Op Ed
You Can’t Unfriend Ignorance
Technological evolution does not equate to moral evolution. We’ve somehow convinced ourselves that because governments use missiles instead of muskets to fight wars and we use cell phones instead of snail mail to communicate, we’ve made strides in the fields of emotional and moral intelligence. We have not. The KKK still burns digital crosses brightly on our cyber lawns but because we have the ability to “unfriend” that sentiment, we just delete or block the hatred and ignorance. What we are in fact doing is pretending it doesn’t exist when it is alive and well and that is exactly the wrong thing to do.
Sad to say but ignorance is the only disease you can contract through abstinence
The deliberate ignorance of longstanding issues that fester in society does much more harm than good in the long run. Ignoring an issue has never served to render it innocuous. Moreso the opposite. The wound that goes untreated is more susceptible to infection and more likely to spread. Once that occurs, treatment becomes difficult if not impossible. Ignorance of any kind is the fuel that fosters ignorance of every kind. Sad to say but ignorance is the only disease you can contract through abstinence.
At some point, we all need to accept the fact that we are all flawed. When that happens, we will stop pretending to be perfect because that imaginary benchmark of perfection we set is what we measure ourselves and others against. Politicians are masters of this flawed practice and it is their own undoing in this regard. Promises of “a chicken in every pot” have yet to be fulfilled but we are still polarized, enamored and ultimately disappointed when those empty sentiments go unfulfilled. Heaven forbid we elect any sound candidate who runs under the premise of “I’ll see what I can do.” rather than “On my first day in office, I will repel evil and guarantee wealth and happiness for every American!”
We often get so dejected with this David and Goliath-esque struggle of aware vs. ignorant that we’ve decided not to even sling our rock at the giant. We just want to go home and let Goliath have it all because fighting is very very very very tiring and quite frankly, soul consuming. There’s a reason why it’s called the “battle” between good and evil and not the “love affair” or “happy union” between good and evil however. It is in fact a battle. A constant and never ending one and sitting on the sidelines is not a luxury any living soul has the benefit of. 
Cumbersome as it may be, how do you convince someone that they are engaged in wrongdoing without interaction? How do you alter a mindset without communication? The hubris of the enlightened is such that they believe their enlightenment is the objective when it is merely the beginning. You have never changed the perception of someone who already thinks like you because they already think like you. Of course it’s annoying remaining friends with someone you believe to be morally inept but keep in mind, if you don’t do your best to help in their growth, they will eventually make decisions (and votes) which will effect your livelihood for the worse. By eliminating viewpoints you find oppositional, you also eliminate any chance of communication and enlightenment on the part of the unaware.
Sidebar;
Do you only love your kids when they do well?
Do you only love your parents when they treat you great?
Do yon only love your friends when they agree with you?
Sidebar Complete.
Almost every year for the past 6 years and on the same day, I’ve posted the same pic of me in the hospital during my temporary and untimely demise in 2015. A few weeks after I was back to “normal”, I asked Eric “Why’d you take the pics?” And he said, “I knew you would want to write about it if you lived.” Eric was right. Eric was often right and Eric always had my best interest at heart. I am going to miss my friend.
You ever meet someone and become friends immediately?! Well this was not the case with Eric. Before he was my manager at Morgan Stanley, I would often see this 6’4″, giant white guy walk up to the only black woman at work, say something then walk away without any hint of human emotion. Naturally I thought he was a jerk until I asked her “Yo, is that dude bothering you?” She laughed and proceeded to tell me he was a great person, which I ultimately got to experience first hand. Little did I know this Italian from Staten Island was more Brooklyn than most Brooklynites.
Eric was not with the shits!! If there were ever someone who lived their life in direct, honest and no uncertain terms, that would be Eric. He would ask me questions at work like “Why are the other consultants making more money than you?” I knew the answer to that question and so did he. Eric then proceeded to increase my salary by 15K. After arguing with all our managers that “You need to hire Alfred!”, they eventually did 1 year prior to the 2015 incident. In the hospital, one of my friends asked me, “What if you didn’t have health insurance when this happened?” I would be in debt for the rest of my life is the obvious answer. I still am in debt for the rest of my life but at least, it is to those who made sure I had a more enjoyable life and for that, I will gladly repay.
My mom loved to tell me the story of how she met Eric. After they told her I was going to be in the ICU for some time, she told the doctor “Well I’m not going anywhere.” She then hears a voice from that back of the room that says “Well I’m not going anywhere either!” That was Eric and in true form, he was at that hospital every single day until I was discharged.
Eric passed away in December 2021 of stage 4 cancer. After feeling faint on his way to my bbq, he went to get checked out and was diagnosed. During the past 5 years, Eric lost his mom, twin brother and dad. I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have felt like but I’m glad that pain he was feeling is no more.
From being my manager to my business partner, writer, book editor, artistic director, and most importantly, my friend, I am going to miss you MC Krispy E a.k.a “Enrique Pollazo!” And although you told me Enrique means Henry in Spanish and not Eric, it was too late!
Sidebar. The day I was discharged, while everyone was deciding what was best for me, no one had remembered that I would need clothes in order to leave the hospital. Eric shows up (unasked) with all the clothes I had on the day I coded, laundered and ready to go. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve friends like this but i need to keep doing it! Sidebar complete.
Rest in Peace Eric. “Be Good.”
