I recently finished reading a book called “Hit Makers” by Derek Thompson, and on March 1, 2017, I came across this cute picture from News 6 TV out of Richmond, Va., with the following:
“This morning, Jax and I were discussing his wild hair. I told him that he needed a haircut this weekend. He said he wanted his head shaved short so he could look like his friend Reddy. He said he couldn’t wait to go to school on Monday with his hair like Reddy’s so that his teacher wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. He thought confusing his teacher with the same haircut would be hilarious. 
 Here’s a picture of Jax and Reddy from their Christmas program. I’m sure you all see the resemblance. 
 If this isn’t proof that hate and prejudice are something that is taught, I don’t know what is. The only difference Jax sees in the two of them is their hair.”

This story really touched me. At the age of six, in 1950, I lost my best friend because of segregation. His name was Bernie. Some things stay with you for life. In 1998, I was in my Internship to complete Substitute Teacher training, and the unthinkable happened. A first grader, with the ears of his classmates, asked me a question. ” Are you a…..? And then the “n” word came out. It has been almost twenty years, and I still can see the seriousness on his face.

This blog is for the intuitive thinkers of the millennial generation because it is hard for middle age people to change. “Hit Makers” is recommended if there is a concern for future generations. The partisanship on issues, the bully mindset, and fear-mongering is a culture that needs to die a quick death. Hate is still being taught in back rooms at the breakfast table and by the cowardly displays of vandalism at Jewish centers and grave sites around the nation. “Hit Makers” gives an insight into the psychology of why people like what they like and the cultural chaos in social networks. I did the audio version, bookmarking notes that stood out. The following is a synopsis, in my view.

There is economic value in cultural differences in the social network. There are ways to engineer words and in the repetition to get people to believe almost anything. The architecture of the human mind is ancient, with the basic needs to belong to escape and to aspire. To understand and to be understood are eternal, but there comes anxiety in learning something new, giving resistance to change. We share bad news with friends but only good news with friends on Facebook. Millions of people compete for attention on social media, at times using the bully pulpit to get a reaction and attention, no different than the hate enthusiast that operates in the sneak of the night. Memory was once civilization’s library, with half the world unable to read or write as late as 1960. Now our minds are full of someone else’s alternative facts.

I pray that Jax and Reddy are still friends when they reach my age. It was the summer of 1949 when Bernie and I became friends. He would always welcome me with a smile. We started school the next year, and the smile went away. We never spoke again.

“The Melting Pot” needs some attention.