Time for an Intervention

AI generated image of taking away someone's car keys.

If you are as old as me, you have been forced (probably more than once) with the challenge of staging an intervention. Interventions happen because we reach a point where we can no longer deny that someone is going to hurt themselves or someone else if their behavior continues. It might be convincing a parent that they can no longer keep driving or having a conversation with a friend or relative that their comments about women's bodies are offending your daughters, or that you are certain that if they keep drinking, they will kill themselves or someone else. These are difficult conversations, coming from a place love, but fraught with judgment and condemnation. We fear not only failing to change the behaviors in question, but of also doing irreparable harm to our relationship.

As a writer, trying to capture an intervention in a narrative can be extremely difficult. The deeply emotional content can end up feeling like parody if not done skillfully. The very behaviors that make us finally build up the courage to act can seem so over-the-top on a page that the entire scene feels made up. (I know, I write fiction. It's all made up, but it has to feel real.) Missing the mark by even a little bit can effectively destroy your connection to the readers and lose the powerful impact of the moment. I had an English professor mention that he read Love over the summer and how surprised he was that the concept worked so well. He said the idea that someone would help the teenage kid of the drunk driver that killed his wife was so far beyond what he could imagine that he was shocked at how quickly he bought into the premise and got into the narrative. He found the emotional truth of story.

It's time for a national intervention. The posting of a racist video by the President, depicting former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys, demands it. This video is beyond cruel or racist; it destroys any semblance of socially acceptable behavior. If the President can be so openly racist, then anyone can be openly racist. I am not sure how their proposed 'color blind society' supports racism. If race doesn't matter, why do you keep bringing it up? You might ask how this matters in a world in which federal agents shoot down American citizens. This action was taken by the President himself; there is no claiming that someone else went too far, but the general policy is okay. And if they claim it was a staffer, not the President who posted the video, it doesn't matter. Knowing how visible the President's social media accounts are, there is no excuse for allowing anyone access to them if they cannot act within socially acceptable boundaries.

It's time for an intervention. To be successful, the intervention must come from loved ones and colleagues, not the loyal opposition. It needs to come from people who can say "I love you, but this is unacceptable." That means it needs to be done by his followers and Republicans at all levels of governance. If you would not have posted this video to your social media accounts then you must stand up and say, "This is unacceptable and if it continues, we will oppose you." If you would have posted it, then don't say anything. Your silence will let the world know that you are racist.

We cannot abide cruelty. Another extremely cold weekend, so do something to support those who are vulnerable to the cold.

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