Day 4 of....365?
The Big Idea behind this blog.
I'm trying to sum it up in a subtitle.
#1) "I can't spend all day on BLM, but I can do a little bit every single day"
This is true. I can't just work all the time. I can't spend 24/7 parenting my kids. I can't abandon my life to exclusively train for elite athletic competition. I can't spend all of my time on my hobbies (unfortunately!).
I can't do any of these things alone. But I can devote some time to them each day. Over the year, it adds up.
Sadly, there is not much poetry in this one. It's kind flat and contrived like a corporate mission statement. Or any other mission statement (I'm biased. I loathe mission statements and anything that smacks of a mission statement).
#2) Woke Diary
[*cringe*].
This is short and to-the-point. But there are a couple of things:
#1) It already presumes that I am completely "woke". Which no. I'm not. And I don't want to put myself out there as being "woke" because it's like saying "I'm perfect" and it invites people to set themselves to work tearing me down ("Oh YEAH? If your so woke then how come you were spending time brushing your teeth this morning instead of protesting against systemic racial oppression, HUH?")
#2) "Woke Diary" screams "Virtue Signaling". Which is not what this project is about. If I wanted to do a virtue signal, I could just create a bunch of cool BLM paintings, post them on Insta, and walk away with a smug look on my face.
I want want to take longer, go deeper, and do more work.
#3) I'm trying to be a better ally.
This is good. It's about self improvement. It's not about being perfect. This is even better:
#4) I'm trying to be a better ally, but I've still got a long ways to go.
Hmm. Maybe deep down I'm just being another stereotypical performative white guy, but this sounds close to what I'm trying to do and where I'm trying to end up.
This next one is even better, except that now it's getting way too long:
#5) I'm trying to become a better ally by doing some kind of work every single day, but I've still got a long way to go.
Yeah, that's hardly a slogan. More like a speech. It doesn't have the quick pizazz of "Coke Adds Life" or "Think Different".
On that note "Woke Diary" has that kind of punch, but "Woke Diary" is too ugly and too arrogant.
I mean, "Eat Shit" also has a quick punch but...no.
I'm going to go with #4.
*
Tonight's movie: "When They See Us" chapter one. 60 minutes.
Brutal, brutal stuff.
Strange for a guy who doesn't like to watch TV, let alone uncomfortable TV, to take a deep dive into this particular horror. But, I'm here to learn the hard uncomfortable truths.
There was no DNA forensics in 1989. Not many security cameras. None of these kids had a cell phone that was tracking their every move. They were railroaded and screwed over. And this happened while I was about 21 - 22 years old.
I remember the rough details. And I remember a black friend of mine saying that he hated these kids. HATED these kids for making it seem like all black men were animals.
And it was all fake. The kids did nothing wrong.
Sickening.
The criminal justice system needs reform. Not just the cops. The courts. The parole boards. The prisons. The mental health workers. All of it.
I do not have the answers. I only have a thin grasp of the questions.
But there are answers. Somewhere out there, there are answers.
I'm trying to sum it up in a subtitle.
#1) "I can't spend all day on BLM, but I can do a little bit every single day"
This is true. I can't just work all the time. I can't spend 24/7 parenting my kids. I can't abandon my life to exclusively train for elite athletic competition. I can't spend all of my time on my hobbies (unfortunately!).
I can't do any of these things alone. But I can devote some time to them each day. Over the year, it adds up.
Sadly, there is not much poetry in this one. It's kind flat and contrived like a corporate mission statement. Or any other mission statement (I'm biased. I loathe mission statements and anything that smacks of a mission statement).
#2) Woke Diary
[*cringe*].
This is short and to-the-point. But there are a couple of things:
#1) It already presumes that I am completely "woke". Which no. I'm not. And I don't want to put myself out there as being "woke" because it's like saying "I'm perfect" and it invites people to set themselves to work tearing me down ("Oh YEAH? If your so woke then how come you were spending time brushing your teeth this morning instead of protesting against systemic racial oppression, HUH?")
#2) "Woke Diary" screams "Virtue Signaling". Which is not what this project is about. If I wanted to do a virtue signal, I could just create a bunch of cool BLM paintings, post them on Insta, and walk away with a smug look on my face.
I want want to take longer, go deeper, and do more work.
#3) I'm trying to be a better ally.
This is good. It's about self improvement. It's not about being perfect. This is even better:
#4) I'm trying to be a better ally, but I've still got a long ways to go.
Hmm. Maybe deep down I'm just being another stereotypical performative white guy, but this sounds close to what I'm trying to do and where I'm trying to end up.
This next one is even better, except that now it's getting way too long:
#5) I'm trying to become a better ally by doing some kind of work every single day, but I've still got a long way to go.
Yeah, that's hardly a slogan. More like a speech. It doesn't have the quick pizazz of "Coke Adds Life" or "Think Different".
On that note "Woke Diary" has that kind of punch, but "Woke Diary" is too ugly and too arrogant.
I mean, "Eat Shit" also has a quick punch but...no.
I'm going to go with #4.
*
Tonight's movie: "When They See Us" chapter one. 60 minutes.
Brutal, brutal stuff.
Strange for a guy who doesn't like to watch TV, let alone uncomfortable TV, to take a deep dive into this particular horror. But, I'm here to learn the hard uncomfortable truths.
There was no DNA forensics in 1989. Not many security cameras. None of these kids had a cell phone that was tracking their every move. They were railroaded and screwed over. And this happened while I was about 21 - 22 years old.
I remember the rough details. And I remember a black friend of mine saying that he hated these kids. HATED these kids for making it seem like all black men were animals.
And it was all fake. The kids did nothing wrong.
Sickening.
The criminal justice system needs reform. Not just the cops. The courts. The parole boards. The prisons. The mental health workers. All of it.
I do not have the answers. I only have a thin grasp of the questions.
But there are answers. Somewhere out there, there are answers.
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