How to be more inclusive?

stop listening to the snobs

Handy balked at hanging out. He didn’t like some of my CD’s.

It was 1992. I was playing Pearl Jam’s album ‘10’.

Handy kept rolling his eyes.

Pearl Jam were not cool enough for Handy. They were ‘too’. for him.

Either that or ‘not enough’.

Whatever the case was, I quietly took my cues from him and the other insecure eye rolling domineering trendies who were the self appointed lords of the local music scene.

Not only was my neurologically diverse behaviour uncomfortable and problematic for Andy, now the music that I enjoyed wasn’t good enough either.

It was pretty painful having my taste questioned. It was as though I was unacceptable as a person if I committed the sin of liking something popular in the mainstream.

I quickly fell in line. Despite liking certain music, I quickly sold those CD’s for what ever musicians were the darlings of the university radio set back in the day.

I learned to like the right things and think the right thoughts in order to belong.

I did a really shit job of it too.