Saturday, June 13, 2020
Up at 6:45 to draft a few Grandudes scenes before meeting with Chris at 10:30. But before 10:30, I wanted to respond to a couple of texts received yesterday that were part of a group text involving 20 people, many I don't know whose only info are their phone numbers. I think my friend Jamil may have created this text string. I'm not sure. At any rate, a day or two ago the 6-minute video featuring Kimberly Jones was sent on this group text.
One text said this: "I understand her point. But burning and looting are not going to resolve the issues. That frustration and rage being vented. After the riots the problems still exist. It doe force those in charge to look for solutions. Unfortunately we've been down this road so many times in the past. Hope this time some real change will occur."
A second text said this: "I agree with Larry. There's no justification for looting. It not only provides a rationale for maintaining police forces, it results in the destruction or damage of innocent businesses and their owners. How can the police be defunded when the survival of busInesses in our inner cities is threatened by looters and other people who want to burn them down? Ironically, many of the businesses that were destroyed are owned by people of color who can least afford to recover from that damage. I saw a photo of a female looter leaving a Victoria's Secret with about 30 bras in her arms. No one can credibly argue that she "needed" all of those bras. The looters are plain and simply selfish and irresponsible opportunists who are undermining the legitimate messages of the protesters"
I admit, I was annoyed. I drafted a response to this that wasn't very nice. Then I toned it down a bit and tried to make things less personal (hard to do, unfortunately...old habits die a slow death). Still, my words still held a lot of sting. I wanted them to.
I wrote this: "Michael Hagan here...looting and rioting focuses on the what (what are they doing?). What about the why (why are they doing it?)? Kimberly Jones effectively articulates in six minutes an economics lesson about America from the Black American perspective. Rather than targeting the conversation on the what (i.e., looters stealing bras), a more challenging and compelling conversation might be gained from Kimberly Jones's focus on the why. Her Monopoly analogy illustrates the consequences of her premise that "Economics was the reason that black people were brought to this country." She is critiquing an economic system that from her perspective is "a fixed game" in which implicit social contracts between Black Americans and America itself is broken. She is questioning why people that poor, that broke, that food and clothing insecure loot and riot. Rioters destory and looters take. I don't riot and I don't loot, in part because I don't need to. I'm good with how things are. I have no issues with Target. The system has my back. The game works just fine for me. But Kimberly Jones is not speaking for me. She is speaking for those who are beyond fine, who are shunned and ignored from a system that does not have their back. She is going deep into the core of American history and bringing to the surface some bitter, awful, ugly truths that we as Americans must finally confront. We can't hide behind looted bras this time, America. I suggest another listen to Kimberly Jones's economics lesson. However, if you really want to focus the conversation on looting and rioting, sure, we can do that. Let's talk about Tulsa. Let's talk about Rosewood. Let's talk about the origins of our American economic system, along with centuries upon centuries of the looting and rioting that history has recorded throughout the African continent. If that's where you want to go, let's have that conversation. I'm in! But I'd much rather focus on the heart of the matter. The why."
Almost immediately, someone responded, "Can I be removed frmo this thread plz?"
I'm finding my purpose in all this. I'm finding my voice. I'm the white guy who puts pressure on white people, not with a chainsaw, but with a wooden Board of Education paddle. I'm the sheep farmer moving sheep from one sheep pen to the proper sheep pen, called, apparently, the "Authentic Allyship" pen (just learned that term today (see pic).
No one likes to leave a comfortable pen, espeically white Americans.
Anyway, met with Chris at 10:30 and we FaceTimed until 12:30 about Grandudes and the state of the world. Our Grandudes rewrite is really coming along. I'm enjoying it and love where it's going.
Our Thursday night Zoom sessions with the Petty family are really getting interesting. Work is really getting interesting. Our upcoming Wednesday afternoon Town Meeting will be one of the more charged and compelling Town Meetings the firm will have, I'm guessing.
It's the afternoon and I'm planning to catch up on this journal, read, revise a few more Grandudes scenes, then call it a day.
