Today, I am going to offer two things for your consideration. First, if you ever had me in actual class (especially in my mid to later years), you would be able to finish if not quote a crucial quote I passed along to my students. The quote: "You don't have to like everyone, but you have to get along." The words summarize relationships whether with families, friends, fellow students, bosses, customers, etc. Several students through the years said how much sense the quote made and helped them in everyday dealings.
I do try my hardest to get along with everyone whether I like them or not. I was lucky enough to be raised by a solidly middle-class family in which good manners were de rigueur. As a matter of fact, I was described as "The man with impeccable manners" by a person who kicked me off their property for four words I spoke (but that's a story for another time). Generally, I get along with everyone whether I like them or not.
In today's impolite society, we have reached the point where people feel empowered to say whatever's on their mind - pretty much literally. Insults, name-calling, and nastiness are becoming the rule rather than the exception, and while some people take pride in their words, people from another upbringing see it for what it is ( depending on who you are and what you have been taught, you will know exactly what I mean [or not]).
That said, the following poem by Countee Cullen shows the power of words and how we don't need sticks and stones to hurt.
"Once riding in old Baltimore,
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.
Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, 'Nigger.'
I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember."
Heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
I saw a Baltimorean
Keep looking straight at me.
Now I was eight and very small,
And he was no whit bigger,
And so I smiled, but he poked out
His tongue, and called me, 'Nigger.'
I saw the whole of Baltimore
From May until December;
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember."
Read it a few times until it sinks in.
That's it for now.
See you next time.
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