There are some silver linings to the mess America is in.
The year 2020 will go down as one that began with half the country blinded by the blights of a pandemic, an economic nosedive and social injustice protests like perhaps no other since the civil rights era.
And it just might end with the majority of Americans having 2020 hindsight.
He might have lost anyway, but Donald Trump’s competence in a crisis has left only his base supporters, ironically, many of whom profile like people Orange Agent couldn’t give a damn about in the first place.
While the coronavirus pandemic will end at some point, the unemployment and small business disasters may last for years. We will however be teaching and recounting what happened in 2020 to our children through textbooks and dinner table conversations.
High school, college and perhaps professional sports will have to figure out how to get their complete games back. But during the off-seasons, pauses and attempts to play through COVID-19, some remarkable stuff is actually happening in meeting rooms and ZOOM conferences.
In a telling interview with Bubba Cunningham that will air on 97.9 The Hill this Wednesday and Thursday, the Carolina athletics director touched on some points that awakened and educated even one of the leading college administrators in the country.
Cunningham said he was privileged to be in on some very personal discussions between athletes and coaches at Carolina that truly moved and shook him. He said he always knew, on some level, that racial injustice was happening to people of color and of all ages.
But when he heard black athletes and coaches sharing their stories and their fears on what has gone on in America for years, Bubba wondered if he had any experiences to compare with them. He did not.
“I’m a middle-aged white guy, and I’ve never been pulled over for a tail light or illegal lane change,” he said. “But almost to a person our black student-athletes and coaches have, and they are scared and nervous.”
Cunningham said the unique conditions prompted more personal conversations and their sharing stories and reactions. Catch Bubba’s interview on the Aaron Keck Show this week. Just like me, you will learn a lot.
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