November 15th, 2021
There’s a deep pocket of people who believe that we are under attack, that we’re not allowed to say anything anymore because everyone is offended by everything. Some of those people are comedians, who evidently are not very good at their jobs. Some of them are people like your very racist Uncle Taylor.
We’re under attack, they say. You can’t say nothing, they say (because they care not for double negatives).
Never mind that the English language has thousands of words, and infinite configurations of those words, most of those combinations being offensive to exactly no one.
I saw a man on TV the other night who had zero arms. He taught himself how to shoot a bow and arrow with his feet, with more accuracy than most people have with their hands. He did everything with his feet. He ate dinner with them. He shook people’s hands with them.
Imagine being so fragile and closed-minded that instead of listening to others and being kind when it came to a few hurtful words and phrases, you took it as an infringement of your freedom, clearly misunderstanding what the word “freedom” even means.
Now imagine having no arms and seeing only a life of promise and opportunity.
We say dumb things all the time. I say “we” because I do, too. But I can also listen and learn and apologize and do better.
I’m tired. I’m tired of trying on the shoes of people who won’t even pretend to do the same. I think a lot of us are tired.
I’m tired of all these people with hands who can’t see all those fingers pointing right back at themselves.
The Den 