I'm With Tyler Perry
I didn't think the Oscars would have anything for me to care about, but -- au contraire -- as Ed Morrissey posts at Hot Air:
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored Tyler Perry with its Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, and Perry spent the next three minutes demonstrating why this might have been the best Oscar decision of the night. Perry told a moving story about his encounter with a homeless woman, and then declared that he refuses to hate -- and hopes the rest of the world will "meet me in the middle" to refuse hate as well.
Our colleague Karen Townsend transcribed the speech for Newsbusters:
I remember one time, about 17 years ago, I rented a building, using it for production. I saw a woman, I said, she's homeless, let me give her some money. I'm about to give her money, she says, sir, do you have any shoes? It stopped me cold. I remember being homeless, and I had one pair of shoes, they were bent over at the heels. We go to wardrobe, and there were all these boxes, fabrics, racks of clothes. We had to stand in the middle of the floor. As we were standing there, we found some shoes, she's looking down. She finally looks up, she has tears in her eyes. She said, thank you, Jesus. My feet are off the ground.In that moment, I just -- I recall her saying to me, I thought you would hate me for asking. How can I hate you, when I used to be you, when I had a mother who grew up in the Jim Crow south in Louisiana, right across the border in Mississippi. At 9 or 10 years old, she was grieving the death of Emmitt Till. And the death of the civil rights boys, and the little girls in the bombing in Alabama. And I remember coming home, she was in tears. She said, there was a bomb threat. She couldn't believe that someone wanted to blow up this place where she worked, where she took care of the toddlers, it was the Jewish community center. She taught me to refuse hate and blanket judgment.
In this time, with all of the internet and social media and algorithms that want us to think a certain way. The 24-hour news cycle. It's my hope that we teach our kids, refuse hate. Don't hate anybody. I refuse to hate someone because they're Mexican or because they are black or white. Or LGBTQ or Asian. I would hope we would refuse hate. And I want to take this humanitarian award and dedicate it to anyone who wants to stand in the middle. Because that's where healing, where conversation, where change happens. It happens in the middle. Anyone who wants to meet me in the middle to refuse hate and blanket judgment, this one is for you, too.
Terrific.
An open letter posted on Facebook from veteran LAPD officer Deon Joseph, to Lebron James.
"Dear Lebron:
I am not going to come at you from a place of hatred. There will be no name calling. I was raised to see the whole of a human being. Not to hyper focus on their flaws or make said flaws the whole of who they are. I’m an honest man.
What you do for children, and other acts of charity shows a huge heart. You show to be a family man, and that’s to be respected. You play for the team my family has cheered for since the 1960s, then myself since 1979. But... Your current stance on policing is so off base and extreme. Your tweet that targeted a police officer in Ohio who saved a young woman’s life was irresponsible and disturbing. It showed a complete lack of understanding of the challenge of our job in the heat of a moment. You basically put a target on the back of a human being who had to make a split second decision to save a life from a deadly attack.
A decision I know he and many others wish they never had to make. Especially when it involves someone so young.
Instead of apologizing, you deflected. You said you took your tweet down because you did not want it to be used for hate, when the tweet itself was the embodiment of hatred, rooted in a lack of understanding of the danger of the situation.
I don’t know if this will ever reach you, but my hope is that one day I can sit down with you and talk. As a man of faith, I can have no hatred toward you. But I do feel I can help you understand the reality of the profession of policing, and that there is another side you need to hear. You are tired of Black folks dying? So am I. You hate racism and police brutality? So do I. But you cannot paint 800,000 men and women who are of all races, faiths, sexual orientations and are also mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, preachers, coaches, community members and just human with such a broad and destructive brush.
Unlike some who have dug their heals in the belief that police are inherently evil, I think if you yourself actually sat down and had a real honest and open conversation with a cop, there is a strong chance you may discover we are not the monsters you have come to believe we are, who deserve the hate and distain you have.
And even if you come away feeling the same way, I could respect it, because at least you gave the other side your ear instead of only hearing one narrative.
The offer is on the table Lebron. No cameras. No fanfare. Just two men who care talking. I know it’s a long shot. But this division and hatred must stop. It’s clear based on rising crime in marginalized communities that cops and the community need to build bridges to save lives on all sides. That cannot be done through the demonization of any group of people.
Just putting it out in the universe brother. Even if not me, please take the time to talk to a police officer instead of judging them. No shade. Thanks for all the positive things you do."
Something to be said for vigilance. And for not being so on alert we paint people as targets.
Aldi at April 27, 2021 1:59 AM
Letter to Lebron James from LAPD officer Deon Joseph.
https://m.facebook.com/OfficerDeonJoseph1
Aldi at April 27, 2021 2:08 AM
Letter to Lebron James from LAPD officer Deon Joseph.
https://m.facebook.com/OfficerDeonJoseph1
Aldi at April 27, 2021 2:08 AM
"I refuse to hate someone because they're Mexican or because they are black or white. Or LGBTQ or Asian."
Agreed. Hating anyone for something they cannot control, did not choose to do, is beyond foolish.
But that is not to say there are not valid reasons for hating someone. Usually for things they knowingly and willfully do. I can equally hate white supremacists and BLM/antifa. (Mostly because they are just opposite sides of the same coin.)
And I'll add that there are people and things I consider a threat, but do not hate. I don't hate homeless people, but that doesn't mean I don't acknowledge that many of them have mental illness and drug problems that make them a threat to be around. Not all, but a significant percentage. I don't hate grizzly bears, but that doesn't mean I want to be in close proximity to them. I guess those all fall into the category that they can't control who they are.
It's sounds all nice and noble to be against hate. And it's a pretty good rule of thumb, a good guideline. But there are plenty of exceptions. There is true evil in this world. And true stupidity. Many people are too naive or too afraid to face reality to acknowledge that.
Joe Anon at April 27, 2021 5:28 AM
Aren't we all against unreasonable hate? Has anyone gone on record as being for unreasonable hate?
Conan the Grammarian at April 27, 2021 7:20 AM
I can't find one reason to post about people who act as offended third parties, other than to ask them to get a job.
Radwaste at April 27, 2021 7:51 AM
Aren't we all against unreasonable hate? Has anyone gone on record as being for unreasonable hate?
"There are only two things I can't stand in this world: People who are intolerant of other people's cultures, and the Dutch."
-Nigel Powers
Shtetl G at April 27, 2021 8:02 AM
> Has anyone gone on record as
> being for unreasonable hate?
Hi G :)
Crid at April 27, 2021 1:16 PM
Achsually it was Conan, but still.
Crid at April 27, 2021 1:16 PM
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