I had an incredibly bizarre moment at the No Kings rally yesterday.
It's stuck with me till today...
As I was out there, wearing my MAGA hat and Freedom T-shirt, just walking my Gold Retriever and talking to people, letting them pet my dog... some folks literally ran from me.
Genuinely just took off running, clearly doing it, to get away from me.
I've never experienced that before.
In fact, I cannot remember a single instance where anyone has ever looked at me, and then bolted. Not one time.
I'm extremely non-threatening. I smiled nearly the entire time even when people said mean things, I was nothing but kind to everyone and donated money to every single street performer I saw.
Yet... some people ran.
It was a weird thing.
And maybe that’s the strangest part about America right now... you can smile, be kind, give, and still be seen as a villain by people who’ve never said a word to you.
They didn’t see me.
They saw everything they’ve been told to fear, never knowing what I did for Western North Carolina, my story, or why I believe what I believe now.
I don't hate them for running.
Because I used to believe stories like that too... I used to think Trump was the worst. I openly said so to many people over the years.
That was until life forced me to actually meet the people behind the labels I placed them under.
Yes, there are a lot of radicalized crazy people on the Left and yes, many of them want me dead.
I know them well, they send me the most unhinged threats nearly every day.
But then I remember how I thought, how MY mind was changed...
...and as I was walking back to my car with 2 people who were screaming at me
It just dawned on me:
A lot of us are just strangers who’ve been taught to run from each other.
When we run instead of engage and talk, we lose.
The people who convinced me didn't run from me, they engaged me, they challenged me, they RIGHTFULLY made me feel like an idiot for not thinking through my ideas and beliefs.
We need more of that, not less.
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