So
about a month or so ago was Pierson's talent show. He did a beautiful job with
his own composition, sung once in English, followed by French. It was a fun
evening filled with song, dance, martial arts, pogo stick jumping and
instrumental playing. There were costumes and glow sticks and all was well. Parents
were required to volunteer in some capacity throughout the process of several rehearsals
before the big night. I volunteered for the dress rehearsal. I was never really
given a specific task, but I tried to help reign in the mayhem of kids who were
stationed in the gym until the march to the theater, then back to the gym at
intermission and back to the theater for the second half. I had the pleasure of
viewing all the acts before the big night. I got a feel for the magnitude of
putting together this event, just over two hours of acts with MCs introducing
each number, adding jokes and humor as they did so.
One
act struck me though. It was a strange song called "Watch Me (Whip / Nae
Nae)”. Two girls came out, one with a whip-it t-shirt, the other with a Nae Nae t-shirt. They each had a
microphone and sang this repetitive song, while sort of waving one arm overhead
in a kind of lasso motion. I can't tell you exactly what it was that
"rubbed me the wrong way", but it just felt kind of off. I told
Calvin there seems to be something weird about this song, with its repetitive
"watch me" lyrics and strong beat. I said, "it just seems
perverted". That was my instinct, and then I left it at that. Calvin however,
perhaps sensing something himself, took things a bit further. The next day
after the talent show, he began researching online what exactly this whip / nae nae thing was all about.
Turns
out a mother's intuition was right on. An adequate description of this song
might be: "Verbal pornography masked in urban euphemisms". If you
really want to understand click
here. This song getting into an
elementary school talent show is innocent enough. The PTA volunteers who put
this together, possibly like me, had an initial intuition, and then seeing the many
tasks at hand promptly ignored it and moved on to get a show up. But here is
where the story gets interesting. Calvin decided to illuminate both the
principle and the PTA organizers on the true, grotesque meaning of this song
and its inappropriateness in a school talent show. He did not do this in any
sort of mean-spirited way, or in an effort to make anyone feel bad, merely out
of his own shock at the true meaning of the song and the conviction that we as
parents and educators should not be complicit in allowing our kids to learn
such songs, lyrics and dance by rote, once we do know what they are saying. He
wrote a kind email thanking them for their hard work in putting together such
an event, also for the personal time they took to work with Pierson, and then
mentioned our mutual intuition, which led to research and then what this song
is really about.
He
promptly received.......absolutely nothing!! A day or so went by and so Calvin
decided, well if the people in charge do not care, perhaps there are other
parents who would care, or should care to know what their children are being innocently
indoctrinated with while they have no idea what they are actually saying, and
what their dance moves are designed to be suggesting. He put a post on FB about
the song, its true meaning, and mentioning that he came to know this song
through his six-year-old son's school talent show. He tagged the PTA. Suddenly
within minutes he had emails coming in.
Hmmm,..Very
interesting. When something was exposed, suddenly it became very important, yet
when it was still in secret, it did not merit a response. The first response
was not from the two organizers of the show, but rather from the PTA president,
who responded by avoiding the issue altogether and a response that could even possibly
be construed as condescending - something like, I saw your post and I
appreciate hearing an audience member’s feedback. What???? This was not about
audience feedback. It was about whether this song is appropriate for a school
talent show.
The
next response was more defensive, something along the lines of "it seemed
to me to be presented innocently enough". Well once again, the question is
not how it was presented (although the actual "lassoing" gesture with
which it was presented is supposed to be representing a man holding a woman by
the hair whipping her head around while he "does her" from behind
(hence the whip it, in case you did
not watch the link)). But actually even that is beside the point. No one would
condone a song about killing blacks and Jews in ovens, set in Chinese to a cool
beat, just because they did not understand the lyrics. Once one is made aware
of what the lyrics (and in this case gestures) do mean, it is obvious anyone
would say that is reprehensible and obviously inappropriate for an elementary school
talent show. Or for that matter, inappropriate for anyone. Yet these women were
digging their heels in, insisting there was nothing wrong!
And
here is where I come to the downfall of pride and the superpower of humility.
Things could have been so simple. A mere acknowledgement from the initial
personal email, and the whole thing would have been done with. It could have
gone something like: "Oh my goodness, I had no idea the song meant those
things. Of course it is inappropriate for children. Thank you for letting me
know that. In the future we will try to be more careful." Done. I am sure
Calvin would have responded with a kind word (just wanted you to be aware), and
perhaps there would have been a mutual sharing of the shock at the music
industry targeting children.
Instead,
the information went on FB, and in turn the women felt shamed, and then proceeded
to claim there was nothing wrong with the song being in the show. The final
email to Calvin said something like "how dare you...how dare you turn
something beautiful into something awful and hurtful. We worked our asses off
on this show".
This
was never about the women's work, time, efforts or even the success of the
show; yet this is what it turned into in their prideful minds. This was about
revealing the truth of the meaning and intent of a song -- one three-minute
song in a two-hour show. In this case the truth hurts. But should we not want
to know the truth? Should we not desire to be illumined as opposed to remaining
ignorant and safe, all the while perpetuating unwholesome language,
indoctrinating our children that a male chauvinist dominating sexuality and a
women having a duff (designated ugly
fat friend, so she can seem more appealing) are ideas that are just fine?
A
humble heart holds such immense power. It is free and safe because nothing can
knock it over or break it down. It is flexible and flowing. When confronted
with even the most egregious error, it responds with gratitude for the illumination
where there was darkness. It wants to be exposed so that it can shine more
brightly. It is like a stream that flows, freely. Rocks and twigs may enter in
its path, and it will divide or roll over with ease. The water is clean because
it moves and it is wholesome to drink.
Pride
is like a stagnant water, trying to hold. Standing still it digs in, and the
muddy floor gets stirred to cloud the water more. Plants and weeds begin to
take root trying to build a wall. Now we have to uproot the weeds to even make
way for the light. The stronger the hold the more complex and convoluted things
become. The light is hidden, and lost. Humility is like an armor that protects,
but it is soft and subtle; it's as if you are embedded in a cottony cloud, and
if anyone aims to strike, it goes right through. There is nowhere to catch. It
is beautiful and powerful and so simple, like all of God's gifts.
