Important to Have Humanized

There’s a bunch of newly minted eighth graders out there.  They just had pizza.  Now they’ve moved my bass amp into the middle room and are cranking tunes from their iPhone into the speaker.  When they heard how loud it could go they were so psyched.  High fives all around.  One of the young lady’s name reminded me of a song I knew, which calls out her name and says: “spirit of the moon.”  I found it.  She liked it.  Then my little one told me it was time to leave.  “See ya dad.” 

No matter how many times you find something new, the Jamaican period you realize you’ve only just cast another sand grain on the pile.  The island has world’s most recorded population, per capita, it has claimed certainly for the decades before smart phones when people pressed vinyl records.  I have been slowly adding to Youtube mix, inspired by the D.J. Trouble from WFMU.  She leads me places that yield additional discoveries like “Sister Nancy” of Jamaica whom I’ve heard of before.   This mix has moved on to the Billy Boyo stereotype-busting ditty “One Spliff A Day.”  He looks to be (or have been) about eleven. 

Watched a disturbing video this morning that was linked from Slate.  After reading so many articles and watching brief clips Charlottesville, it was interesting to watch Vice and see this very brave young woman, Elle Reeve embed and interview the white supremacists, focusing for much of the time with a group leader, Chris Cantwell. This person in particular is enervating but important to have humanized.   There it is, the challenge of changing a mind like that.  How can one remove the veil from his eyes?  What a daunting challenge to consider changing this person’s mind. How brave MLK and that generation were to fight against this perception not as a fringe but as an absolute norm.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIrcB1sAN8I

There is half an uneaten pizza in the other room.  Hawaiian I suppose.  That will likely be it for this evening’s dinner.  Suddenly my wife informs me that another pair of parents are here.  I am needed out in the living room.  I’ll have to wait for that piece of pizza.  These people have all, already eaten. 

Friday, 8/19/17