5 Things / Human Connection
I was on vacation the first half of this week. It’s a fascinating opportunity to step out of my bubble. I don’t know about you, but my bubble is full of many lovely people I know who think similarly to me. It also means I can be out of touch.
Although I'm an outgoing extrovert, when I'm traveling, I'm not really the person who makes friends at the pool or the bar. I'd rather lay low and disengage.
This time, though, we spent Tuesday afternoon at the pool with strangers. There was a lot of laughter and connection, until we learned we held wildly different views. Until the political stuff got deep. Until the ways we were different mattered more than the ways we are similar. Yes, the ways we were different were BIG and values-based -- but we had fun first, hours of fun!
Why do humans often focus on the ways we are different from each other instead of the ways in which we are similar? The same reason I keep to myself when traveling…it’s an ancient form of self-protection. But we had fun first. We had a connection first.
Why can’t that be enough? In a perfect world, it would be. And I know I personally still have a lot of work to do.
This Black History Month, Amazon.com added a filter that enables shoppers to shop from Black-owned businesses. This includes Black authors and artists. I like this because amplifying voices and expanding access are ways to create greater equity, and through this easy initiative, Amazon is showcasing underrepresented founders. This is one small way to reduce the racial wealth gap.
Lego is donating model-brick MRI scanners to children’s hospitals so sick kids can better understand what to expect and be less afraid. The scanners open up to reveal the inner machinery so kids have less anxiety. The idea came from an employee, and now employees at Lego locations worldwide are being invited to build the scanners and donate them to a local hospital. This matters because it’s a sweet and authentic way employees can give back to their local communities.
TikTok updated its policies to explicitly ban misgendering, deadnaming (calling someone transgender by their birth name), content that promotes conversion therapy, and also disordered eating. It’s notable because the new policy is very explicit and (relatively) proactively sets a standard of acceptable behavior. This matters because at the end of the day, the policy is about keeping people safe.
The UK’s Channel 4 media coverage of the 2022 Paralympics will be hosted by a team made up exclusively of people with disabilities. This is a global first and the team will provide 80 hours of coverage. This matters because representation matters, because people with disabilities are under-employed, and because their visibility reduces stigma. Love this.
I also love Dolly Parton and her legacy of kindness and generosity. All 11k employees of Dollywood and its parent company will now receive free tuition, books, and fees for higher education in 100 degree programs. This matters because front line employees are historically under-resourced and undervalued, and Dolly is taking better care of them (although she should give them a big raise, too…)