You drop a piece of food on the ground?
Immediately you start to think how toxic is that food? Is it eatable? Some say no, some say yes.
For years and years and years, we have heard stories of friends and family or even strangers met on the road that may be imperfect.
These are people deemed off the path, not quite right by society norms. However, in times of strife and trouble they can be your best allies.
Take for instance Star Wars and the character of Han Solo. The mans a gambler in debt to the deadly Jabba the Hut. Hangs out in the worst of places. Then becomes all of a sudden Luke’s (the son of a Queen) best friend and closest ally.
What about in Fried Green Tomatoes where the lead female player befriends not only drunks but also African Americans in the pre civil rights south. She wasn’t well regarded as a proper lady herself but ended up the hero.
Or Adventures In Babysitting where this upper class girl sees a side of Chicago most don’t know. However, the only reason she and those kids survived, is she trusted the unknown those that seemed sketchy or even told their sorrow through blues. She was afraid but she had to decide whether to run, fight, or trust. She trusted and had the most unlikely allies.
What about Princess Diana in a world petrified of AIDS she went right to a patient in an hospital and held their hand.
To most all these people are heroes the person we admire for their bravery and respect of all peoples.
Though in recent years I have heard of bathrooms closing, walls increasing and mentions of you have to be on the list or invited.
If Wyatt Earp denounced Doc Holiday for his relationships outside of wedlock and gambling the legend of the OK Corral would maybe not exist.
As AI has limited advertising to algorithms based on likes, we forget sometimes we look at something for its shock and awe aspect not because we like it. For instance, how many of you have said look at this it is so disgusting you have to see it?
As we are being put in boxes, caves or even cages (otherwise known as hell) by AI and corporations, it doesn’t change the fact that a country singer, could turn pop star and then gain more popularity just because she has a fiancé who is a Super Bowl champion.
Taylor Swift not only broke every glass ceiling but every stereotype placed upon her.
As for myself just because I can spend 5 days in the wilderness without a shower doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate fine dining and a plush 5 star hotel (if I could ever afford one). What it means we are not all one stereotype we are ourselves with infinite possibilities of preferences for likes. I know I have never said stick to the list when it comes to guests, I have always said “the more the merrier”.
In my childhood, it was very popular saying to hear, “I don’t normally but ).
So as you think of cutting off that friend or family member who social norms may deem toxic, but to you they may be Shrek or Donkey instead of Lord Farquhars.
Determine if the cheese so moldy and toxic that it is unable to eat or can you just chip away at the moldy pieces to see the real source of goodness.
In other words I don’t mind if my marshmallow is a little burnt for my s’more.
-Jennie Nawrocki
penaugural 