Like many, I'm troubled by the recent events that have surrounded the Trayvon Martin case. I caught wind of the story when Anderson Cooper covered it on AC360 a few weeks ago. Shortly after that, I read and re-posted a moving open letter written to Trayvon Martin as a sign of solidarity and outrage over the killing and clear lack of justice in the case.
Over the course of the next several weeks, I watched as Trayvon's death drew more attention and outrage. Like many people, I was amazed by the evidence against the shooter and stunned by the fact that this man had no charges pending against him. I cheered on as people gathered in hooded protest over the death of this young man, and waited with baited breath to see George Zimmerman brought to justice.
Several more weeks have passed and we have witnessed ongoing cries from Trayvon's parents, politicians, and media personalities to see justice served. We have also learned a bit more about the complexities of the case, the apparent eye witness accounts, and details regarding the pasts of both Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and other celebrities have taken up the cause and we watch as people continue to march in hooded protest. The New Black Panthers have put a bounty on the head of the shooter; and apparently Spike Lee thought he would help them by posting what he believed to be the address of Mr Zimmerman on twitter. More details emerge, and yet, there is a growing confusion surrounding this case. As we all learn more, we are being faced with decisions about what to believe and how to allow our perspectives to be shaped.
My own unraveling began days after posting the open letter written by Travon Free. I was surprised to find that the shooter whom Mr. Free and other media outlets referred to as a white man, was in fact Hispanic. I really started to panic when I watched a news story analyzing the audio of the shooters alleged racial slurs. The reporter along with an audio expert played the audio back in a variety of ways and found it to be completely inconclusive. I remember standing in front of my television, mouth wide open in disbelief. I had a sinking feeling we had all been duped. I wasn't sure why, but a number of things no longer added up for me. More than anything, I was humbled by my own weakness and propensity toward mass hysteria and judgment. I swallowed what I had been handed and allowed myself to be swept up in a storm of emotion. I had become a small part of the larger insanity that had let loose in this country- the court of public opinion.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Why
I find myself wondering why lately. Why did I start Food For Thought? What compelled me to take on such a broad and potentially stressful exercise? I read my first blog post looking for that answer. I will admit, I have lost a degree of inspiration since that initial post. The past year has been full of challenges. After doing the usual household things and chasing after my toddlers all day; the last thing I have energy for is brushing up on current events, researching them from a number of different perspectives, blogging, and setting up group dinners.
If I spend enough time in the world of media I grow weary. I lose sight of my belief that most people are capable of thoughtful and respectful discussion. I lose heart. And that's why I have decided to take on a community dinner every 4-6 weeks for the next 6 months.
I believe that as people, we all desire community. Community that spans beyond a Facebook page or twitter hash tag; one that bleeds out into the messy and time consuming realities of life. We long for meaningful discussions. We long for respect and understanding. But we have lost our way in this maze of social media and the anonymity of Internet "community".
So while I may not be able to host the perfect blog and spend countless hours in research and writing, I can host the dinners. And that's the point, isn't it? To gather together, engage others, break bread, and share in human interaction.
I say let the human interaction begin.
If I spend enough time in the world of media I grow weary. I lose sight of my belief that most people are capable of thoughtful and respectful discussion. I lose heart. And that's why I have decided to take on a community dinner every 4-6 weeks for the next 6 months.
I believe that as people, we all desire community. Community that spans beyond a Facebook page or twitter hash tag; one that bleeds out into the messy and time consuming realities of life. We long for meaningful discussions. We long for respect and understanding. But we have lost our way in this maze of social media and the anonymity of Internet "community".
So while I may not be able to host the perfect blog and spend countless hours in research and writing, I can host the dinners. And that's the point, isn't it? To gather together, engage others, break bread, and share in human interaction.
