Last Tuesday, after giving the news a swerve for twenty-four hours, I saw the clip. You know the one. It's where the current owner of Twitter does a... well let's call it an 'arm gesture'. It wasn't just an arm gesture, of course. I'm simply unsure whether certain words get blocked on here. (The ones that rhyme with the popular dice game, Yahtzee, for example.) Regardless, we all know what we saw. And right away, a quote popped into my brain. It wasn't just me. I've since seen it used all over the place.
'When someone shows you who they are, believe them.'
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| Maya Angelou. She knew what was what. |
The thing is, that quote is almost always used about negative behaviour. When you're gently advising a friend about the red flags their boyfriend gives off; when a date is nice to you, but rude to the waiter. It's when you discover your neighbours, who seem lovely over bin collection small talk, vote for political parties that seek to erode the rights of others. People show you who they are all the time. And it sucks.
But enough of all this negativity! We know the score. The news is awful. We'll engage with it when we need to, and accept there are terrible people about. But have you forgotten Newton's Third Law of Motion? Yes? Let me remind you.
'For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.'
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| Physics! |
The Episcopalian bishop of Washington, Mariann Budde, spoke truth to power last week, and she was awesome. With the new Prez and Veep in her direct eyeline, she respectfully and compassionately asked them to be merciful - for the people that live in fear of their proposed policies, and the world in general. You'll have seen it. It's been all over the Internet since it happened. But after the corporate sucking up and bending of the knee that's been ramped up in recent weeks, this woman's strength was awe-inspiring. Would any of us have the courage to do that? Who knows? But with her example, it becomes a tiny bit easier.
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| The neighbours' internal monologue |
As I mentioned last week, parts of North Wales had an absolute nightmare when a burst pipe meant no one had water. (Although after reading my blog, my Mum was at pains to correct the record in the family WhatsApp group. It was a burst water MAIN [she used capitals so I have too] and it was situated under a river bed. This made it even harder to fix. Consider myself, and the Internet, corrected, OK?) All of this meant that for several days, my parents, along with a gazillion other people, had to rely on bottled water for all their water use. Now, you'd think that having a bunch of kids, dotted about England, with houses full of free-flowing water, would be a perfect solution during my parent's hour of need. They were given several invitations by (some) of my siblings. But no! A sort of war-spirit camaraderie appeared to grip my parent's hood. Then, a couple of lovely neighbours took it upon themselves to queue up at the water distribution centres, collect water bags, and distribute them to the (mostly older) residents of my parents apartment block. Everyone was able to attend to their basic hygiene and hydration needs until the water rocked up once more. What neighbourly legends! Presumably they had people they could've stayed with too, but they didn't. They stayed put. They cracked on and helped out the apartment block. It won't make the news, but it doesn't mean it didn't happen.
You want to see someone inherently good, prove it over and over? Course you do! If you've got Amazon Prime, you'll be able to watch Jury Duty. It's been out for a couple of years but it's a great way to remind yourself that most people are decent. Ronald Gladden is summoned for jury duty. After being selected for a trial, he's told that there's a documentary crew making a film about what an everyday jury experience is like. So far so good. Except that's not quite true. The court case is fictional, the other jurors are actors, and comedic mishaps occur on a daily basis. The only person not in the loop, is Ronald. That description sounds kind of cruel. It might come across as if the viewers are being invited to laugh at his misfortune. Except for one thing. Day after day, Ronald shows that he's a nice guy who puts other people first. He's kind to the weird 'juror' that keeps bringing in his inventions. He listens closely to the evidence, finding mistakes that could result in a wrongful conviction. He takes the blame when a fellow 'juror' spectacularly blocks the toilet. This everyday guy is given many opportunities to be less than great, but it just doesn't happen. The final episode shows the big reveal, and how the cast and crew were blown away by the good natured amiability of the stooge they had selected. It's the uplifting reminder we might need. Most people are good, most of the time.
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| Photo credit: LEON NEAL/GETTY from this site |
If you forced me to vote in a binary referendum about keeping or ditching the Royal Family, I'd vote ditch. Without that hypothetical enforced choice, however, I'm happy to ignore them and crack on. In fact, I barely hear anything about the royals. I blocked the fawning Facebook groups years ago, and so unless it's something that's actual news, it rarely crosses my consciousness. Last week, a news story broke through. Prince Harry settled his court case with the owners of The S*n newspaper.* I hadn't paid much attention to this one. In fact, I saw News Group Newspapers' lengthy apology on my timeline before I read anything about about the build up. Most media are reporting this as a loss for Prince Harry - except the legal commentators.** I find myself increasingly seeking the analysis of lawyers rather than journalists these days. It tends to cut out the noise and get to the heart of an issue. But I digress. Regardless of how the conclusion reads, all I keep coming back to is how this longwinded legal action will have helped others. Whether it's standing up to powerful bullies or being instrumental in potential changes to the law, this happened because someone took a stand. Fair play to him. Only someone with no fucks left to give, and millions of pounds to his name, could have pursued this to such an extent. Other celebrities, and indeed the families of murder victims, could not. I'm not a fan of the institution he grew up in, but it didn't stop him from doing something good.
Michelle Williams
Right then, some more positive platform use. This one's from 2019 but I find myself rewatching it regularly. Michelle Williams won an Emmy for her portrayal of Gwen Verdon in Fosse/Verdon. Put simply her speech made me want to punch the air. She thanked the television academy, her fellow cast and crew, then she outlined the importance of being valued. She explains that if you're valued in your job, and given the things you need to do it well, then not only will you do it better, but you'll also believe yourself to be capable of better. That will make you better, even more. Look, I've paraphrased. Badly. You need to watch the clip. It may only be an awards ceremony, not a pulpit or court of law, but it's another example of someone using their platform for good. She could have thanked her family, said she was grateful, and got off the stage. She didn't. She did more than she needed. She recognised the value in equal pay, knew that intersectionality was her responsibility and so referenced her colleagues of colour, all the while being eloquent and clear in her message. Every boss should take notes.
And finally! Yep, here's the metaphorical lighthearted story that ends the nightly bulletin. Who doesn't love Bob Mortimer? Whether you're old enough to be a nineties Vic and Bob fan, you're into your fishing telly, or you buzz off his Would I Lie To You appearances, he's a national treasure. It's WILTY that we'll end with this week. We started this post with Maya Angelou's quote... When someone shows you who they are, believe them.' Over the years, David Mitchell has faced many a Bob Mortimer anecdote and had to decide if he believes it. If you've not seen the show, let me tell you, they ALWAYS sound false. His stories weave in and out of pure fantasy. Except, when it comes down to it, they're very often true. Like this one, for example. Does Bob Mortimer do his own dentistry? Watch the clip and find out. Or if you really want a pick-me-up, how about this one? Watching David Mitchell unravel as he fights his own instincts and votes for utter madness, is delicious. The lesson? Bob has shown us who he is. If you ever bump into him, and he starts chatting some random nonsense, believe him!
Have a lovely week, folks.
*It should be noted that the former Labour MP, Tom Watson also settled his claim against the same news group. I've focused on Harry above. Mainly because I know Watson has also been treated very badly, but I don't know anyone in my day to day life who routinely criticises him for no reason. In fact, since he left front line politics, I've not heard him mentioned much at all. This is not the case for Harry. A purely subjective view, of course. Anyway, the points I made above, apply to both men. For more analysis on the settlement, I found this article useful.
** Wider legal commentary, here.
