Hijacking Part 2

Explosion!

“Well, it looks like you white women living in small, predominately white communities are firmly entrenched in your beliefs that people of color should refrain from protesting - or save it for a time when and place that you don’t find inconvenient or threatening.  No hearts and minds can be changed here, so I’ll leave this sad conversation with a quote, ‘Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge... is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world.  It requires profound purpose larger than the self kind of understanding.’”

Yep, this was actually written.  This person accuses, the women, not the men who agreed with all of us, just the women, of being bigoted and racist.  Then, he says “you white women”.  Sexist?  I think so.  None of us said that we thought “people of color” should refrain from protesting.  We just don’t agree with it being at a football game.  And again, what about the white men who also commented on the post.  This person ignored them.  He must really hate women.

As for the kneeling being inconvenient or threatening?  No.  I simply disagreed with the venue.  Did I watch football that year?  Nope.  I didn’t want to be a part of the political debate of hate.  I also just lost my dad.  Between not being able to talk to him about the games and all the negative controversy, I found other things to do with my time.  In reality for me, it was a perfect time for all this to take place.  It was very convenient.  I was in mourning.

Now for the quote.  The words were written by Bill Bullard (which the person didn't sited on facebook), a former Dean of Faculty at a high school.  He was to give a graduation talk, but he ended up sick.  I read the speech.  Not bad.  And I don’t disagree.  Opinion is based on our perceptions of the world, many of which are an accumulation of our experiences.  My opinion is very military driven with a love of my county and my state and my faith.  And yes, I do come from a small town.  I know my opinion can be flawed, but so can other people’s opinion.  In fact, the person who hijacked the post was spewing his opinion as much as the rest of us.  He has no understanding of our patriotism.  He has no understanding of the military in regards to what my husband and I have been through.  The problem with this person is he doesn’t see his words as opinion and only points at others.

In Bill’s talk, he references George Eliot in saying the highest form of knowledge is empathy.  The “hijacker” claimed us white women from small town USA aren’t empathetic.  Hum, that is curious.  Yes, my heart breaks for those who have seen their loved ones brutalized.  However, when I see a salute in a picture, my mind automatically goes to my experiences in the military.  My heart breaks for spouses who have to bury their loved ones who have died in the line of duty, police officer and soldier alike.  My heart sympathizes with the soldiers who returned from war only to be slapped in the face by people kneeling during the National Anthem.  Yes, I do have empathy.  My empathy is just different from the hijacker.

The irony of all of this is that the hijacker grew up in small town America and is a white man filled with a lot of hateful rhetoric who now lives in the big city.  And yes, I am a white woman from a small town.  I am biased.  I do have opinions.  Really, he isn't much different.