Weekly Mail Special

Last week, after I posted my COVID-19 special, I started to write my thoughts about George Floyd and the protests that were rising up all over America. I was at the Post and I had both CNN and Fox News on. Each showing one scene more tense than the next.

Of course I was monitoring social media, trying to get a handle on what was going on.

A couple times I started to write, and then stopped. I had ideas and thoughts that I wanted to share, but just wasn't sure exactly how to cobble them together.

One of the thoughts I had, and one of the things I started to write (and I'm a bit nervous about admitting this) was almost the same exact thing that Drew Brees said in that interview with Yahoo Finance that got him in trouble.

Like Brees, both my grandfather's served heroically in WWII. My father of course served in Vietnam, which is why I don't think twice about standing for the national anthem and never have.

Something told me not to go there. Maybe I just wanted to let the dust settle from my previous blog post, maybe I just wanted to gather more info. I don't know but I just didn't continue with the thought.

When the Brees clip posted and the reactions starting coming out, I'll admit my first thought was to defend him. Especially when Peter Greenberg of the Michael Kay radio show on ESPN Radio called him "an idiot."

But then I saw other videos posted, especially one from Brees Saints teammate, Malcolm Jenkins. When I saw the emotion in his face and heard it in his voice, it made me do a double take. I didn't get the feeling this was a guy who had an issue with Brees before this. He sounded like a man whose friend let him down. And if that's not the worst feeling in the world, it's pretty close.

And then I thought about what I had just written the week before. And the emotion that I had put into that. Why? Because of how close to home it hit. When you see someone you love having to go into a scary situation like a pandemic, only to have someone else tell you it's all a hoax, how could I not get emotional.

I basically told all the people who were calling the corona-virus a hoax to shut the f-ck up.

And now, it's my turn to do the same thing. And for that matter, Drew Brees. We need to STFU.

And listen.

Listen to those who feel like they are targets because of their skin color. Listen to those who feel like they have been denied the same opportunities as we have. Listen to those men who like my granddad's and Drew Brees granddads, fought for our country, but whose country didn't fight for them when they came home.

Listen to them.

We don't know. We can't know. But we can get an understanding.

We can listen.

I always say this blog is about getting my $0.02 in, which in fact is probably way too overvalued. Opinions are like a$$holes, everyone's got one, the old saying goes. I'll keep writing and giving as Billy Joel referred to it my pointless point of view.  It's what I do.

But not here.

Here I'm going to offer my ears instead of my words. I'm not African American, but I can listen to their concerns. I'm not a cop, but I can listen to their concerns as well.

To say that 2020 has been a difficult year would probably be the understatement of all time.  There is anger all over the place, and why not. None of us have gotten out of this unscathed, (not that we've gotten out of it at all to be honest). You saw how angry I was last week. And you all listened.

Thank you. Now it's my turn to listen. And learn.

That's a promise.