I recently read a collection of Mr. Rogers quotes. The one that grabbed my attention was, “Try your best to make goodness attractive. That’s one of the toughest assignments you’ll ever be given.” As I read this, I thought, “Why is goodness, which is another word for kindness, such a tough sell?” Nearly everyone knows that many good things happen to kind people. For example, kind people are happier, healthier, live longer, experience a better quality of life, have better relationships, are more successful, earn more money, are perceived as more attractive and have more friends than selfish people. I hear people say that if you are kind, others will see you as being weak and take advantage of you. The truth is that kind people are viewed by others as people of courage and character. This being the case, people should be falling all over themselves to be kind; but they’re not. My question to you is, “Why is kindness such a tough sell?” Please send me your thoughts on this. I would love to hear from you.
Good question! I think, at leat in the professional world, it is the weakness factor. I personally think you get get farther with people by just being personable. I worked in an area wherecwe had a lot 9f critical, last minute shipments. At the time, the shipping manager was super cranky, always yelling at everyone. Everyone dreaded trying to get a shipment out and they always sent me to do it because he never yelled at me. He had a picture of his grandkids on his desk. One day asked about them and it was like talking to a different person. After that he would ask about my kids or tell me a story here and there about the grandkids. He really was a decent guy. And my stuff got shipped without questions or complaints.
HeyRoss, I hardly remember the last time I was out. But I remember going out shopping and made it a point to say kind things to people of color. Their reactions were nice to see. The protests were going on but not as ugly as they were to become. I try to be my best self when dealing with people who I know experience a world of unjust treatment. I took a few neighbors kids to our city pool. They saw themselves as “mixed”. We were in the car, went about 20′ and a 12 yr old going to call on his friend stopped, looked enraged at just looking a the kids in the car. His look was pure hatred. This is disgusting that whites are still so scared that people of color will (what?) displace them? It has been 400 years since they were hi-jacked from their homes, cruelly, stacked like lumber and shipped off to do the shitty jobs that whitey didn’t want to do. Next week whiteys will play their cruel games. God save us. Love your website.