The One Where I Don't Talk about Will Smith
Me, age 1. Many Black people, leaders in thought and scholarship, have requested that white folks refrain from opining about the Oscars event. Are we forbidden to discuss it? Of course not. Humans love to gossip and it's human nature to have opinions. Look out for anyone who doesn't seem to have ANY! It's been an important conversation in our household. Our autistic 17 year-old is regularly teased, dismissed, and judged for something he has no control over. Before this all happened, he made a comment at a family gathering about his sister that was inappropriate. My words to him were we never say mean things to someone, especially about their appearance or something they can't control. Later, he sincerely and humbly apologized to her. Seth often makes blunt and forthright comments and they may sound "mean," but, in his case, they are usually due to a common feature of the autistic personality. He's learning! Sometimes he pauses for a while before he replies...
