Why are you really upset?

 

I’ve sat back over the past couple of weeks watching the Mr. Potato Head saga and now Dr. Seuss. 

I’ve watched people march out with their virtual soapbox to talk about how “woke” culture will be the death of us all. 

I’ve watched as mostly white conservatives fight hard to hold on to misogyny and racism like it’s a birthright and like they’ll shrivel and die if it’s not there. 

If the BLM movement has taught you nothing at all, I would say that the one thing you should remember is what Maya Angelou taught us which was “Know Better, Do Better”.  Repairing the sins of our past is a long process and there are a lot of things in the systems that need to change to do this but at the very least, now that we know better, we should do better.

The outrage over Mr. Potato Head was almost comical.  Conservatives saying, “imagine being so concerned about the gender of a potato”.  But from what you saw, who was the most concerned?  The toy company simply announced that they were rebranding to Potato Head to be a bit more inclusive based on the initial purchase while it wasn’t planning to take away any characters or accessories that would allow you to create any gender potato you wanted.  The conservative right and especially Christians jumped on this and gave more free advertising that Hasbro has ever seen.  In the end, you can still have your potato any way you like.

When it comes to the beloved Dr. Seuss, it was widely reported that the Cat in the Hat had been “cancelled”.  This again was ridiculous.  The estate and family of Dr. Seuss, decided to stop printing books with racist imagery, plain and simple.  They’re not erasing history or doing a disservice to the kids, they’re simply displaying know better, do better in action. 

The question then lies in why do people fear these types of changes.

Is it simply, that white conservatives have been in control for so long that the idea of relinquishing any control is terrifying?

Or is it a matter of these same white conservative (and often Christian) folks not wanting to acknowledge any level of wrong doing?

If we accept that Mr. Potato Head may exclude some children, that would mean admitting that some kids don’t see themselves in the binary world of Mr. or Mrs.  This would mean the dismantling of society.

If we accept that some of Dr. Seuss’ work was racist, then we may have to admit that we’ve been at the very least insensitive or at worst, flat out racist in our past dealings?  This as well would shift the earth off of it’s axis and doom us all.

Before you start the angry response, I promise you, I have been both of the above people. 

I was and Adam and Eve and not Adam and Steve guy.  I was a “it’s just jokes, there’s not harm it in” guy.  I’m trying to become a better guy because now I know that as a Christian and as a father and husband, I need to be an better guy.

I never thought I’d see the day that toys and children’s books would dominate my Twitter and Facebook feeds but here we are.  All I can say is before you rant, stop and think why you are upset.  Perhaps if you analyze why, you may realize that you do in fact know better, so now it’s time for you to do better.