Superbowl BS
I have had a lot on my mind this weekend/week. A friend of ours, who was just 38 years old, passed away on Friday night. I can't imagine the pain, shock, and frustration that her family must be experiencing right now. I was speechless when I heard about her passing. I have to be honest that I had a hard time accepting the truth from her when I was going through a tough time. However, being the amazing and patient person that she was, she was forgiving, understanding, and supportive during one of the toughest times in my life. I will forever be grateful to her for that.
Due to this news occurring prior to the Superbowl and its multitude of controversy, I have just looked at things from a unique perspective. I have seen a plethora of hateful Facebook statuses and media coverage as well as positive messages and support for the events of the Superbowl...I am referring both to the halftime show and Cam Newton's reaction to the loss. The messages of hate regarding the "gay-"ness of the halftime show and the disgust of Beyonce's "black panther references" have just really perturbed me. I truly wish that we could all just get along. I am tired of these rifts in our culture and our society. I don't understand why everyone is so quick to hate on other people for their lifestyle choices or their opinions. There is a skill that my Quest students are learning called "agree to disagree." I think so many adults have forgotten that this is an option. We don't have to hate each other simply because someone lives or believes differently than we do. I'm not saying you have to agree with it either, but you can damn sure be civil to one another regardless of the argument.
I am disgusted that people could still hate others for being gay or black or Asian or Jewish or any other ridiculous reason people choose to use as a source of hate. Judging someone else is God's job and we all need to be a little less nasty to each other. I liked the halftime show at the Superbowl and I was intrigued by Beyonce's song and her performance. I just watched the video for her song Formation this evening. I will be honest, I don't "get" everything in the video, but what I did see was a strong woman being proud of her heritage and her upbringing who wanted people to understand that even though she's had hardships and prejudice to overcome, she has worked hard and "slayed" to become successful. I can't imagine why anyone could hate her for expressing that. I think her message was that we all need to be a bit more understanding of one another...I can't speak on her Red Lobster lines...those were a little out of my realm of understanding; however, I think she was brave to express herself through her art. I don't think there is one thing wrong with trying to bring awareness to the fact that there have been some pretty horrible situations that have occurred between the police and the African American citizens in the U.S. Regardless of whether you agree, statistics would show you that this discrepancy exists (http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet). Awareness is the first step in trying to solve the problem and I think that any artist who can push us to the point of awareness and conversation is doing a good thing.
Alright, moving on. I have heard so much backlash about Cam Newton's reaction to his loss as well. I saw his quote today about how if you're a good loser then you're just a loser. While I don't agree with this statement, I do appreciate the fact that he's being real. He was upset and he was disappointed in himself and his team. That's a touchy place to be when you're in the public eye.
I'll be honest, there was a time in college when I was an incredibly sore loser. I had run for president of my sorority and was incredibly upset and disappointed that my executive board did not back me as the candidate they'd vote for. I declined to continue running and was very bitter about it. I did not handle it well and I regret that. Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, when the sting is really fresh, you say and do things before thinking it through. That doesn't make it right or wrong, but it does make it real. He is a young quarterback who is still finding his way. I have a feeling that one day he will look back on this and think that he could have handled it better...or maybe he won't. I just think that criticizing him incessantly is not going to help him improve his current situation. It's going to make him that much more frustrated. Give him a minute to process things. Talk to him next week or next month or next season and see where his head is. STOP JUDGING how you would feel in that situation and just acknowledge that everyone sees things differently and reacts to things differently. I'm completely serious: can't we all just get along? Alright, I'm getting off my soapbox now. I just hope we can all spread a little more positivity and a bit less hate.
Due to this news occurring prior to the Superbowl and its multitude of controversy, I have just looked at things from a unique perspective. I have seen a plethora of hateful Facebook statuses and media coverage as well as positive messages and support for the events of the Superbowl...I am referring both to the halftime show and Cam Newton's reaction to the loss. The messages of hate regarding the "gay-"ness of the halftime show and the disgust of Beyonce's "black panther references" have just really perturbed me. I truly wish that we could all just get along. I am tired of these rifts in our culture and our society. I don't understand why everyone is so quick to hate on other people for their lifestyle choices or their opinions. There is a skill that my Quest students are learning called "agree to disagree." I think so many adults have forgotten that this is an option. We don't have to hate each other simply because someone lives or believes differently than we do. I'm not saying you have to agree with it either, but you can damn sure be civil to one another regardless of the argument.
I am disgusted that people could still hate others for being gay or black or Asian or Jewish or any other ridiculous reason people choose to use as a source of hate. Judging someone else is God's job and we all need to be a little less nasty to each other. I liked the halftime show at the Superbowl and I was intrigued by Beyonce's song and her performance. I just watched the video for her song Formation this evening. I will be honest, I don't "get" everything in the video, but what I did see was a strong woman being proud of her heritage and her upbringing who wanted people to understand that even though she's had hardships and prejudice to overcome, she has worked hard and "slayed" to become successful. I can't imagine why anyone could hate her for expressing that. I think her message was that we all need to be a bit more understanding of one another...I can't speak on her Red Lobster lines...those were a little out of my realm of understanding; however, I think she was brave to express herself through her art. I don't think there is one thing wrong with trying to bring awareness to the fact that there have been some pretty horrible situations that have occurred between the police and the African American citizens in the U.S. Regardless of whether you agree, statistics would show you that this discrepancy exists (http://www.naacp.org/pages/criminal-justice-fact-sheet). Awareness is the first step in trying to solve the problem and I think that any artist who can push us to the point of awareness and conversation is doing a good thing.
Alright, moving on. I have heard so much backlash about Cam Newton's reaction to his loss as well. I saw his quote today about how if you're a good loser then you're just a loser. While I don't agree with this statement, I do appreciate the fact that he's being real. He was upset and he was disappointed in himself and his team. That's a touchy place to be when you're in the public eye.
I'll be honest, there was a time in college when I was an incredibly sore loser. I had run for president of my sorority and was incredibly upset and disappointed that my executive board did not back me as the candidate they'd vote for. I declined to continue running and was very bitter about it. I did not handle it well and I regret that. Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, when the sting is really fresh, you say and do things before thinking it through. That doesn't make it right or wrong, but it does make it real. He is a young quarterback who is still finding his way. I have a feeling that one day he will look back on this and think that he could have handled it better...or maybe he won't. I just think that criticizing him incessantly is not going to help him improve his current situation. It's going to make him that much more frustrated. Give him a minute to process things. Talk to him next week or next month or next season and see where his head is. STOP JUDGING how you would feel in that situation and just acknowledge that everyone sees things differently and reacts to things differently. I'm completely serious: can't we all just get along? Alright, I'm getting off my soapbox now. I just hope we can all spread a little more positivity and a bit less hate.
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