Still Photo in Action

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. No, don’t stop me. I’m going to tell it anyway.

This photo was taken at an event at the Chrysalis in Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods.

I remember clearly what we were discussing. I had been hearing that my council representative was considering a run for County Executive. I didn’t doubt that he had the skills and innate ability to do the job well. My concern was something else entirely, and I told him so.

“People are going to be horrible to you. Hurtful, racist, demeaning.”

He already knew that. His response was, “If not now, when?”

If he felt called to the job and was determined to make a difference, it made no sense to wait until the haters weren’t so hateful or the waters could be assured to be smooth. That might never happen.

And the opportunity to do good for his community would be lost.

We all know what happened. My county council representative Calvin Ball ran for Counry Executive and won. Twice.

The waters have been anything but smooth. It is challenging enough to be County Executive. Add to that a global pandemic and a presidential election that led to significant job losses in the County.

The haters have been every bit as hateful as I feared. No: worse.

Every job has challenges, difficult coworkers, and situations that test you and make you feel you could done better. This is different. This is people responding to every decision, every policy announcement, every social media post with arrogance, ignorance, and a deep-seated desire to wound. Their racism isn’t even thinly-veiled anymore. They’ve employed every racist trope in the book.

Some of these folks have just about made it their job to ‘cut that Black man down to size.’

If you knew you’d be taking on that kind of unceasing hatred - - would you want the job?

He knew. He did it anyway.

You do not have to agree with someone’s political views to understand that they are human and deserve to be treated with basic human dignity. They are not required to be perfect in every respect. You do not get to define what “perfect in every respect” means, either.

But you know that. I wish more people knew that.

“Lives change worlds. People can save planets or wreck them. That’s the choice. Be the best of humanity.”- - The 13th Doctor, Orphan 55

Happy Birthday, Dr. Ball.

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