damnit brotha, but sometimes you piss me off...
i've got this great new idea...i'm gonna put together a newsletter focusing on community volunteers and organizations. i think it's needed because there are alot of organizations out there who don't have websites and/or an easy way to get out information about their services. it's also great it'll be a venue for community volunteers to be recognized and prospective volunteers to get a one-stop shop on alot of organizations they can't find otherwise.
so last night i tell dex about my great idea and he basically answered me by saying "who's gonna want to read that? everybody has access to computers now. nobody really checks out newsletters anymore."
hmmm...for the first time since we've been together, dex was not immediately supportive of my efforts and that straight up pissed me off. i think it would have been better if a brotha had actually done some homework into this issue before automatically blowing it off. for one, there are PLENTY of folks who don't have easy access to the internet and PLENTY of folks who do have access but don't feel like having to surf the net to find information on volunteering. for every organization that's listed in the easy "united way" database, there are more who aren't and therefore, the only way a person can find out about these spots is if they know someone who's associated with them. i asked dex why would he assume everyone has easy access to a computer just because we have one at home, one at his studio, and one at my office? that's US. i work with girls everyday whose only contact with a computer is when they get to the clubhouse. sure many schools have computer labs, but the quality and access to those computer labs...now THAT'S what's down for debate. not every school has a computer lab with the latest hardware and software and plenty of computers for students to use.
now i know i came off like i was attacking a brotha just for voicing his opinion but what really bugs me is the fact that his opinion isn't based on factual knowledge of any kind. all he had was some assumptions he made based on his own personal experience. i find that kind of thinking to be EXTREMELY detrimental in the fight against complacency and apathy in america and beyond. that's the friggin reason why so many conservative-minded folks think america is perfect, cuz they themselves don't suffer, their kids don't attend schools that are under-funded with over-worked teachers, they don't work at jobs that provide little or no insurance and many of them don't live paycheck to paycheck or have to deal with racism (by and large). assuming without educating yourself about how shit is REALLY affecting folks is the most asinine thing i can think of (at least for right now at this moment). it's that kind of thinking that will keep many within the world ignorant of the struggles of others.
of course i could only voice a portion of this opinion of mine to him because i was getting incensed and one thing i've come to know about myself is that i can't even THINK about engaging in a logical debate unless i've got a cool head. i cut it short after i realized he was starting to get defensive. no need to turn this into world war three just cuz i thought his opinion was without merit.
after thinking about it though, he did give me food for thought in that i had to narrow down who my intended audience was going to be and where i was going to make the newsletter available, so it wasn't all bad. i just wish a brotha would at the very least educate himself about some shit before he says something, then has to go back on it when i point out he doesn't have anything to back it up other than a limited personal experience.
so last night i tell dex about my great idea and he basically answered me by saying "who's gonna want to read that? everybody has access to computers now. nobody really checks out newsletters anymore."
hmmm...for the first time since we've been together, dex was not immediately supportive of my efforts and that straight up pissed me off. i think it would have been better if a brotha had actually done some homework into this issue before automatically blowing it off. for one, there are PLENTY of folks who don't have easy access to the internet and PLENTY of folks who do have access but don't feel like having to surf the net to find information on volunteering. for every organization that's listed in the easy "united way" database, there are more who aren't and therefore, the only way a person can find out about these spots is if they know someone who's associated with them. i asked dex why would he assume everyone has easy access to a computer just because we have one at home, one at his studio, and one at my office? that's US. i work with girls everyday whose only contact with a computer is when they get to the clubhouse. sure many schools have computer labs, but the quality and access to those computer labs...now THAT'S what's down for debate. not every school has a computer lab with the latest hardware and software and plenty of computers for students to use.
now i know i came off like i was attacking a brotha just for voicing his opinion but what really bugs me is the fact that his opinion isn't based on factual knowledge of any kind. all he had was some assumptions he made based on his own personal experience. i find that kind of thinking to be EXTREMELY detrimental in the fight against complacency and apathy in america and beyond. that's the friggin reason why so many conservative-minded folks think america is perfect, cuz they themselves don't suffer, their kids don't attend schools that are under-funded with over-worked teachers, they don't work at jobs that provide little or no insurance and many of them don't live paycheck to paycheck or have to deal with racism (by and large). assuming without educating yourself about how shit is REALLY affecting folks is the most asinine thing i can think of (at least for right now at this moment). it's that kind of thinking that will keep many within the world ignorant of the struggles of others.
of course i could only voice a portion of this opinion of mine to him because i was getting incensed and one thing i've come to know about myself is that i can't even THINK about engaging in a logical debate unless i've got a cool head. i cut it short after i realized he was starting to get defensive. no need to turn this into world war three just cuz i thought his opinion was without merit.
after thinking about it though, he did give me food for thought in that i had to narrow down who my intended audience was going to be and where i was going to make the newsletter available, so it wasn't all bad. i just wish a brotha would at the very least educate himself about some shit before he says something, then has to go back on it when i point out he doesn't have anything to back it up other than a limited personal experience.