After I spared the little over a minute to watch the campaign video he asked me one simple question: Did I think the video was racist?
I was intrigued by that question and set about pondering on my response. I evaluated the feelings that had come over me as I watched it and i carefully formed my opinion.
I think I'll wait a moment to share it with you :)
Because first I want to let you in on a way of thinking that I have. Now, everyday we are surrounded by people-obviously haha :) - and those people are saying things and doing things and we have no control over what it is they say and do. People form opinions they make comments, they execute actions, all the while we are inundated with this information and through it we form our own opinions, make our own comments, and execute our own actions.
Now there are many ways to process all this information but to me it boils down to a very simple truth: we may not choose what people say and do, but we do get to choose how the things people say and do will affect us.
With that in mind we can also come to discover that you can find any kind of meaning in anything if you are looking for it. So to explain, if you want to hate someone then it's possible to find something to hate them for in anything they do despite what their intentions might actually be. Likewise, if you want to love someone you can find a reason to love them in anything they do, again, despite what their intentions might be.
So what does that mean for us? It means we have a hard challenge to face. You see in my personal opinion we should always strive to interpret what people do and say based on what their intentions are not on what we want to see them as. Yet, barring having a close personal relationship with them that allows you to actually know their intentions-or the ever popular mind reading option which if you are particularly gifted at please give me a call ;)- it can be difficult to know what someones true intentions are.
This is the point where I have a tiny aneurysm and writhe on the floor in my confusion and pain....... and then after a few quiet words of comfort to my poor conflicted self I pick myself up and figure out a solution. So here's how I see it. In life we have to make judgements to a certain degree. It's part of making decisions and analyzing situations. We rarely ever are blessed with all the facts and even more rarely with all the perspectives of a case so we do the best we can based on what we have. But here comes the key: do not mistakenly project your feelings.
There a many different ways in which we do this:
1) We dislike some of the decisions a person had made in the past and automatically hyperinflation those few poor decisions into a judgement of their entire character and suddenly every thing they do and say must be taken in as bad a way as you can think of. (such as in the case of this video)
2) Upon first meeting someone they may do one small thing that was displeasing to you and suddenly you color everything they do with a tone of distaste.
3) Experiences of the past cause you to project your negative feelings of people who were once cruel to you upon others who remind you of them which prevents you from seeing these new people for who they truly are.
People are a myriad of complex emotions and decision making processes. It can be difficult to pick them apart and make heads or tails of what they mean, but neither should we simply jump to the negative. You can make a simple judgement when necessary but leave your heart open to change. Give humanity some wiggle room because we all know we've been on the giving and the receiving end of many of the scenarios above and no one's is perfect. We need not be overly trusting but neither should we be overly critical.
So to come full circle I'll share my simple feelings on the video above. Yes, he did not choose the best wording and it could easily be taken in an offensive manner. Yes, there were probably a myriad of different ways he could have approached the situation. But is this video racist? No i do not think it is. Yes it can be taken that way but based on the knowledge I have at my hands right now I choose to believe that that was not his INTENTION. So I choose not to be offended.
After all, if I took offense at every little comment that could possibly be construed that way I would be a pretty pissed off person.
But frankly I love life way too much to waste any of it going down that road ;)
-From My Heart To Yours
This is the point where I have a tiny aneurysm and writhe on the floor in my confusion and pain....... and then after a few quiet words of comfort to my poor conflicted self I pick myself up and figure out a solution. So here's how I see it. In life we have to make judgements to a certain degree. It's part of making decisions and analyzing situations. We rarely ever are blessed with all the facts and even more rarely with all the perspectives of a case so we do the best we can based on what we have. But here comes the key: do not mistakenly project your feelings.
There a many different ways in which we do this:
1) We dislike some of the decisions a person had made in the past and automatically hyperinflation those few poor decisions into a judgement of their entire character and suddenly every thing they do and say must be taken in as bad a way as you can think of. (such as in the case of this video)
2) Upon first meeting someone they may do one small thing that was displeasing to you and suddenly you color everything they do with a tone of distaste.
3) Experiences of the past cause you to project your negative feelings of people who were once cruel to you upon others who remind you of them which prevents you from seeing these new people for who they truly are.
People are a myriad of complex emotions and decision making processes. It can be difficult to pick them apart and make heads or tails of what they mean, but neither should we simply jump to the negative. You can make a simple judgement when necessary but leave your heart open to change. Give humanity some wiggle room because we all know we've been on the giving and the receiving end of many of the scenarios above and no one's is perfect. We need not be overly trusting but neither should we be overly critical.
So to come full circle I'll share my simple feelings on the video above. Yes, he did not choose the best wording and it could easily be taken in an offensive manner. Yes, there were probably a myriad of different ways he could have approached the situation. But is this video racist? No i do not think it is. Yes it can be taken that way but based on the knowledge I have at my hands right now I choose to believe that that was not his INTENTION. So I choose not to be offended.
After all, if I took offense at every little comment that could possibly be construed that way I would be a pretty pissed off person.
But frankly I love life way too much to waste any of it going down that road ;)
-From My Heart To Yours
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