speech seriously and I do think that it is important to examine and re-examine how to structurally end or at least limit the extent of white supremacy in my country, you should probably find someone else to follow or read the opinions of. I am sure there are thousands of much more digestible easy on the mind commentators who actually get paid for a living who you can turn to.

I am human which means that I must fight for those who cannot easily fight. Even when I am not affected by hate speech, I find it entitled and privileged to say it doesn't seriously threaten others. Even when I am not directly affected by racist cops and for profit prisons, being human means I want to end their existence for all humanity.

You are sanctimonious if you think you are better than others and that you are the only one who deserves to live a happy, free, nonthreatening life in my opinion. That is not the world I wish to live in. I believe this country's greatness should be shared and that would lead to A Better Outcome for us all.

***All photos are copyrighted***

Taken on: May 16, 2019

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Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, f/4.0, 1/125 sec, 24mm, ISO 4000 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens:	EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
Aperture:	f/4.0
Exposure Time:	0.008 sec (1/125)
Focal Length:	24mm
ISO:	4000
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Partial
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 21.1 (Macintosh)
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