Black Lives, Still Mattering

CONVERSATIONS with imperfect perfect strangers can be and in fact often more interesting than those with coworkers, friends, and family members, for obvious reasons. Yet, like the latter, the former can often include an, um, shall we say, prickly part or three. Sometimes, I think I actually prefer chatting with strangers to close associates. For one thing, I learn more. I have a close frined who owns an imprted clothing soter, attire from India, Equador, and Viet Nam, mainly, places with colorful garb which he likes to visit anyway. His store looks like an art museum. I was standint there withi my sister waiting for the owner's imminent arrival; his tennis match was, reportedly, nearly done. At seventy years old, I was hoping he wouldn't have to play overtime. Sis and I struck up with the nice, attractive young lady at the cash register. We discovered a connection. The lady looked at my sister, and said: 'Hey! I used to cut your hair"! "Sho 'nuff", responded sis. "I aint looked as good since"....(my sister is one of those just plain nice people.) I believed her.(Her own hair was a magnificent array of curls, swirls, dreadlocks, and shades of color, which, she informed us, was self styled.) Changing thd subject, I said: "I presume you don't carry "Black Lives Matter" T shirts here?" (I've been looking for a long time, and hell, this was a clothing store....I want to wear my BLM shirt to my senior center, but that's another story and a seperate issue.) "So you should presume", said she, or something similar but less articulate. "Also", she continued. "You might want to reconsider your interest in Black Lives Matter. They're corrupt. The leaders embezzled their money, and became millionaires." I , much to my credit, said nlthing. I'm starting to learn to choose my battles. Why ruin a good time? Had I said smething, it might have started an argument. I sure as hell wasn't going to say: "Wow! Really? Gee, thanks for the heads up! I'll cancel my membership immediately." I am one of those personaltiy types which has an overwhelming urge to speak whatever is on my mind; I always mistakenly think that whatever I think and have to say is so important that I simply must share it with a ccaptivated, (captive) audience. But, as I say..I'm learning...But since you msut know, I would have said this" "Nevertheless, black lives still do matter, and I strongly suspect that the vast majorty of the million member organization, including me, remain dirt poor. Only an elite few become millionaires, no matter where in the world you look. The vast majority of us are good people, and we have only a few bad apples, kinda like, oh, the police. I began to suspect that we were in the presence of a conservative, maybe even an extremist wacko conspiracy theorist. These days you never know. I have no intention of finding out. I have lost count of the number of times someone has responded to my mere mention of the BLM movement with something like: "They burn down cities" they'r anrchists. Well, actually, "they" don't, and they aren't. A few bad apples torching and looting a few businesses is not a burned down city, heinous though it is. BLM people want government to strongly oppose racism, which it cannot do if it is abolished. Conservatives, desperate for efffectual arguments, embellish like George Santos, one of their very own. If the truth is inconvenient, replace it. Suddenly climate change is a hoax, and Trump won the election. To discuss much of anything with such people is pointless. I'm damned well not gonna change them, and they aren't worth stressing out over.