How Many Times Do We Have To Say Be Nice?
Jacqueline Pollock, CNA, A.CE, B.CL.
Well dear readers, it’s been quite a while since I’ve written something or have been on a
podcast associated with this particular blog; so I thought we’d do come catching up. I was
terminated from my CNA employment back in March of 2023 and in June 2023 I took a job in
Social Services. I was literally unemployed for exactly three months between my leaving my last
CNA position AND then starting the new position in Social Services.
Although I don’t really want to do something about my own life, just thought you’d be
interested in what’s been going on lately. Anyhow, lately I see a lot of hate and bigotry coming
to be accepted more and more in our society. Several States: Oregon, Washington State,
California, ILLINOIS (where I live), and others have great laws that protect people whose Sexual
Orientation and/or Gender Identity are different while others: Florida, Texas, INDIANA (where I
went to college, briefly), GEORGIA (where I was born and raised), Idaho, and more are more
concerned about what genitals one was born with because “Oh you were born that so you are
that” instead of caring about the person. Fear, hate, ignorance, all of the unknown dear readers
are the cause.
Speaking of that in reality our problem is as it always has been, fear of the unknown.
There is also the problem of what my partner calls “Anti-Christian Christians.” Another problem
is ignorance and choosing to remain ignorant. I recall two television actors who were completely
opposite of their most well-known portrayals: Carroll O’Connor (known best as Archie Bunker on
All in the Family) and Larry Hagman (known best as “the man you love to hate, J.R. Ewing”
from Dallas). In real life both men were very liberal and very opposite of these characters,
however, it is to be said that both men portrayed another character on a different show either
before or after there best known characters in Carroll O’Connor’s case it was Police Chief
Willam “Bill” Gillespie from In the Heat of the Night-television series (there’s also a movie from
the 1960’s by the same name) and Larry Hagman’s other well-known portrayal is of United
States Air Force Captain, later Major, Anthony Nelson on the series I Dream of Jeannie. I
mention this because Major Nelson was a military man and rather, while not clueless, always
trying to explain Jeannie’s antics, when he couldn’t reveal Jeannie to others, other than his good
friend United States Army Captain, later Major, Roger Healey. (Note: neither “Jeanie” reunion
movie had Larry Hagman in the role of Anthony Nelson; in the first reunion movie “I Dream of
Jeannie Fifteen Years Later Wayne Rogers, yes as in the actor who played Trapper John from
the television series M*A*S*H* portrayed retiring Colonel Anthony Nelson, and in 1991 Ken
Kercheval, best known as Dallas’ Cliff Barnes portrayed Jeannie’s “master”; I obtained that
information from the Wikipedia article on I Dream of Jeannie).
Right about now you might be asking what my point is. It is simply this: we need to quit
fearing the unknown and start educating ourselves. Now Lord knows I want nothing to do
with reptiles and this, dear readers, is not because I’m ignorant on the subject, on the contrary, I
am educated enough to know that crocodiles and alligators are basically LIVING dinosaurs as
most reptiles are. I’m also smart enough to know that most reptiles are more afraid of me as a
human than I am of them, however, I’m also educated enough to know how DANGEROUS they
are. One of the things my father used to tell me about his service with the United States Army
during the Vietnam War (where he served in-country in Vietnam from 5 July 1969 to 4 July
1970) is that there is (still to this day to my understanding) this particular kind of snake they
have over in Asia nicknamed a “Two Stepper” (really named the many-banded krait, and
scientifically named Bungarus multicinctus). Daddy used to tell me that if this particular snake bit
someone “you (the person bit) turned east took two steps home and fell over dead and that was
the closest you were gettin’ home alive.” In researching for this column I ran across information
that stated “American troops also dubbed the yellow-bellied bamboo pit viper the ‘two stepper’
because of its lethal venom, which can kill you in two steps.” (Note: I had to Google the actual
name of the “two stepper” and that above information was from something called generative AI;
now I’ve found something that even I need to learn more about). So my fear of reptiles is no
irrational nor is it a fear of the unknown, my fear of reptiles comes from SCIENTIFIC AND
SCHOLARLY studies, articles, and other academic content (with the exception of that above
mentioned quote that came from “generative AI.”) I’ve often been accused of being an idiot, I’ve
been accused of being prejudiced, however, um no, I’m not either yet as I’ve often said to my
friends “Reptiles aren’t pets those things belong in the wild.” I have a friend that always says “X
cat or dog ain’t no dope” and neither am I.
Dear readers, I encourage educating a person’s self on different subjects. I don’t care
what your IQ (Intelligence Quotient) regardless of the subject, and if you happen to have
someone you personally know that says “I’m too old to learn X” and I say “No, Sir/No ma’am
you’re NEVER too old to learn, never, it’s only too late to learn when you’re dead!” I then
sometimes think to myself something an elderly friend of mine told me “You CAN teach an old
dog new tricks it just takes more time.” So regardless of how old you are, how old you feel, how
old you are, whatever, you can learn and it’s time to embrace education and not ignorance.
After all, in their song Hurting Each Other The Carpenters said it best “We can’t go on hurting
each other.” So dear readers I encourage you to embrace diversity; love your neighbor as
yourself; and show compassion to all.
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