A Hoodie, a Rainbow, and How to Be a Good Human

On respect

“But what if I don’t agree?” asked frog.

“Sometimes,” replied fox, “whether you agree or disagree is less important than how you do it and why.”

Thoughts to share
“Fag.”

We passed each other at Home Depot.

A father and his young son. And me.

Rounding a corner, I heard the word:

“Fag.”

At first, the word didn’t even register.

It was the disgusted way he said it:

“Fag.”

He spoke it as easily as you might say, “hi” or “good morning.”

Yet, his was an accusation:

“Fag.”

I was already walking down another aisle, before it registered.

I started to turn back, already rehearsing what I was going to say:

“What did you say?”
“I’m not gay, but what if I was?”
“What’s it matter to you?”
“How does it impact *you*?”

I was instantly angry. And it’s a feeling I’m not used to.

That’s when I replayed the look on his child’s face.

I had been looking at him when his dad said “fag.”

I saw fear, confusion.
I saw his grip tightening around the hand he held.

And that’s what stopped me from turning back. I regret that.

I stood there between air filters and sheet metal, myself confused. And sad and angry.

As Moby says, I’m a “run-of-the-mill, cisgender, heterosexual male.”

If I want to, I can take off the rainbow-colored jacket I was wearing.

But what about those who can’t…

…unzip their skin?
…change their DNA?
…pull a hoodie over their truth?

I’m guilty of passing snap judgements, say of big trucks with Trump stickers.

And it’s an ongoing learning for me:

- to not generalize.
- to ask rather than assume.
- to realize where fear + ignorance + privilege is guiding me.

And to remember I am not truly free to “take my jacket off” until we can all coexist, without hate, without harm, with equal protections and rights, no matter who we are.

What preconception or bias can you take a closer look at today?

#mobile #mcmdesign #hangingsculpture #sculpture #pride #abstractart #endhate #kineticart #endwar #together