Up at 6:45 to draft a few Grandudes scenes before meeting with Chris at 10:30. But before 10:30, I wanted to respond to a couple of texts received yesterday that were part of a group text involving 20 people, many I don't know whose only info are their phone numbers. I think my friend Jamil may have created this text string. I'm not sure. At any rate, a day or two ago the 6-minute video featuring Kimberly Jones was sent on this group text.
One text said this: "I understand her point. But burning and looting are not going to resolve the issues. That frustration and rage being vented. After the riots the problems still exist. It doe force those in charge to look for solutions. Unfortunately we've been down this road so many times in the past. Hope this time some real change will occur."
A second text said this: "I agree with Larry. There's no justification for looting. It not only provides a rationale for maintaining police forces, it results in the destruction or damage of innocent businesses and their owners. How can the police be defunded when the survival of busInesses in our inner cities is threatened by looters and other people who want to burn them down? Ironically, many of the businesses that were destroyed are owned by people of color who can least afford to recover from that damage. I saw a photo of a female looter leaving a Victoria's Secret with about 30 bras in her arms. No one can credibly argue that she "needed" all of those bras. The looters are plain and simply selfish and irresponsible opportunists who are undermining the legitimate messages of the protesters"
I admit, I was annoyed. I drafted a response to this that wasn't very nice. Then I toned it down a bit and tried to make things less personal (hard to do, unfortunately...old habits die a slow death). Still, my words still held a lot of sting. I wanted them to.
I wrote this: "Michael Hagan here...looting and rioting focuses on the what (what are they doing?). What about the why (why are they doing it?)? Kimberly Jones effectively articulates in six minutes an economics lesson about America from the Black American perspective. Rather than targeting the conversation on the what (i.e., looters stealing bras), a more challenging and compelling conversation might be gained from Kimberly Jones's focus on the why. Her Monopoly analogy illustrates the consequences of her premise that "Economics was the reason that black people were brought to this country." She is critiquing an economic system that from her perspective is "a fixed game" in which implicit social contracts between Black Americans and America itself is broken. She is questioning why people that poor, that broke, that food and clothing insecure loot and riot. Rioters destory and looters take. I don't riot and I don't loot, in part because I don't need to. I'm good with how things are. I have no issues with Target. The system has my back. The game works just fine for me. But Kimberly Jones is not speaking for me. She is speaking for those who are beyond fine, who are shunned and ignored from a system that does not have their back. She is going deep into the core of American history and bringing to the surface some bitter, awful, ugly truths that we as Americans must finally confront. We can't hide behind looted bras this time, America. I suggest another listen to Kimberly Jones's economics lesson. However, if you really want to focus the conversation on looting and rioting, sure, we can do that. Let's talk about Tulsa. Let's talk about Rosewood. Let's talk about the origins of our American economic system, along with centuries upon centuries of the looting and rioting that history has recorded throughout the African continent. If that's where you want to go, let's have that conversation. I'm in! But I'd much rather focus on the heart of the matter. The why."
Almost immediately, someone responded, "Can I be removed frmo this thread plz?"
I'm finding my purpose in all this. I'm finding my voice. I'm the white guy who puts pressure on white people, not with a chainsaw, but with a wooden Board of Education paddle. I'm the sheep farmer moving sheep from one sheep pen to the proper sheep pen, called, apparently, the "Authentic Allyship" pen (just learned that term today (see pic).
 |
| I got this from Margaret Grimsley |
No one likes to leave a comfortable pen, espeically white Americans.
Anyway, met with Chris at 10:30 and we FaceTimed until 12:30 about Grandudes and the state of the world. Our Grandudes rewrite is really coming along. I'm enjoying it and love where it's going.
Our Thursday night Zoom sessions with the Petty family are really getting interesting. Work is really getting interesting. Our upcoming Wednesday afternoon Town Meeting will be one of the more charged and compelling Town Meetings the firm will have, I'm guessing.
It's the afternoon and I'm planning to catch up on this journal, read, revise a few more Grandudes scenes, then call it a day.
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