Stop Giving Him What He Wants

By now just about everyone everywhere is aware of the Jussie Smollett situation...unless you have lived under a rock since the end of January.

Something about his story rubbed me the wrong way from day 1 but I tried not to be judgemental.  After all, why would he lie?? After all, we live in a world that is far more racist and homophobic than I used to think possible.  Still, if anyone living in Chicago on January 29th remembers, it was STUPID COLD here then.  What idiot is going to walk to a Subway in the middle of the night??  Oh, wait...

But here is the thing...the alleged "attack" was staged for attention.  That fact that it now appears to be completely false does a huge disservice to the Black community, the LGBTQ community, and the reputation of the city of Chicago.  Stop giving the person at the center of this scandal the attention.  That is what he craves.

Racism exists
Homophobia exists

Some would say that they are more prominent now than they were (pick a number of years) ago.  Some would say that the current president and his rhetoric encourages both.  We could debate on that until the end of time.

 The fact of the matter is, I wanted it (or some version of it) to be true because I knew how awful it would be if it wasn't.  I knew that in the world we live in today, everyone has to be on one side or the other.  There can never just be middle ground.  Everything has to be a confrontation.

I am a self admitted news junkie so between what I watch and read, let's just say that I have seen and heard more about Jussie Smollett since January 29th than I want to talk about.  If everything that is currently being speculated is true, he deserves not ONE MORE SECOND of anyone's time.  The outcome of his trial should be a one liner buried in the entertainment section of a newspaper and a tiny snippet in the crawl on a TV newscast. Stop showing his photo, stop tweeting about him, just stop giving him what he wants. 

There are so many more things that deserve the attention...the baby that was shot in the head in a car in Chicago around the same time...the fact that the 45th president plays fast and loose with the Constitution on a daily basis, the fact that gun violence is rampant, the fact that people are attacked for being different,  the fact that celebrities are too often revered for nothing more than being famous, the fact that real people have been and will be hurt because of a stupid, arrogant "plot" executed for attention or whatever the excuse will be.

This is why people don't come forward...whether it be for an attack similar to what was portrayed in Chicago in January or countless other attacks; be it physical, emotional, sexual.  Because at some point someone made up a story...and people became cynical. Now if something similar happens for real, the victim will be questioned.  That's not a path we should go down; stop giving him what he wants.

Signs

I believe in signs.

7 days after my Dad passed in 1990, we had a huge blizzard in Chicago.  It was the first time I had driven in significant snow.  I felt my Dad with me the whole way home from DePaul University’s Lincoln Park campus.

A few days ago on the anniversary of my Dad’s death, the first FB post I saw that day was from my Dad’s favorite place on Earth...coincidence?  I doubt it.

A few days after my cancer diagnosis, I was driving to work and Don’t Stop Believing came on the radio.  Journey was my favorite group growing up.  It was also the playoff themes when my beloved White Sox won the World Series in 2005.  That song became my fight song and continues to be my Relay for Life team name.

I am a big NASCAR fan.  I was supposed to go to the Daytona 500 a few weeks after my diagnosis.  Flying is not recommended for chemo patients so we postponed the trip.  When we went to Daytona in 2016, there were signs everywhere.  Even though my Dad had been gone 26 years, he was at Daytona with me.  I could feel it.

About a month ago, a man by the name of J.D. Gibbs passed away from a degenerative brain disease at the age of 49.  J.D. was the son of Coach Joe Gibbs, former coach of the Washington Redskins and cofounder of Joe Gibbs Racing.  Coach Gibbs has had competitive race teams in NASCAR for many years. J.D. confounded JGR with his Dad and was President of the company until 2015 when he got his diagnosis.  J.D. played football...much has been discussed about football and brain injuries.  When he played football, he wore #11.

Today was the 61st running of the Daytona 500.  During pre-race shows, Fox Sports did a piece on J.D. Gibbs.  It brought me to tears more than once.  The JGR teams stood on the pit stall walls during lap 11 in tribute.  Today’s race was eventful for sure with several late wrecks taking out a chunk of the field.  As darkness fell on Daytona International Speedway, the #11 car crossed the finish line under a waving checkered flag.  Coach Gibbs in a post race interview said J.D. had the best view of today’s race from heaven.  He sure did, Coach. He sure did.

Coincidence? I doubt it.