My Fellow Humans....It's Time To Get a Clue

Hello all,

This morning Bob and I woke up, got dressed, and sat at the table with our magical electronic toys to read the news.

And what did we see first thing?

A television news program--one I have watched many times as a Bay Area resident--actually created a graphic claiming that these were the names of the four pilots of the Asiana Airlines flight that crashed last week at San Francisco International Airport.  

Even worse, there was a clip of the anchorwoman reading off these names.

For a while the blame was passed back and forth between KTVU and the NTSB:  "Well, the NTSB representative told us these were the names!"  and "Well, we never verified to KTVU that these were actually the names."  and other childish nonsense.   

(And I'm not even sure using the word "childish" is appropriate here.  It seems rather insulting to children.)

But what really worried me was that it made it onto the air.  Someone created that graphic. Someone typed up the script for what the anchorwoman was going to say.  The anchorwoman clipped on her microphone and scanned her script.  Proofreaders or editors at one point made sure that all the grammar and spelling were spot on...

AND NO ONE CAUGHT ON THAT THESE NAMES WERE OBVIOUSLY INTENDED AS RACIST JOKES???!!!

Really?  REALLY?  Because this kind of racist, tasteless, unfunny and sad excuse for humor is not a new thing.  Not new at all.  This kind of "humor" dates back to before our nation even existed as a nation.  Humor at the expense of Native Americans, enslaved Africans and African-Americans.  At the expense of Chinese railroad workers and Japanese and Japanese-Americans.  Humor at the expense of anyone seen  unequivocally as "the enemy" or as  "the other"--new, unknown, unknowable, and therefore frightening.

And  yes, of course, Americans are by far not the only people  on earth to do  this.  Using humor as a thin veil for hatred  probably goes back, in one form or another, to the very roots of our species.  

But now? 

Now we should know better.

The KTVU reporter who called the NTSB and first heard those names should have known they were fake.  

The editor, or proofreader, or graphics person, or cameraman, someone, anyone at KTVU should have recognized those names as fake and racist  and stopped the presses.

But either no one recognized this for what it was, no one cared, or no one wanted to risk being wrong and looking foolish.

This, my friends, is how hatred and ignorance continues to take root and grow.  

Because people don't know.

Because people don't care.

Because people would rather stay quiet than risk being seen as wrong.

And for those of you who read this and think I'm making the proverbial "mountain out of a molehill" I say this.

I do know better.

I do care.

And I'd rather risk being wrong and looking  foolish than stay quiet and spread hate.

Until next time. 

Volunteering: The Itch That Doesn't Itch Until You Scratch

Hello all...

Today I am pondering volunteering.

I volunteer my time....rather copious amounts of my time....as a curator and English editor for TEDxKyoto.

For those of you who don't know what TED or TEDx is.....

1.  TED=Technology, Entertainment and Design
2.  TEDx=TED-style events that are independently organized by individual cities, organizations or
     communities.
3.  TED and TEDx=non-profit
4.  TED and TEDx=Ideas Worth Spreading
5.  TED and TEDx=bringing unknowns and knowns onto a stage and inviting them to share
     their passions/talents/innovations/great ideas/incredible talents with the world.


So there you go.  Just to whet your whistle.

I first got involved with TEDxKyoto a little over a year ago.  They were looking for people who could edit and rewrite documents in English.  Someone talked to someone else who talked to Bob who talked to me.  And soon enough I was volunteering my time  rewriting and editing.

And it was great.

And I got to put these last nearly four decades of writing poems and stories and blogs and other blather to good use.

And I got to see what I wrote printed on paper and read by a whole lot of people.



When this year rolled around, and we began planning for a new TEDxKyoto event, I somehow became a curator--a member of the team who seek out, interview, and coach the speakers and performers who will  ultimately climb the steps onto the TEDxKyoto stage, blink in the spot light, and share their hearts.


So now I am a curator AND an editor and rewriter.

Between the two of these, and teaching, and homeschooling Patrick and Aya, and keeping the house running and everyone fed and clean....well, I'm busy.

Sometimes very busy.

Sometimes VERY VERY VERY OH MY GOSH I'M GOING TO LOSE MY MIND busy.

And it is good.

For I've discovered something about volunteering.

Volunteering is about giving 100%.

It's about taking the time you are giving, and using every minute and every second.

The volunteering I do is pretty cerebral and I'm the first one to admit it.  The volunteering I do is clean and tidy, intellectual and educational and it is not for everyone.  And it is not needed by everyone.

But I promise you that whatever talents you may have, there is someone, some organization, some group...somewhere, and probably not very far away, that needs you.

And if you offer up your talents as a volunteer, I promise you that you will work hard and probably for more hours than you ever planned on working.

But I also promise you this.  You will also meet people you never would have met otherwise. You will get to know people from different cultures and  lifestyles, different belief systems and  professional fields.   You will be a part of a team working together towards a goal.

And whether you are working side by side with other people halfway around the world helping to build a school, or volunteering your time to clean cages at your local animal shelter, volunteering your graphic arts talents to put together educational materials, or helping to, say, curate  a TEDx event--you are giving something of yourself to the world for no other reward than to help make this sphere we live on a better, healthier, more loving and  more awesome place.



Now, you may not think you have anything to offer as a volunteer.
Or you may think you don't have what it takes to be a good volunteer.

Or you may think that you simply don't want to volunteer.

But as the title of all this suggests, you won't know there is a volunteer inside you until you try.


So...what are you waiting for?

Until next time....