Re: White America’s Broken Heart

NYT Op Ed By Charles M. Blow

Morning Mr. Blow,

This latest piece of yours really struck a chord with me. It speaks to a pervading shared mindset | dialogue that a lot of my ‘social network’ are unpackaging and deconstructing.

I keep trying to make analogies to capture what you described as the ‘broken heart,’ to the feeling the Dinosaurs must have felt when theyknew that it was their last days… or when Indigenous Americans were led on the trail of tears… or the scene in 12 Years A Slave when Chiwetel is slapped in the face by Giamatti and was given a new name.

The socio-psychological malady that you so poignantly speak to is also manifesting itself in the brutality we are seeing coming from police in their interactions with brown youth & their communities. It is also manifesting itself in my field of work-marketing & advertising.

The ‘gate keepers’ are holding on for dear life to their bastions of power-be that their corner office, their stereotypical notions of race & gender, who they invite to meetings & pitches etc.

For those of us (educated, multi-faceted, well-travelled etc.) on the precipice of being the new ‘gate keepers’ it is like watching a psycho-thriller-horror movie play out before our very eyes.

I could go on for days but, I’d love to share some ideas with you for further pieces within this vein.

Enjoy your day.

Best,

Andre