Be Kind

In Richmond, signs that say “Be Kind ❤️” can be spotted throughout the city (https://www.12onyourside.com/2019/01/08/richmond-woman-spreads-kindness-across-world-with-special-signs/).

Earlier today, Biden dropped out of the Presidential race. We were at a Charlottesville adjacent brewpub when the news hit. Moments later, Andrea received a text from a friend and when I asked what she had to say, Andrea mentioned “Kamala Harris” and some older, paunchy white guy wearing a t-shirt that said “‘merica” felt the need to remark, “we have CNN over here” regarding Andrea. We left after that - because we were planning on leaving. I didn’t hear him - Andrea told me when we got in the car.

Would this man have felt compelled to remark aloud pre-2016? Would he have commented if he hadn’t assumed we were a couple?

Here is one (then I’m gonna stop - really) problem (I have many) with Trump and post Trump America: It’s made incivility acceptable. It’s invited people to pull their anger out and put it on display - no matter the consequences. This afternoon, we went to Charlottesville and happened to drive down Heather Heyer Blvd. Heyer was murdered in 2017 while attending a unite the right rally when a man drove his car through the crowd. Trump remarked that there were “very fine people” on both sides at this rally - the sides being people like Heyer, protesting white supremacy. And the other side was demonstrators with weapons and white nationalists with Nazi and KKK symbols.

There were always “sides” -  but Trump made it okay to publicly be the side with nazi and KKK symbols.

But, the economy! This is what I hear from people who still defend Trump after this very fine people remark and when he publicly mocked a disabled reporter. Or after January 6th.

I know - I’m talking about kindness and honesty. Years ago, back in 2017, a woman came to work where I was working - in my department. And she wanted to run the department and have people (me included) report to her. So she went behind the leader and went to the CEO, who, for some reason, agreed to this.  This power hungry woman was not nice. Nor was she talented in any way I could discern. She wanted to be a VP. I resigned and said if acting like that is what it took to get ahead, I was fine with not getting ahead. I have this old fashioned idea that kindness and honesty isn’t old fashioned - or it shouldn’t be. I hope when people vote, they think about their friends, neighbors, coworkers, and relatives whom a lack of kindness from a President will hurt. People who are trans, minorities, women. People like me and Andrea.