Charlotte needs more shared experiences so we can see ourselves in others

Seek ways to cross the racial divide

I was privileged to hear both Brené Brown and Iyanla Vanzant address our community recently.

Both encouraged sold-out audiences to know and stand up for our values, to hold each other accountable for unacceptable behavior, to lean in and hold hands with strangers, and to act with compassion and courage in these especially difficult times.

The only distracting and disappointing part of both talks was the remarkable racial segregation.

I’m hopeful for a time when events are coordinated and advertised in a way that invites a shared experience of learning, laughing, and loving, when the hand we hold looks different from ours.

We need to see ourselves in each other.

Recount full story about Scott protests

Among the various stories recounting last year’s Keith Lamont Scott shooting and protests, I noticed no mention of the video post made by Scott’s daughter and the role it played in how events unfolded.

Her emotional tirade claimed that Scott was shot while reading/holding a book, and it fueled instant anger among those on social media.

The fact that her claims were proven to be false does not diminish the significance and impact that her video had.

It is easy for media outlets to cite the actions of CMPD, the chief, the mayor, and others in authority, but providing a complete narrative would be helpful to readers, especially those who didn’t live in the Charlotte area a year ago.

Pedestrians risk their lives in center city

Uptown Charlotte is a dangerous place for pedestrians.

It’s a rarity for drivers to yield at crosswalks at Johnson and Wales or beside Romare Bearden Park on Church Street, but CMPD makes zero effort to enforce those laws.

CMPD’s recent enforcement actions against pedestrians crossing streets when the signal shows 25 seconds to cross before the light changes is a classic case of blaming the victim and taking the easy way out.

Don’t pull me into your zeal over prayer

Why not remove prayer?

Why is it necessary to pray before a City Council meeting or any other meeting when it has absolutely nothing to do with the agenda of the meeting to come?

Instead of prayer, how about a short mention of how we can be better people or a quote about being thoughtful and kind to others?

School dress codes unfairly target girls

I am writing to express my frustration with dress codes in schools.

Shouldn’t we as parents and educators be teaching our boys about consent?

Rape culture today is out of control. The cause of female assault and rape is never how the woman is dressed or how much she has to drink. The cause of rape 100 percent of the time? Rapists.

I am all for dressing appropriately for school, but perhaps there should be in-school education for male students about consent.

Graham-Cassidy benefits red states

With block grants to states, the Graham-Cassidy bill to repeal Obamacare would shift monies from states that expanded Medicaid to states that chose not to – in other words, mostly from blue states to red.

The result would give health insurance to as many as 20 million fewer people by 2026. A Senate rule allowing a vote by Sept. 30 is no reason to play such blatant partisan games with people’s lives.

There are other alternatives. Expanding Medicare would cover everyone and bring the percentage of GDP for health costs in line with other countries with similar payment systems.

This story was originally published September 24, 2017 at 12:00 PM with the headline "Charlotte needs more shared experiences so we can see ourselves in others."