Someone burst my bubble over the weekend and it was not comfortable. I was holding forth on something and a person refuted my position with some pretty good facts and her personal experience. She had some good points.
The lovely thing about bubbles is that we can create new ones easily.
Yesterday at about 5:00 ET many of us felt like bursting. And then maybe we did. The Chauvin verdict burst that bubble that says that Black people killed by White police officers will never get justice. But keep in mind that it took watching the murder of a Black man by a White man live in real time and then on video for justice to prevail.
And keep in mind that millions of people in this country did not care one way or another. They did not feel like bursting. They were probably walking the dog or cooking dinner and the verdict had no impact on their mood or emotions.
It’s so easy to stay in our bubbles and never be exposed to what’s outside our safe floating orb. This article by Shira Ovide points out that
“Online services like YouTube, Netflix and TikTok digest what you have already watched or its computer systems infer your tastes and then suggest more of the same. Websites like Facebook and Twitter expose you to what your friends like or to material that many other people already find engaging.”
We don’t need more of the same. We need to get exposed to different voices.
This goes for those of us who watch Fox News and those of us who watch MSNBC and those of us who “don’t watch the news anymore.” This goes for those of us who read the WSJ and those who read the NYT and those who read The Mooresville Tribune.
In my own bubble, I’m looking ahead to pondering how we in Charlotte will remember the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre knowing that most of the White people in Charlotte have never heard of the Tulsa Massacre. I’m writing an article on White Supremacy knowing that many people I love believe White Supremacy is only about the KKK. To be perfectly honest, I’m trying to bring you into my bubble and I need to explore yours as well.
Breaking bubbles and breaking barriers will never happen as long as we believe we have The Truth on our side. Wherever you are today, I hope you have the opportunity to talk with someone who disagrees with you about something.
May our bubbles burst today. It might not feel good. But we need it.
A Church for Starving Artists 