Yes, it’s cool to hate OJ. But you’re better than that.

Fine, sure, condemn what he did. But don’t condemn him.

You’ve done bad things, too, right? They might be minor things, but we all know the mob would go after you too if they could get away with it. That’s what mobs do. They go after anybody who’s “bad”.

Don’t be part of the mob.

Don’t encourage the mob.

Stand up to the mob.

Go against the flow. Take a risk.

Choose a point of view and defend it. You get to choose what it is. You’ve got to articulate this stuff. Don’t just do what they’re doing. Take a stand. Be a leader.

We, all of us, need YOUR way of seeing things.

We don’t need more of the normal way. We all know that script, which is why it’s so easy for you to recite. But, it shouldn’t be easy. It should take work and you should do that work.

Something only YOU can say.

I want to know what it is. I’m getting tired of the script. Please do the work.

Do you know who Daryl Davis is? Don’t worry, I’ll tell you who Daryl Davis is. He’s a black guy who goes to KKK rallies.

Watch the TED talk:

Be more like Daryl Davis. Stand up for something besides hate (you get to choose what). Yes, it takes work to defend it, but you need to do that work. Like I’m doing right now.

Yes, you’ll lose friends and you’ll make enemies. But, you’ll also get new friends and you’ll scare the s**t out of your old enemies.

That’s all a good thing. Right now, your enemies don’t fear you enough. And your friends love you too much. They think you’re too nice. Your friends don’t know you.

Come on, do the work.

This could be interesting.

—Michael

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