There were a few high points in my life this week:
1. TALKING "GUITAR" WITH MIKEY SEVERAL TIMES: He used to live
close to here, and I'm hoping he and family will visit here
soon. Mike, sorry I had to catch that other call the other
night. Hope you enjoy that Gretsch!
2. POSITIVE REACTIONS TO THE GUITAR MUSIC DON POSTED FOR ME.
Generally, I'm sure lots of folks were "kinder" than I
deserved, but the reactions gave me the courage to take a
regular, one night a week dinner gig at the State capital
on solo guitar. That's a BIG DEAL for me after my injury
(the first one in almost three years).
3. GENUINE JOY FOR TAIKE AND HIS FAMILY after they were
reunited.
AND NOW, For the SAD/BAD PARTS:
1. THE WHOLE NASTY MESS ABOUT DIFFERENCES OF OPINION:
Here's what I know:
* Don is a genuine gentleman and good friend who
would never intentionally be politically incorrect or
be unkind.
* Chas is one of my lifetime favorite friends who
has accomplished admirable things and witnessed
discrimination/unfairness most of us will never
understand...many believe racism is either gone or
has minimal effect....WRONG!
* TAIKE IS LIKE AN ADOPTED SON. He has a world view,
which is different...one I understand, having lived
offshore several times and having seen the drastic
differences between populations.
FACT: YOU'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND WAR UNTIL YOU'RE SHOT AT.
You can watch all the war movies ever made, but until you're dodging the bullets, no one really understands. Here,I'm talking about both real and imaginary bullets.
I haven't been "shot at", but I've been close to the "Flying bullets".
* As a teenager in Ocean Springs Mississippi, I watched seniors jump out of the library window to knock out an 80 year old black woman and her two grandchildren. Out of the same window, I saw bus drivers fail to stop if only black people were waiting. I saw the photos of Mack Charles Parker's testicles nailed to a courthouse door, because someone thought he was flirting with a white woman. As part of the first mixed band in Kentucky playing the fraternity circuit with my friend George, I was refused service, called all kinds of names, threatened and actually shot at once. I had instruments defaced and destroyed in the process.
As a successful black man of his age, Chas has seen a lot more. And, while most white people think that racism is
no longer a problem, many, me included, think that it has taken a different, more hidden, darker form.
It would be easy for Chas to just ignore comments that genuinely hurt. He chooses not to. Some think he's way to sensitive. That may occasionally be the case, but he is to be admired for holding to his beliefs and expressing them when he feels it's appropriate.
* As a teenager, I lived in France, Turkey and England. I visited South America, China, Vietnam and other places. Universally, I ran into the "Ugly American" syndrome. It was so bad in some places (London-1961, for example), the US Military banned dependents (like me-an Air Force Brat) from wandering around certain places unprotected.
I saw rich cultures thousands of years older than ours...proud, poor populations living under unbelievable hardships. Several times, I heard explosions which resulted in a person losing a leg from buried land mines.
I AM A CONSERVATIVE, LIFETIME REPUBLICAN.
That being said, I have seen the "war". I support our government completely, but understand the frustration folks from other parts of the world feel.
That's why (here comes the "HARD SELL" ,folks) I'm asking ALL of us to please, at least tolerate the free expression of ideas and beliefs of others with differing views. You don't have to agree with views differing from yours, but belittling slams, slurs and verbal abuse don't always have to happen.
WHAT'S SO HARD ABOUT EXPRESSING A DIFFERENT VIEW WITHOUT NEGATIVELY IMPACTING THE REST OF AN INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP?
Frankly, I would think that much of the criticism Don got for his initial remark was due as much to hypersensitivity to discrimination as anything. Chas hit that one "harder" than I would have, but he's been "shot at" and I've only been in the vicinity. And Don is to be admired for his restraint and realizing that he didn't have to defend his actions.
What's appropriate is more kindness and willingness to "disagree".
Don, Chas, Taike and Tony are four of my all-time favorites.
It genuinely hurts me to see the bickering which surfaces; especially when it involves people I am so close to and it gets so dark and damaging.
"SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS ARE (you supply the description).
I certainly hope they are. But, consider that, unintentionally, you're not seeing things as they really are.
* DIG DEEPER. * DO RESEARCH. *ASK QUESTIONS. * LISTEN TO ALTERNATIVE VIEWPOINTS. *EXPRESS YOUR IDEAS, without becoming
abusive, unreasonable or close-minded.
Then, EMBRACE THE DIVERSITY, while STANDING FIRM in your beliefs.
That, in large part, is what being a "WORLD CLASS CITIZEN" is all about.
Russ
on that thread as well. In hindsight, I feel that the thread discussion was actually positively productive, as it brought to light different perspectives based on our varied personal backgrounds and experiences, and also gave us all the opportunity to perhaps better understand how it feels to walk in another man's shoes, and that's a good thing in helping us better understand each other and bring us all closer together. Happy Valentines Day weekend to everyone, and don't forget to do something special for your sweetheart on Monday Feb. 14th. 
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