I say let the human interaction begin.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Guns In America
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
It was early Janury when I sat down to prepare for my next series of Food For Thought dinner parties. As I mapped out topic ideas and food pairings, I was confronted by an enormous elephant in the room. I will call it my "Guns in America Elephant". Though it seemed like such an obvious topic for our next event, I didn't want to consider it. We were on the heels of the devastating school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary, and I told myself people were not ready for this topic. It was too divisive, too emotional, and far too complex to take on.
As I scoured the internet looking for information and inspiration for other topics, I couldn't get away from it. I couldn't go on Facebook, turn on the television or radio, or have a discussion without it coming up in some way. In true elephant form- it was enormous and weighty and inconveniently planted smack dab in the middle of American thought and conscience. As much as I tried- I just couldn't move it.
Despite and in light of all of this, Guns in America became the first dinner topic for 2013. I took a deep breath as I posted the announcement onto our Facebook page, and then I waited.
CRICKETS
If we're honest, most of us have opinions about guns in this country. While all of us were unified in horror over the massacre at Sandy Hook; we were equally divided by what we thought were the right "solutions" to prevent this from happening again. We heard arguments like "we should have armed security guards in schools", "we need to ban guns in this country", "we need far better restrictions on the who and what of gun purchases", and the list goes on.
So as I sat and waited for people to sign up for this dinner, I had to ask some questions. If most of us have opinions on this topic, and many of us would agree this is an incredibly important issue, why then was I finding it so difficult to pull together a group of people who wanted to discuss this? And why did I have a pit in my stomach every time I thought about the upcoming dinner?
It was early Janury when I sat down to prepare for my next series of Food For Thought dinner parties. As I mapped out topic ideas and food pairings, I was confronted by an enormous elephant in the room. I will call it my "Guns in America Elephant". Though it seemed like such an obvious topic for our next event, I didn't want to consider it. We were on the heels of the devastating school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary, and I told myself people were not ready for this topic. It was too divisive, too emotional, and far too complex to take on.
As I scoured the internet looking for information and inspiration for other topics, I couldn't get away from it. I couldn't go on Facebook, turn on the television or radio, or have a discussion without it coming up in some way. In true elephant form- it was enormous and weighty and inconveniently planted smack dab in the middle of American thought and conscience. As much as I tried- I just couldn't move it.
Despite and in light of all of this, Guns in America became the first dinner topic for 2013. I took a deep breath as I posted the announcement onto our Facebook page, and then I waited.
CRICKETS
If we're honest, most of us have opinions about guns in this country. While all of us were unified in horror over the massacre at Sandy Hook; we were equally divided by what we thought were the right "solutions" to prevent this from happening again. We heard arguments like "we should have armed security guards in schools", "we need to ban guns in this country", "we need far better restrictions on the who and what of gun purchases", and the list goes on.
So as I sat and waited for people to sign up for this dinner, I had to ask some questions. If most of us have opinions on this topic, and many of us would agree this is an incredibly important issue, why then was I finding it so difficult to pull together a group of people who wanted to discuss this? And why did I have a pit in my stomach every time I thought about the upcoming dinner?
Here's why. This is an important topic. It involves life and death, good and evil, right and wrong. This is also one of the most heavily politicized debates in our country. Depending on the media outlet you get your information from- the opposition is shaped and viewed as either evil, ignorant, and greedy pawns of the gun lobby; or tree hugging, naive, and misinformed pawns of a government who wants to take away as many civil liberties as it can.
We were all exhausted by the media coverage, the rhetoric, the endless array of memes on social media, and the "statistics" that seemed to support just about any idea on any side of the issue. Not only was it was exhausting trying to navigate things in a responsible manner; it had been next to impossible to wade through media agendas, gather credible data, and make what resembled a well informed opinion at the end of it all.
With all of this in mind, it made perfect sense that people would have rather had their teeth extracted (myself included) than sit a table with a group of people and have what could only result in a politically charged and divided yelling match of mass proportions, right? People were after all, un- friending "friends" in large numbers over the issue; how could anyone possibly want to face further rejection by a live group of peers sitting across a table?
