The other day I got really upset reading a magazine article, which is unlike me. With everything going on in the world today, I do my best to avoid the drama of the outside world. Now, to some, that might make me an ostrich with my head in the sand....and that's ok. For me it is about self care. I choose not to focus on the negativity. Yes, I read the headlines but I rarely read the articles because it's just too much for me to handle. It can definitely create a kind of sensory overload that I just simply do not wish to deal with. It works for me and that is what is important. And it is not because I do not care about the issues. I do. I am very particular about where and how I get my information, how I process it and how I choose to act upon it.
Having said that, I was reading a magazine that is geared towards highlighting the people and places of North Carolina. They will sometimes have articles about major or minor historical events in the state's history, as did this particular issue. It had a wonderfully written article about Wilmington and the racial tensions there in the late 60's through the 70's. I honestly had no idea about this period of Wilmington's history, especially about the "Wilmington 10" who were wrongly convicted by a corrupt and racially biased judicial system. I went to Wilmington many times in my childhood and to me, it was a beautiful seaside town. I had not a clue as to its dark past. I'm not really surprised by it, as most places have these kinds of pasts. I simply was unaware of it.
I got angry reading this article for several reasons. One was growing up in NC, the state history was a regular part of my public school curriculum. So, how come I'd never heard about this before? And, how many other facets of my home state were whitewashed for my learning experience. These kinds of things were major events and should have been a part of my learning. And then I became angry at myself because I have not taken the time in my adult life to learn about the history of things. I really have not been learning much of anything. Not out of a lack of desire but a lack of motivation. I have always enjoyed learning, so why did I stop? I need to work on that because I feel it will make me a more well rounded, educated resident. I realized that I cannot truly contribute opinions on today's climate if I don't know the history we are repeating. People haven't really changed and the hatred towards anyone who is different hasn't really changed. Only the fact that there's so much exposure through social media has changed.
And, lastly, I got angry at the magazine. Here's a wonderfully written article about an important piece of our state's history that is so incredibly relevant today and where is it? At the very back of the issue among all the travel ads. One could easily just overlook it because you'd think you were through the magazine already. So, if they are going to publish articles of this importance they should be put in a place of importance. I'm sure in today's shaky financial times, they do not want to offend any of their subscribers, but come on. Why bother putting it in there if you are not going to give it some better prominent placing? And if you don't want to incite discussion about this, then don't put it on your magazine to begin with. You can't have it both ways.
Oh, well. Still, I am glad to have read the article and I'm glad I know more about an issue that still runs so deep in our state. At least I'm starting to learn again. That is all.
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