Respond to the Love
Dear Aunt Bossy,
I saw that Pence and his family went to Breakwater when they were in town for Thanksgiving. What do you think about that? Does it bother you that they disrupted the restaurant with their Secret Service and picture taking?
What about the hypocrisy of known Democrats and gay people running to have their picture taken with them?
Eager to hear how you spin this.
A Resister
Dear Resister,
Well, as I posted on Facebook, one of the things I love most about Beaufort is that people have good manners and generally treat all others with respect. That is what I saw happening in the pictures at Breakwater.
As for “disrupting the restaurant,” surely you know that this happens whenever a President or Vice President, or even a Kardashian goes out in public. They have to shut down whole blocks sometimes, even on a small peaceful island like Martha’s Vineyard when the Obamas are there. It is standard procedure.
The kind of publicity resulting from having someone of this stature in your restaurant is priceless.
“Hypocrisy” in being polite? Oh, Puleeze! Unless you personally know a public figure with whom you disagree, you do not know what kind of person that figure is. There are perfectly wonderful, charitable, loving people who disagree on even the most volatile subjects. A philosophical or political belief does not necessarily translate into behavior, good or bad.
For example: I have a gay friend who is very well known in his field. He is the keynote at a conference in a small town in the mid-west, where, until recently, there weren’t any hotels to speak of. A couple that he met at the conference invited him to stay at their house the next time he came to town, and he did.
They are VERY conservative evangelical Christians. One evening, they asked him, since he wasn’t going out and they rarely have the opportunity, if he would watch their kids for the evening. It was his pleasure, and, knowing him, the kids had a great time. The parents are loving and trusting people.
When he and his long time partner could finally get married, they sent an announcement to all their friends, including this couple. The wife responded saying that while they believe marriage is between a man and a woman, they also believe in love and wish the newly wed couple an abundance of that wonderful emotion. She didn’t ignore the announcement. She didn’t respond with a lecture, much less a condemnation. She responded with love and generosity of spirit. Some would say she responded with grace.
If you believe in “thought crime” you will condemn these folks, which is not only highly impolite but will eliminate the chance that they will ever be able to see things differently.
If you respond to the love, and not the differing opinion, you create more love and open a path for the others to understand those who are different from them.
How can anyone object to this? When you become a celebrity or well-known person and experience this, please be sure to let us know how it goes.
AB
