A Guide To Anger And Conflict Resolution
Welcome to From Insults to Respect. This week, I happened to be listening to Paul McCartney’s album, Egypt Station, and the song “Who Cares” came on. There we hear Sir Paul sympathizing with pretty much all of us who, at one point or another, have been picked on. The song begins: A-one, a-two Oh yeah Did you ever get hurt by the words people say And…
Read MoreWelcome to From Insults to Respect. Here’s a story that just might deepen your thoughts about racism. Cool Steve Deals With Racism Monday morning. Lincoln feels more familiar now. Here and there I see someone I know. After lunch, my black friend, Leroy and I are talking about our rock band rehearsal next Thursday night while heading to math class. I spot Steve Marino…
Read MoreWelcome to From Insults To Respect. When thirteen-year old Cool Steve’s parents no longer can afford the rent where they had been living, they move to a less expensive, run down apartment. Steve has to start a new junior high school even though it’s the middle of a school year. Let’s see if we can learn something when we see how Steve handles his first day…
Read MoreWelcome to From Insults To Respect. Today, I present a brief story that asks the question, How would someone people respect handle the challenging situation of being insulted? The story is an abbreviated section from my novel, Fights In The Streets, Tears In The Sand. The story’s setting, 1965, Brooklyn’s lower middle class section of Brighton Beach. Jeff Star, one of the two major character’s of…
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Welcome to From Insults To Respect. Today, I present a brief story that asks the question, How would someone people respect handle the challenging situation of racial discrimination? The story is an abbreviated section from my novel, Fights In The Streets, Tears In The Sand. The story’s setting, 1965, Brooklyn’s lower middle class section of Brighton Beach. Jeff Star, one of the two major character’s of…
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Welcome to From Insults to Respect. This week I happened to watch on TV the play Next to Normal. It dramatically and musically brought forth a wealth of thoughtful and emotional reactions. I can’t, in a single post, express all of these, so here, I’m going to focus on just one–the issue of blaming those given a mental disorder label and their parents for how they are…
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Welcome to From Insults to Respect. Recently, upon turning 75, I was reflecting upon how my remaining days have become fewer and fewer. Accompanying these thoughts were some pretty bluesy feelings. Suddenly, the Spotify music streaming I was listening to, Bob Dylan’s “Planet Waves” album began to play, “Forever Young.” “Oh, to be young again,” I thought. The first few lyrics of the song go: …
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Welcome to From Insults to Respect. One insult we often hear is someone being called conceited. On Oh Mercy, Bob Dylan’s 1989 album, he has a song titled “Disease of Conceit” that powerfully, poetically, and musically captures the emotions that can come about from this behavior. Emphasizing each of his major visceral reactions related to conceit are crashing piano chords, and as the song drifts…
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Welcome to From Insults To Respect. Recently, I came across an article by Hanna Wallace that presents in a Q&A format a discussion with Mónica Guzmán, author of the book, I Never Thought of It That Way: How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times. The article appears in Reasons to be Cheerful, a nonprofit publication founded by artist and musician David Byrne, who…
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Welcome to From Insults to Respect. In a recent post titled, “Is Depression Really So Bad?” I presented the theory that conceptualizing depression as an awful mental disorder too often discourages active coping beyond taking a pill. In contrast, if we frame depression as potentially a healthy functional signal, it may lead to less self-stigma and greater self-efficacy in making healthy life-style improvements. Quite a…
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