How I probably looked under my mask
I think we've all heard horror (?) stories of crazy things people have seen and overheard at Walmart. Somehow I've managed not to have any of those experiences myself . . . until yesterday.
Technically, mine didn't even happen in Walmart. It was in the line that stretched out the door and halfway down one side of the building. Lesson learned: never go to Walmart during Thanksgiving week. As I got in line, I said to the man in front of me, "Note to self: next time, do pickup."
A few seconds later, this man—whom I'll call Mike—asked if I was happy that Trump "isn't coming back." At least, I think that's what he said. Mike had a heavy accent that made me think he might be from somewhere in Africa, so I didn't always catch everything, especially with his mask on. I thought he was just trying to make conversation, so I nodded.
That was a mistake. (In retrospect, though, I think even a negative response would have led to the same result.)
Mike proceeded to tell me that God had spoken to him and said He had chosen Trump to be our president, so nothing could overturn that and Trump is "coming back." Not that God doesn't like Biden, Mike explained, and Trump certainly isn't perfect, but he's a good man, Mike apparently fears for our country without him, etc.
🤨 😬
I didn't want to be rude and cut Mike off, so I had to stand there saying things like "Huh" and "Hmm" and trying not to look too weirded out above my mask. Where was the Awkward Avoidance Viking when I needed him?! Thank goodness we eventually got to the front of the line and parted ways to do our shopping.
Part of what made the whole thing so off-putting is that Mike and I seem to have some important beliefs in common: (1) that God can and does communicate with ordinary people, (2) that He loves everyone despite our weaknesses, and (3) that He sometimes uses deeply flawed people for His purposes. But when Mike took those shared beliefs in a direction that clashed hard with other things I believe, things got very uncomfortable. Fast.
We can use a similar tactic in our stories to force our characters to make tough moral decisions. Have your heroes team up with someone who shares one of their major goals. Then raise the stakes by having the new teammate cross the line in bigger and bigger ways and justify this behavior by citing the importance of achieving the overall goal. What, if anything, will the heroes do about it?
The episodes "Ghosts of Geonosis" and "In the Name of the Rebellion" from Star Wars Rebels do an excellent job with this concept. In both episodes, the core characters have to work with extremist Saw Gerrera. Seeing his obsession and brutality firsthand forces our heroes to examine their own motivations and methods for fighting the Empire.
In the meantime, remember this: Disagreeing, even passionately, is okay. But most people don't change their minds because someone yells at or insults them. Regardless of how our politicians behave, let's bring back civility.
Write on,
Candice
(Photo by Ayo Ogunseinde on Unsplash)
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