Im a captive of The Crown, the PBS mini-series on Britains royal family. The sheer opulence of their lives is mesmerizing. That, and their unhappiness in spite of it all. The shows writers indulge us in Schadenfreude; feeling satisfaction at anothers misfortune.
One segment sticks with me.
Prince Philip persuades the Queen to allow a BBC film crew to invade the palace for a spell in order to curry public opinion. Elizabeth cant see the point. Were just normal people, she says as her lady-in-waiting brushes her hair.
I MENTION this only because we all have blinders on to one thing or another.
Most recently, 17-year-old Allie Utley has helped us see how a waterway in town named Coon Creek is offensive, particularly to African Americans.
Some viewed Utleys campaign to return the name to its original Small Creek as making a mountain out of a molehill.
Ive lived here 10 years and Ive never heard a complaint (about Coon Creek) once, Iola Councilman Ron Ballard said at Councils Nov. 25 meeting.
Donna Houser also said at the time that she viewed Utleys request for city leaders to change the name as tampering with history and that she, too, had never heard a disparaging remark about the creeks name.
Two things have since changed Donnas mind.
First, Donna recently attended the 80th birthday bash for Spencer Ambler, a respected African American leader in town.
I got the cold shoulder, she said Thursday. Hardly anyone would talk to me.
Now Donna isnt one to easily slight. I speak my mind, she said, and appreciates when others do likewise.
But to be snubbed by some of her longtime friends was a wakeup call.
Second, she delved into the history of why the waterways name was changed. And just as Allie had said, city fathers adopted the name because a preponderance of African Americans lived along its shores. The derogatory slur is derived from the 1800s when slaves were confined in pens, or barracoons.
Truly, it couldnt get much worse.
