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Enough is Enough is Enough

After looking at the events at the capitol, you have to ask why. Why are there people this upset? Why did they resort to a peaceful protest on the capitol? Yes, there were a small faction, less than 100, that went to violence. But most were there in disgust of how the election went down. There were obvious activities taking place that caused everyone to question the validity of the election.

For starters, never, in the history of our country has an election just “paused” and then resumed hours later like GA… only to yield thousands of votes that just “appeared” for only one candidate. That’s statistically impossible. This is obvious. Then there’s the truck driver in PA that was carrying blank ballots that were later “counted”.

There are more but let’s stick to the point. The point is that in our nation’s history, when a group of people felt oppressed, they spoke out. If they felt they weren’t heard, they speak louder. Then they turn to protests. Let’s not forget what happened in MN over the summer that sparked many violent acts and some peaceful protests along the way. I have a friend that supports BLM that said he went to Nashville for a peaceful protest and everyone he saw there left at the same time. Only later did the violence occur. Meaning, that an entire group wasn’t responsible for the nonsense of a small faction of that group. So, we can’t hold the entire #MAGA group responsible for what these few idiots did either. And certainly not Trump. He actually spoke against violence of any kind. And his speech never even got in the zip code of meeting the Brandenburg vs Ohio test.

It was once black people. It was once women. It was once LGBT. They spoke out against the oppression and didn’t feel as thought they were heard. So they protested. They stayed angry at the situation. In most cases, it stayed peaceful.

Four people die. Zero businesses destroyed. This is considered a riot

Now insert conservatives/republicans. They’ve been called every name in the book. Been made to feel inferior. Called racist with no evidence or base to the claim. Been told that being white is automatically a sin. Was told that being a male makes you toxic by nature. Written off as conspiracy theorists only to find total validity in such theories, such as Biden’s connection to China or the made-up allegations against Trump (ALL of which were proven false). As I’m writing this, I’m reminded of how many small, locally owned businesses were completely destroyed and it was consistently called “protests” by the media, but around 100 white punks (who deserve to be in prison) storm the capitol and it’s called “riots”. This is obvious. The media isn’t even trying to hide their disgust for all things conservative. Same goes for Hollywood and secondary education. Conservatives are the extreme minority that is tired of not being listened to and sick of being treated so poorly.

At some point, those people stand up and say, and I quote Joe Biden, “enough is enough is enough.” Yes, Mr. Biden, enough is enough. Enough kicking republican voter location workers out without explanation while the democrat workers stay and count alone. Enough mail-in voting that has proven to be an easy device for fraud (absentee is different, they’re requested first and validated by voter ID). Enough writing someone off solely based on their party affiliation.

Twenty-five people die. 1500 businesses destroyed. This is considered a peaceful protest

Have both sides done this? Of course they have. This is why blind tribalism is a total cancer that is eating our country. Democrats have objected to the last three GOP presidents. Democrats said to go ahead and appoint a SCOTUS before election in 2016 and don’t wait. Democrats supported the protests and refuse to condemn the violent looting and destroying of local businesses, citing that sometimes this is the only way to get the attention of the difference makers.

Now all of the sudden the GOP does these exact same things and it’s all of the sudden atrocious. Well the “deplorables” have had enough. They have watched as the so-called leaders of our country trample on the 1st, 5th and 14th amendments and absolutely spit on the separation of powers while basically saying, “What are you going to do about it?”

Did Trump cause this? Partially, yes. Obama? partially yes. These two presidents had an opportunity to unify the country and only did more to divide it. Part of their job is the set the tone for the nation. Trump never accepted that role. He just made brilliant business moves and got the country back on a very good fiscal track while tweeting the dumbest and most antagonizing things ever. No tone set. Obama set the tone that cops are racist and white people should pay. As a result, we see what we see. If you truly believe that one of these presidents did NOT divide our country, you, my friend, are guilty of Tribalism at the worst degree. Anyone paying attention would agree that BOTH of these presidents divided our country, unless you’re blinded by tribalism.

What is the solution? END TRIBALISM. Also, A third and fourth party being treated as equals. It can never happen as long as super-pacs are allowed. But its’ vital. We have to have leaders that speak up against the nonsense of their own parties, to call out the hypocrisy within the party. We have to have leaders that seek to truly bring unity. To support both the LEO’s and black citizens. Not vilify either.

When the sudden exodus to Parler came, you have to ask yourself why a large group of people would do that. Why would they leave the most popular format on the planet for something else? Are THAT many people just “stupid”? Of course not. Then why? Because they are being mistreated. Again, does this go both ways? Of course. Liberals are often mistreated by conservatives as well. Usually for no reason. Making comments like “dumb libtards don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground” by the right or “hope Parler lets you find FreeDumb!” by the left does nothing but further divide. It gets us nowhere.

