Or something like that.Masks are a reflection of social trust in society -- in Tocqueville's words, "self-interest well understood." It's the ability to make a small sacrifice that benefits the public good, and in doing so, benefits you, as well. The U.S. currently has very low levels of social trust https://t.co/m36MOyPVim
— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) February 16, 2022
Although, to be fair, we were once capable of this:
‘Candy Bomber’ of Berlin blockade, Gail Halvorsen, dies at 101 https://t.co/h6npu7ROm7
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) February 17, 2022
On an off day, he hitched a ride on a transport flight to Berlin so he could shoot some footage with his movie camera. After landing at Tempelhof, he walked over to a group of about 30 German children who were watching all the activity through a fence."They came right up to the barbed wire and spoke to me in English," he recalled. "Those kids were giving me a lecture, telling me, 'Don't give up on us. If we lose our freedom, we'll never get it back.' American-style freedom was their dream."Their words left a mark, as did the way they meticulously divided and shared two sticks of gum he gave them, along with the scented wrapper. He vowed to return with enough for all, to be delivered from the air. They’d know the plane was his because he’d wiggle the wings.“My copilot and engineer gave me their candy rations — big double handfuls of Hershey, Mounds and Baby Ruth bars, and Wrigley’s gum,” he recalled. “Three weeks we did it, three parachutes each time. The crowd got big.”Soon, thank-you letters began to arrive in the barracks, addressed to “Uncle Wiggly Wings.” He feared the worst when photos of his plane made front-page news in local newspapers, which led to him being called in to explain his actions to his superiors.Instead of being penalized, he was ordered to drop even more sweet treats; his commanders realized the good will that Mr. Halvorsen was generating in East and West Berlin and at home in the United States, where donations of candies and handkerchiefs were organized.Operation Little Vittles, as the drop of gum and chocolate bars came to be known, turned into a diplomatic coup, altering Germans’ perceptions of Americans and paving the way for future humanitarian airlifts. Mr. Halvorsen became known as the “Candy Bomber” and “Der Schokoladen Flieger” — “the Chocolate Flyer.”In 1974, Mr. Halvorsen was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for his kind deeds.Allied pilots would end up flying 278,000 missions to Berlin, carrying about 2.3 million tons of food, coal, medicine and other supplies.
Der Shokoladen Flieger. 2 years after a very bloody, very hard war. One feels hope for humanity in stories like these.
"Der Shokoladen Flieger. 2 years after a very bloody, very hard war. One feels hope for humanity in stories like these."
ReplyDeleteWe have had a very emotional 48 hours. On Wednesday our daughter, a high school senior was taking an exam in an AP class. She notice one of her classmates looking up answers online, and after the exam when she logged into the class group chat, that the same student had posted an answer key during the exam. Our daughter felt this invalidated the whole exam and reported it to the teacher. Unfortunately this was overheard by another student. Then everything really unraveled.
A second group chat formed excluding our daughter and a series of posts were made saying extremely unkind things about our daughter. Through the power of social media, these were forwarded, posted and amplified and spread like wildfire across the school. Others piled on and added to the nasty posts (our daughter only told us later about the additional posts, she knew we would be upset and she wanted to shield us from some of the worst). Several of our daughter's friends and her boyfriend saw the posts and on their own reported them to the school as bullying. We first heard about this Wednesday night when our daughter sent us the first post and let us know what was happening. (She is finishing her senior year at the public high school and living with a family friend in our old town since we had to move seven hours away for my job). By this point she reported the posts herself since she knew the school would ask her anyway and she had a meeting scheduled with her guidance counselor for early the next morning. We ended up emailing the principal and counselor Wednesday night with our concerns. By Thursday morning events had escalated to our daughter being threatened with getting beat up and her car wrecked. Once we heard that we contacted the school and said we needed a call, emails were not enough. A call was scheduled for later morning.
Thankfully the school recognized the situation and took immediate steps. All the students that had posted negative comments about our daughter were called in, as was the student that had made the threat of physical harm. Parents were called, etc. By the time of our call all the students that had posted had been spoken to and warned that any further posts or retaliation would result in immediate consequences. The student that made threats was dealt with separately (reading between the lines, they were suspended). The cheating incident was being managed by the committee that addressed academic integrity. The counselor, school social worker and principal had all spoken with our daughter and were supporting her. We, the family our daughter is staying with and the school were all hoping to de-escalate the situation.
In the aftermath everyone was reeling. Our daughter was second guessing if she should have done anything (we have tried to raise children with a sense of personal integrity, but it's hard to convey the cost of that integrity). Her boyfriend that has stood up for her, had been attacked by his own friend group and who he thought was his best friend had trashed him on social media. There was a lot of regret for posts made, words spilled and threats made. We have created this systems that were pitched to us as creating community and connection, and we have seen them sow dissention, promote falsehoods, racism and division. We have handed these same powerful weapons to teenagers even less capable of managing their emotions and responses. What do we expect to happen?
Standing back from the epicenter of this social media blast that metastasized in a matter of hours, it's hard to think there was anything but hurt from the experience. Despite the brave face our daughter has been deeply hurt by the comments. Her boyfriend is reeling from the realization that those he thought were his closest friends and best support were anything but. But somehow there is that glimmer of humanity.
Last night, one of young women that made one of the first posts sent my daughter an apology. Our daughter felt it was very sincere. They wrote back and forth to each other and our daughter accepted the apology. She explained how the events had also hurt her boyfriend (they are all in the same class and know each other) and asked if she would apologize to him too. The young woman said she understood and would reach out to him too. So far no one else has apologized (but our daughter thinks the person that made the threat has had their phone taken away and is off all communication. As a parent that is what I would have done). But there was at least one person that recognized their actions. They are all teenagers and still maturing. Also the school told us they have a process of reconciliation if our daughter and the student that made the threat want to use it. The social worker brings them together to discuss what happened. My daughter can explain how she felt and the consequences. Each student can have an advocate there too for support (likely the school counselor for our daughter since she has a lot of trust in him). There is a way, if they each choose, to talk this through. Call it reconciliation, restorative justice, but a process to get beyond the events and seek some realignment and peace between them. If only we had such things for our greater society. It gives me some hope.
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