Let me tell you how. You recognize the media hype as just that, and you push past your fear and insecurity. You join a group of people in flesh who are interested, curious and willing to share their thoughts as vulnerably as you. You sit down to a good meal and just talk. Strip away the caustic Facebook memes and thoughtless tweets. Silence the media outlet talking heads. Ask questions. Listen to others answers with respect and consideration. Do your best to leave assumptions and stereotypes at the door. Recognize that each person is the sum of their personal experiences and seek to understand some small part of that experience.
REJECTING THE NOISE
That's what a group of 9 people did on the night of February 22nd 2013. We pushed past the media noise, the rhetoric, and the agendas. We showed up. We broke bread around a table, made small talk, and got down to the business of discussing our views on guns, violence and America. Surprisingly, it was one of the most civil discussions I've been a part of. It reinforced my belief that people can discuss and disagree respectfully, that people want to listen and be heard; and that if you provide the right atmosphere, people will learn from one another. I learned once again, that this Food For Thought endeavor is a worthwhile one.
We were all exhausted by the media coverage, the rhetoric, the endless array of memes on social media, and the "statistics" that seemed to support just about any idea on any side of the issue. Not only was it was exhausting trying to navigate things in a responsible manner; it had been next to impossible to wade through media agendas, gather credible data, and make what resembled a well informed opinion at the end of it all.
With all of this in mind, it made perfect sense that people would have rather had their teeth extracted (myself included) than sit a table with a group of people and have what could only result in a politically charged and divided yelling match of mass proportions, right? People were after all, un- friending "friends" in large numbers over the issue; how could anyone possibly want to face further rejection by a live group of peers sitting across a table?
Let me tell you how. You recognize the media hype as just that, and you push past your fear and insecurity. You join a group of people in flesh who are interested, curious and willing to share their thoughts as vulnerably as you. You sit down to a good meal and just talk. Strip away the caustic Facebook memes and thoughtless tweets. Silence the media outlet talking heads. Ask questions. Listen to others answers with respect and consideration. Do your best to leave assumptions and stereotypes at the door. Recognize that each person is the sum of their personal experiences and seek to understand some small part of that experience.
REJECTING THE NOISE
That's what a group of 9 people did on the night of February 22nd 2013. We pushed past the media noise, the rhetoric, and the agendas. We showed up. We broke bread around a table, made small talk, and got down to the business of discussing our views on guns, violence and America. Surprisingly, it was one of the most civil discussions I've been a part of. It reinforced my belief that people can discuss and disagree respectfully, that people want to listen and be heard; and that if you provide the right atmosphere, people will learn from one another. I learned once again, that this Food For Thought endeavor is a worthwhile one.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Renewal
It's that time of year when everything feels fresh and hopeful. I've begun to emerge from my holiday fog and I'm happy to say I have packed away the last of the Christmas decorations. I have a new set of goals and a renewed sense of energy.
The cynic in me cringes at this naïve sense of hope and possibility, but I push past that voice and grab tightly to my new found positivity.
After three weeks of travel, I have returned to the world of social media; and the hope I felt seems to be slipping away. I realize that the world of thinking people is not well represented in the social media-sphere, but it's easy to lose sight of that fact.
And so...in an effort to restore what I know of humanity, I have decided it's time for another dinner. It's time to connect with others around a good meal; time to unplug, emerge from the anonymity of the Internet, and interact with real people in a most unusual way- face to face.
The cynic in me cringes at this naïve sense of hope and possibility, but I push past that voice and grab tightly to my new found positivity.
After three weeks of travel, I have returned to the world of social media; and the hope I felt seems to be slipping away. I realize that the world of thinking people is not well represented in the social media-sphere, but it's easy to lose sight of that fact.
And so...in an effort to restore what I know of humanity, I have decided it's time for another dinner. It's time to connect with others around a good meal; time to unplug, emerge from the anonymity of the Internet, and interact with real people in a most unusual way- face to face.
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