If you want to be part of the solution, shake off your blind tribalistic allegiance to party and only support other Americans. We all want to get to the same destination. We just have different ideas of how to get there. If conservatives aren’t treated better, if the constitution isn’t treated better, if the 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 14th amendments continue to be under attack, and separation of powers is routinely ignored, a live-action reenactment of the Boston Tea Party will take place. This can be avoided, but unity and understanding must take place. And that can only happen if you seek to understand a person with an opinion other than your own. This goes for Conservatives AND Liberals!

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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Facts AND Feelings

I woke up yesterday morning feeling like someone had hit me across my face with a frying pan… but I hadn’t done anything physical to cause that. I woke up feeling an enormous amount of stress, weight and burden… but there were no reasons, currently, in my life to feel that way. But let me back up and explain why I woke up feeling that way.

You see, my whole life I’ve had something that some may call a blessing but I call a curse. I’m extremely observant and as a result, I’m able to insert myself into someone’s life emotionally. I can feel what they feel even if I haven’t experienced it before. I can sense what they are going through even if I have never gone through it before myself. Then it hit me, THIS is what Jesus felt like all the time.

He saw Matthew where he was. He saw Zacchaeus where he was. He saw Mary and the hurt she was dealing with. He saw the adulterer and the shame she felt. And He felt it ALL.

I’ve wrestled my whole life with the dichotomy of my analytical brain and my ability to feel.  Part of me wants to rely solely on facts. In fact, most of me wants to rely solely on facts. They are much more reliable than feelings. But there’s a part of me that can’t hide nor deny that impact of how I feel or how others feel.

The facts of the recent George Floyd case suggest a few things. Another angry man who was given power abused that power and ended the life of someone else. The facts in our country show that every man and woman in 2020 have the same opportunity to be successful. The same opportunity to get a good job. To go to college.

The facts show that, according to Larry Elder, Coleman Hughes, and Thomas Sowell, the number one problem in America, both black and white, is fatherless homes. That the incentives put in place in the 60’s to receive government assistance as long as there is no man in the home, single-handedly caused a spike in fatherless homes. Bringing that number from 25% of black children born in fatherless homes in the 60’s to 75% today. Bringing that number from 8% of white children born to fatherless homes to 25% today.

The facts show that the cop who held his knee down on Floyd wrongfully was abruptly fired the next day and approximately 2 days later was arrested. The exact protocol for anyone in occupations where fatalities are a regular part of the job-EMT, police, fire fighter, military. But STILL, there were protests, riots, and looting. There was still anger. There was still extreme pain. But why? The man that did wrong was held accountable. None of this made any sense to my analytical brain. But I still woke up FEELING the way I did. How is that?

A couple of years ago, my wife once told me how she was feeling about certain people in our life. I just knew that her feeling was wrong and unfounded. And my first reaction was to sling facts at her to prove my point. To be right (BTW- in marriage, a man can be happy or he can be right, but he can’t be both. Ha!). She didn’t feel any better. The primary reason was because I hadn’t listened to her. I heard her speak but I didn’t listen. There’s a difference. Once I stopped trying to be right and LISTENED, We got somewhere. Something else happened, I found that, in a way, she was right. So my facts were subjected to the WHOLE truth, which included feelings.

So what does that mean to us? No matter the race, the gender, the occupation, the whole story will always consist of two parts… FACTS AND FEELINGS. You really can’t have one without the other. I’m a big fan of the statement, “Facts don’t care about your feelings”, but I do! It’s true, facts are just facts. But I care about your feelings. It’s part of the story… part of your story.

The emotion of what happened to many black people’s grandparents is still very real. The feeling of what happened to young black men growing up is very real. Should we all be following the law and doing as law enforcement says when approached? Of course. But no one deserves to die over small issues and when something like that happens, it’s like the entire country takes a huge step backwards. The emotion of our nation’s past rises up… then we’re left with a decision. Start throwing facts… or start listening.

From watching all of the peaceful protests closely, I can tell you there was a theme. LISTEN. They want to be heard. I can also tell you from being married there’s a theme… LISTEN… she wants to be heard.

I’ve found that if I will just listen first and react or respond after, truly listen, I will have a much more compassionate response to what I’m hearing from my wife. And as a result, she will be quicker to hear me out. This applies to all walks of life. “It’s not what you’re saying, it’s how you’re saying it!” I’ve heard that a lot from my wife.

So as I woke up yesterday feeling the weight of the world, I finally realized why. I’m feeling all of the people that just want to be heard, peacefully. If there was ever a time to listen first and respond later, it’s 2020. The whole story cannot be told by facts alone. Feelings are valid and help tell the whole story. Every black person I know cares about white lives. Every white person I know cares about black lives. For the first time, I stopped slinging facts and listened. I then realized that “Black Lives Matter” meant that they want to be heard. No one will listen to your facts until you’ve listened to their feelings. I challenge you to start listening to someone that doesn’t look like you. Sit down for a coffee, a meal, and listen to what they have to say with an open mind. It’s the only way we bridge the gap that clearly exists.

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger