I might come off as a person who has a lot too say (shocker), but when it comes to overly opinionated topics on Facebook, I tend to steer clear for the sake of brevity.  Who has time to read a 103 comment thread?  Not me.  And I let it go….

I usually opt out of saying anything on these seemingly important subjects…my reasoning: surely somebody is already said what I’m thinking/feeling.  I’m no expert. Why add to the clutter?  I just let others do the talking, and I pay attention.  I think about whether or not I agree or disagree.  What I would say and why.  And I stay silent.  The last thing I want to do is create another argument.

Ferguson.  Politics.  The newly founded gay marriage right.   It really is SO MUCH.  Meaning, there is SO much information out there, that I often feel that our opinions can just gets in the way of the truth.  For starters, research should be done OFF of Facebook if we are going to be real, and not based off of our news feeds.  But the reality is, we live in a world where Facebook is where we get most of our news for the day, so we might as well take advantage of it, right?

As a make-shift hip hop artist in Kansas City, I have often been accused of “not taking a stance, not paying attention, not respecting the roots of hip hop”, and this feedback I have taken very personally.  I could not disagree more about my intentions, but if other’s are thinking it, it is good to be aware of these seemingly missed perceptions.

“I want to write a song about the ’situation’, and really say something,” comes to my mind.  But how?  Where do you even begin to cover the travesties and transgressions happening in this country and on this planet?  How does one even BEGIN to impact this HUGE essential dilemma we have found ourselves in?  With a  Facebook post?

I’m watching people have these all out digital fist fights via social media, to try and prove THEIR point; to FORCE FEED what they think is correct, and while I have absolutely admire the desire and drive to push it out so bluntly, I have also chosen to choose my words carefully.  Largely because of this cartoon.

Humans, at their prime.  Misconceptions abound.

I do believe we are progressing; the call for gay marriage legalized nationally is a huge step in a right direction.  And I have very much started to see conversations emerge between the two sides, that actually do seem to be paving a way for some sense of understanding.

Just the other day I saw a man post an angry status about the legalization of marriage for all, and I pointed out that he didn’t have any likes or comments.  He yelled at me.  Other people yelled at him.  I finally asked him “what happened to you when you were younger that is causing such anger?” and he admitted online that he had been raped by a gay man at a young age and therefore hated all gays.  While I was sorry it took a Facebook thread posted in anger to coax that out of him, this realization was HUGE in his evolution of understanding why he feels that way and in helping OTHERS understand why people are indeed so angry at so many issues.  We never really know the full story, unless we ASK.  I tried to have compassion for the man. God knows, he needed it.

The moral of this blog, is that there are two sides to every coin, 6 edges on a dice and always a club to join.  Until we all individually able to truly attempt to accept multiple sides of the whole picture, we will continue to argue and fight and, yes, hopefully, seek clarity on these controversial topics.

Maybe I don’t have a song written explicitly about the horrific acts of Ferguson, or so many other stories that have exploded as of late, but the album I just put out is fueled with controversy, contemplation and oxymoronic metaphor that only someone truly paying attention might catch.  You may not get it, you may not like it… but you also don’t have to listen to it.  Maybe some day, it will make sense.

Until then, let’s make a pact? I will try my BEST to not judge you for believing in what I view is the impossible, and you try and not judge me for believing in magic, eh?  But at least, let’s have the nerve to ask each other “WHY do you believe that?” because only then will the conversation truly have any purpose.

And for the love of god, if you want somebody to hear a message, keep it short, keep it sweet and keep it HONEST.

One of these days I’ll start taking my own advice with brevity.

Until next time, please, keep asking the art questions…

MissConception
www.themissconception.com