[Warning: long]
Over the past week, there have been a few threads regarding race that I've participated in. I get on Volquest to talk about sports (and TV shows, admittedly), so I get why people tire quickly of off-topic discussions. But I wanted to write to express some thoughts that have been on my mind this past week.
I participate in the GQ's discussions on race because I see a need to build a common understanding between people, especially into today's time. Whether we like it or not, our nation and society has had its racial divisions brought to the forefront and put on full display. These divisions didn't start this year or last year, they've been running under the surface for decades. They originate in unhealed wounds and pain that are older than all of us, yet we inherited them and must deal with them.
When I post, I don't speak about race to divide us. I speak on it to bring a perspective many of you have personally written to me and told me you value. I do this in order to help do my part in healing the divide I see that pits white against black, citizen against police, progressive against conservative.
With all that said, I write this to say how impressed and encouraged I am by the overwhelming willingness that I've witnessed on the GQ to civilly discuss uncomfortable issues and confront harsh realities. I know that it can't be easy for some of you to read many of my posts. They are challenging; they speak from a perspective that may be unfamiliar; and they almost always contain generalizations, in large part, because discussing the subject of race typically requires generalizations. Most importantly, the emotions created by such discussions are almost always visceral for all parties involved.
So I want to thank you all for engaging in these discussions, no matter what side of the discussion you come down on. I really appreciate the support that I've felt from many of you in your encouragement for me to share my thoughts with you, and in your willingness to hear me in the first place. You've given me new understandings, and I hope I've been able to do the same for you. It may not seem like it, but conversations like these and the exchange of ideas makes a real difference for our communities and our nation.
There's one thing I know for sure about the GQ: We bleed red, white, blue, and orange, all of us, and I love that.
It's a pleasure sharing this community with you, and an open offer stands for anyone to grab a beer with me sometime if you'd like discuss these issues offline and you're in the Nashville area. Just message me.
Thanks for listening, and Go Vols.
Over the past week, there have been a few threads regarding race that I've participated in. I get on Volquest to talk about sports (and TV shows, admittedly), so I get why people tire quickly of off-topic discussions. But I wanted to write to express some thoughts that have been on my mind this past week.
I participate in the GQ's discussions on race because I see a need to build a common understanding between people, especially into today's time. Whether we like it or not, our nation and society has had its racial divisions brought to the forefront and put on full display. These divisions didn't start this year or last year, they've been running under the surface for decades. They originate in unhealed wounds and pain that are older than all of us, yet we inherited them and must deal with them.
When I post, I don't speak about race to divide us. I speak on it to bring a perspective many of you have personally written to me and told me you value. I do this in order to help do my part in healing the divide I see that pits white against black, citizen against police, progressive against conservative.
With all that said, I write this to say how impressed and encouraged I am by the overwhelming willingness that I've witnessed on the GQ to civilly discuss uncomfortable issues and confront harsh realities. I know that it can't be easy for some of you to read many of my posts. They are challenging; they speak from a perspective that may be unfamiliar; and they almost always contain generalizations, in large part, because discussing the subject of race typically requires generalizations. Most importantly, the emotions created by such discussions are almost always visceral for all parties involved.
So I want to thank you all for engaging in these discussions, no matter what side of the discussion you come down on. I really appreciate the support that I've felt from many of you in your encouragement for me to share my thoughts with you, and in your willingness to hear me in the first place. You've given me new understandings, and I hope I've been able to do the same for you. It may not seem like it, but conversations like these and the exchange of ideas makes a real difference for our communities and our nation.
There's one thing I know for sure about the GQ: We bleed red, white, blue, and orange, all of us, and I love that.
It's a pleasure sharing this community with you, and an open offer stands for anyone to grab a beer with me sometime if you'd like discuss these issues offline and you're in the Nashville area. Just message me.
Thanks for listening, and Go Vols.
