Are We Listening?

Today, I just wanted to talk. And I don’t want to preach, or tell anyone what to think, or drone on and on. We have enough talking heads for that. One of our founding messages here at The Hollywood Outsider is we don’t get political on this podcast, because there is enough of that elsewhere. I don’t want to hear what a celebrity thinks, so why would I think you’d want to hear what a podcaster thinks? But thankfully, I started this thing, I have a platform, and if I don’t use it every now and again for some good, what’s that make me? All you have to do, is not listen.

And ironically, that’s what I want to talk about: listening. We’re not doing it. Me, you, all of us. We’re not listening.

2020 has been a shit show.

The world is literally on fire, and none of it is new. It’s been going on for several years. Everyone chooses to blame the President, but we weren’t listening to each other before that…and that’s partly how he got elected. Since then, it’s only gotten worse. So we’ve just been shouting at each other for years now.

If you’re not on my side, you’re on the wrong side. Isn’t that pretty much what it’s been? Red vs. Blue? Republican vs. Democrat? The Government vs. Immigrants. Cops vs. Blacks. Marvel vs. DC. Corona brought us all together for 15 minutes, before half of us needed to hit the town Mardis Gras style, and the other half certified themselves as disease experts.

NO ONE IS LISTENING. Half of you reading this have already tuned me out.

EVERYTHING I just mentioned has another side. I’ve told you about my mother on this podcast before, she spent decades focused on psychology and mental illness. Devoted all of her private time to helping anyone she could. And she loves everyone. Equally. But do you know why she is so great at her job? Because she listens.

If someone thinks they know better than science, she listens to them, carefully. She’d even listen to flat Earthers. If someone appears violent, she still listens to their story. Racist, hateful, criminal, psychotic, always listening. She is adamant that every person is different, as is every journey. And she believes in hearing everyone’s story. ESPECIALLY when it’s inconvenient. She taught me a lot. And even though I don’t always follow it, I know she’s right. No one is born with a certain mindset, if you understand it, you might reach them, or they might reach you. But none of us will without listening.

Somewhere along the way over the last few years, people stopped discussing and listening, and just started shouting I AM RIGHT! Always with I AM RIGHT! What’s even more funny is how rarely you’ll hear someone say I AM WRONG. But they’ll tell you how “right” they are or how “wrong” you are like lightening.

Opinions are important, but so is learning. And no one is innocent, I’ve picked a side on certain things along the way. I still can’t listen to any argument that tries to justify the lack of Uncle Ben in the new Spider-Man movies. You still can’t convince me that Miles Teller is a good actor. We all have our thing.

But I have been trying to both hear and listen more, and here are just some of the things I’ve heard:

The Coronavirus is a serious health threat. No doubt. More serious for those in certain conditions. Those that want to continue living despite these risks just want the right to do so, and those in danger or high risk want to protect themselves. There are charts and diagrams to back both of these arguments, and what you or I think about what those people do, are just our opinions.

I’m listening.

Asian-Americans were accosted in America after Corona hit, did you know that? Racial slurs, harassing on social media, all for a disease they had nothing to do with it.

I’m listening.

Mental health is a real struggle for millions, and many are currently suffering greatly from those stay-at-home restrictions. They feel the risk for them is greater to remain indoors. Who are we to determine their mindset? If it doesn’t affect you to stay inside for long periods of time, what does that have to do with how others that are affected feel, at all?

I’m listening,

Some believe everything can open up, some believe nothing can be. Most of what I’m hearing is: can we try rational? Open things up, require masks. If you don’t want to go, don’t go, and avoid people who do. If you do want to go, wear a mask. Personal responsibility is still a right. And those venturing out assume their own risk, as do those in peril.

I’m listening.

There are thousands of wonderful law enforcement officers across the country who have an extremely difficult job, and get treated like shit every day for their efforts. These aren’t the officers people are mad at. Those officers are heroes. The officers people are pissed at are those who would treat people different, especially black and underprivileged, or abused their authority because civilians are lesser than them, or would cover up for their shady brothers and sisters in blue. THOSE officers aren’t heroes, and they deserve to be held to, if not the same standard, than a higher one.

I’m listening.

George Floyd and Eric Garner are essentially the same scenario. Cops holding down a black man in handcuffs while he begged for his own life saying I can’t breathe. I CANT BREATHE. Committing forgery doesn’t eliminate your civil rights. And I honestly haven’t heard anyone trying to excuse those officers. But the outcry you are hearing is from an entire race screaming: WE’VE SEEN THIS MOVIE BEFORE! And they have. African Americans want the officers involved, all of them, charged, and they want to see real reform in police training. Most importantly, they want to feel safe walking down the street. Yes there has been looting and rioting in the streets. There has also been blood spilled. You don’t feel safe because of it. Now imagine that was every day of your life. None of it is necessary, and only all of us can make it better. By holding those in power accountable.

I’m listening.

Black lives do matter. Before you drop your All Lives Matter mantra, which I will say, of course they do. No one is disputing that. But I’m not getting murdered on the street just for being white. If you’re on a boat with 49 of your closest friends, and only one is in the ocean drowning, who needs saving? Because that is what these voices are crying out for. And if that example doesn’t help, let me try a personal one:

I’ve talked about it before, I grew up around the projects, and it was a predominately black neighborhood. I had a lot of black friends and as I grew up, we would get into plenty of trouble. This was in the ’80s, and I can’t even count how many times police would pull my friends over, or pull a random search on them for nothing other than “they looked like thugs”. Yea, that’s a quote, not a random pull from an idiotic Tweet. Rarely did that happen to me, and I was WITH them. So that happened 30 years ago, and it’s still happening now where some police officers regularly single out African Americans.

To put it in perspective: many of US were going stir crazy being told to stay inside our homes for less than two months. And this shit has been happening their whole lives, how would YOU feel? I can only imagine, and even that does not come close to living it. And I think it’s important to always listen to their stories.

I’m listening.

If we want to come out of all of this, this raging dumpster fire that 2020 has become, we HAVE to stop yelling, and start a dialogue with people who think differently than us. We need to understand each other. We need to relate to each other, because despite our upbringing or our beliefs or our differences, ultimately we are all the same. We started out that way anyway. It’s where life took us along the way that altered our course.

I’m listening, and I hear all of you.

You guys listening to our podcast have always been the best community, and for that I am so proud to have been a part of The Hollywood Outsider for all of these years. I’ve had so many fantastic conversations and respectful debates with so many of you, and we have always found a way to understand and relate to each other. I hope that continues. If this dissuades you from listening further, I’ll understand. But every once in awhile, if you have a platform, you need to use to do some good if you can.

I’ll say this in closing:

I don’t care who you voted for. I don’t care what color you are, which party you align with, or what news network you watch. All of that is noise meant to divide us all even further. All I want from anyone, EVERYONE, is to be a decent human being. Love those you care about, and learn about those you don’t.

And when any of us find someone who isn’t behaving like a decent human being, then let them know that the world is watching. And that world has cameras, and they have voices, and they deserve to be heard.

Are we listening?