Why aren't you mad too?!

"Hear ye!  Hear ye!"

Some people are just now “getting” what you “got” many years ago.  

Others will not “get it” for a good long while in the future.  

Some will never “get it”.

The nature of information is that way.  

Not everyone is an “early adopter”, meaning that when something new comes about, not everyone has access to it or wants it.

Some people wait a long time and watch other people interact with it before they decide whether they’ll “get it” or reject it.

You name the topic – religion, politics, race, community issues, specific politicians, cultural changes, justice issues, the environment, fashion, hobbies or past times, technologies, etc – everyone usually has a different speed at which they hear about something, consider it, and either adopt it or reject it.

It can be incredibly frustrating to those who “get it” earlier – to have to watch others take forever to process info and get on the bandwagon about something.  

It’s usually also frustrating to those who “get it later” – because many of them wonder why those who “got it” earlier aren’t as passionate and “on fire” as they are at the moment.

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I remember in the early ‘90’s being excited about and active in some social justice issues that groups I was part of didn’t seem to have any interest in at all.  

They’d look at me like I was an alien when I’d bring up some topics.  

Or they’d say things like “Well now, change takes time.  You can’t rush some things.  Relax and let it happen on its own.”

Or they’d just ignore the discussion.  Busy with their own lives, jobs, relationships, etc, they’d just ignore the topic, wait till you finished talking, change the subject, and move on.

Some of those same people are red-hot, on fire for some of those same topics now and preach/post on social media about them as if they were a prophet called by God to set the world straight.  

And I’m “past it” already on those same topics, having seen how many of the solutions for those topics went nowhere and helped no one.  Generally speaking, they caused more problems and were often a smokescreen for some other power struggle going on in culture.

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Usually, the late adopters who passed by those topics a decade or more back are people who have, in the interim, had some significant life changes.

Something happened to them – health, jobs, relationships, etc – and now that THEY’VE had something happen to them, NOW it’s important to talk about those topics.

It is just the nature of culture and change.  People don’t hear or care until it’s personal.  And usually it’s not personal until it is painful.

The pain might be actual hard times a person has gone through or even pain from someone close to them. 

Usually it’s pain that moves a person from not caring to being a passionate advocate about something.

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I’ve watched people who have gone through serious medical issues (or their family did) and then have to figure out how they’ll pay for substantial debt and ongoing treatment – watched them become passionate advocates of healthcare reform, subsidies for certain groups, etc – and before that thing happened to them, they would have looked at you like you were crazy if you’d suggested they get involved in that kind of thing.

I’ve watched people who have experienced some kind of prejudice or discrimination (or someone close to them did) become passionate advocates for reforms of all kinds, social pressure/shame campaigns against those they perceive to the “the problem”.  And before that happened to them, they’d have thought you were being a bit over the top if you’d suggested they needed to get involved in that kind of thing.

Same with people who’ve run into issues with church, religion, or faith.

Same with people who’ve had some issue they associate with politics or a politician.

Same with people who’ve run into conflict with some other groups like a school, homeowners association, or business, etc.

People don’t care until it’s personal and it’s not personal until it’s painful.

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So what do you do with those kinds of dynamics?  

For me, it’s just a good time to listen to people.  Give a lot of grace.  

Know that pain, healing, and awareness come in waves and pass through culture and people at different times.  

Some people are showing up and you left there a year ago.  Some will show up and respond very differently than you.

Not everyone is going to respond the same way or agree with someone’s newly found cause.

Be kind to people who are at a different place than you.  

Be patient with all the virtue signaling.

Know that some of them purposefully will not be kind because they’ve learned or been taught to create havoc and cause pain to make people move.  

And some of them just love the idea of being in a fight because they’ve got some other unresolved issues that are just looking for an outlet.

Many of them are just wanting attention, regardless of how they can get it.

Stand back and let’m pass.

A lot of those times are full of self-correcting errors – times when people have to learn and come to a new place on their own, either by compulsion or by compassion.

Invest in where you want to go and in who you want to be.  

Be the change you want to see and let others figure it out in their own time.

Peace and goodwill.