I am a huge lover of musicals, and whenever I get the chance to attend one in Tucson, I know it’s going to be a good night. We don’t get the same opportunities as you do in a larger city, so I was thrilled when I learned that “Memphis” the 2010 Tony Award-winning “best” musical was coming to town. I had no idea what the show was about….just that it was highly acclaimed.
Well….you can imagine my shock when I was innocently sitting in my cushy theatre chair, and one of the actors threw out the “N” word. The plot of the musical deals with segregation in the south in the 1950′s, so it was apropos to throw such a derogatory term around. There was a universal gasp that spread through the audience as the word was said, however, and a silent uneasiness that followed.
The audience watching the show was a largely based white audience, and I have to tell you, hearing the shock and feeling the discomfort from this crowd of theatre-goers was a relief. It made me feel good that we are living in a time that one powerfully charged oppressive word can stir up such a reaction. I know that personally, I can’t even spell out the word in this blog post. It would feel wrong to have such an ugly and hateful word be part of something that I write. So, you will have to use your imaginations, because negative slander of that sort is not coming from me.
I write this post today feeling hopeful for our society. The “N” word at one time was used loosely, and now, I am beyond thrilled to say that I observed it being shunned in disgust last night. There are times when I feel like our society is so backwards, and it was amazing to see the contradiction right before my eyes.
My song of the day is Michael Jackson’s “Black or White.” I miss Michael Jackson and still can’t believe he is no longer with us, so I am thrilled to spread on his message that “It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white” today. Click HERE to go to Youtube to listen to this great song and to watch this really fun video, too, starring Jackson, Macaulay Culkin and John Goodman. It is so nice to start the week off on a positive note. May it carry us all through the week ahead and for our lifetimes to come!
