A Kinder, Gentler 2007

I just had the most interesting experience. When I only had a private blog with a teeny, tiny readership consisting of close friends and family, I wrote a review of a collection of deaf cinema that was shown all at once one night. The first film was Jennifer Visco dancing and signing an apparently original song, talking about how we are all deaf "same-you-me," no matter where we're from, our schooling, et cetera. My words were rather unkind. In my defense, I never dreamed she'd see what I wrote, since my readership was so limited.

When I started this more public blog, I went through my entries to see which ones I could copy and post here too. Figuring deaf cinema had mass appeal, I copied that entry in its entirety here, completely forgetting what I'd said about Visco's performance.

Well.

She read it.

She commented.

I replied, offering a white flag and a sort of apology. From her response, she doesn't seem too offended, thankfully. I stand by my original review, though perhaps I could have worded it more gently. *rueful smile*

I've been so frustrated by the recent attacks on the Bay Area, because while some criticism seems to be valid, a lot of it is just baseless attacks on a whole community or on specific individuals. I try to be a good person and go about my business without offending or hurting people with careless, thoughtless comments and actions. But I'm not perfect. And this was a wonderful reminder.

2007 is a fresh start for all of us operating on the Western calendar, and I'd like to take this opportunity to call for a kinder, gentler 2007. Let's conduct our discussions with civility, openness, kindness, and respect. If we have not-so-nice opinions, let's watch how we word them.

Here's to a kinder, gentler 2007 and beyond.