Stop Giving Stupid A Platform

Carmen Lezeth Suarez 6 Comments

 

The new skill to master:

Learning NOT to respond to people who don’t deserve a platform. 

Everyone talks about “fake news” – specifically trying to figure out  what is legitimate and what isn’t.  Another way to fight the possibility of misinformation is to just STOP responding to all of it in a knee jerk way.  ALL. THE. TIME.  Take a breath. Think. Verify. React, if need be.

Here’s the new skill you have to master:  Just because you’ve read something outrageous on Twitter, Facebook or anywhere else doesn’t mean you HAVE to respond to it.  Maybe the new norm should be:  if it sounds outrageous, makes your blood boil, or causes you to gasp, then you need to just assume it’s written to make you feel all those feelings and it should be considered an AUTO BOT until otherwise verified.

Another skill to develop is to do what reporters have done in the past:  find three different legit sources before taking anything seriously and worthy of your precious time.  Whenever I read something on social media, I look for three other sources to validate that information.  And friends or other “friends of friends” don’t count as LEGIT sources!   Even your smartest and best friends fall into this trap – especially those who tend to get all their news from Facebook.  They never question what they read because it’s streaming on their newsfeed.  Wow!

Find three legit sources that you KNOW are reputable.  Whether it be print or television or online – but find three good SOLID sources who have a track record and bookmark them on your devices.  That way, anytime you hear something stunning, you can check easily if this story has surfaced through legit sources.  And “FACEBOOK” and “TWITTER” cannot BE your sources! These are platforms that deliver all types of  information – ANY INFORMATION – they are NOT NEWS SOURCES!!  Please understand the difference.

Stop wasting your time.  Social media is a part of our lives. And it’s an incredible medium that provides such good and wonderful possibilities. But understanding what to react too, what to be bothered with, and how to use your time wisely, is another skill that we just have to learn.  It’s a tough thing for sure – it’s hard to walk away from a headline or tweet that burns through your very core – but once you stop the knee jerk reaction to responding to everything – it gets easier to notice the obvious BOTS and nonsense stories.

And that’s another thing:  this knee jerk reaction to everything needs to stop.  When did everyone become so sensitive? When did everything become so damn important?  And seriously, when did everyone become an expert at everything?  We need to stop reacting emotionally to every story or thought and stop thinking we need to share it in 140 characters or less – not only is it a waste of our time, but 9 times out of 10, it’s also just not our place.  I hate to be so cliché, but yes, everyone has an opinion and opinions are like assholes… or something like that.  Simply, you can have an opinion, but sometimes its appropriate to keep it to yourself!

Let’s stop feeding into the very thing that is making the internet a very dangerous medium.  Instead, let’s start teaching ourselves and our children to investigate, scrutinize, and develop critical thinking skills to use this amazing vehicle in the best way possible.

Let’s stop giving STUPID a platform.

 

I’m Not Done

Carmen Lezeth Suarez 2 Comments

It’s not over yet, is it?

I’m not done.  Mostly because I haven’t really started yet.  The journey till now has been all that I had to do.  The path forward is all about what I want to do. I get that now.

I’ve had little fear in my life, mostly when I was a child.  I learned the best way to deal with fear is to walk right up to it, scream at it and move on through anyways.  “Fear ain’t nothing but a thang.” I still say that to myself all the time.

So, I’m not afraid. I’m excited, bewildered maybe, but going forward nonetheless.  There’s no other choice for me really.  Reminiscing about my accomplishments or contemplating my failures has proven to be futile.

I know it’s time to move forward – continue on the path. Enjoy the rest of the journey.

I think I’m gonna love this part. 

One More Try, The Power of Music

Carmen Lezeth Suarez 2 Comments

“I’ve had enough of danger
And people on the streets
I’m looking out for angels
Just trying to find some peace…”

I love music. I respect the power of it.

Like most, I grew up around music.  Mama used to play  Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, Louie Armstrong — just to name a few.   At some point you’d hear Elvis, Engelbert Humperdinck, Tom Jones, anything and everything Motown….all of it meshing together for me as a kid. One minute it’d be something Country from Glenn Campbell, next it’d be Bach, Mozart, Beethoven or… The Commodores.  Yup. Music appreciation meant listening to all of it.  I didn’t like some of it, but I understood perfectly well that Mama and Music, were a “thing”.  And my memories are filled with Billie Holiday themed scenes one second, and Neil Diamond the next.  All music was good.  “Even them Beatles got sum’thin’ happenin’ there…”.  Ha!

I learned pretty quickly that  whether I liked a genre or not, I needed to respect it, understand it.  There was always a time and place to listen to something.  For example, some music was  clearly cleaning music. I’d watch as Mama danced around the house cleaning with a rag and bottle of Lysol scrubbing base boards and dancing like it was all part of some grand job.  That might be where I got my love for dancing now that I think about it.   But there was also “deep thinking” kind of music too.  Blues were good for that.  Bach.  You get the gist. Some music Mama put on just to get through payin’ them bills.  Serious kind of thinking music. No lyrics, just mood music… (that was never fun).

As I got older I learned quickly about  “getting over an ex-boyfriend” – kind of music.  Sing-a-longs, bar music, dance music (for sure), good ‘ole rock n’ roll music, cryin’ music…  It truly is the universal language, isn’t it? I mean, they say love is, but before you get to love, it’s always so much easier to find that familiar rhythm, right?   That connection…music just makes everything…easier. More beautiful. More palatable. It’s the best form of therapy as far as I’m concerned.

I love George Michael. His unexpected death, along with Prince’s and David Bowie and so many other great legends this past year, truly burdened my heart something fierce. I’m not sure why it happens actually, but music connects us to something deeper somehow.   I learned from Mama that music could walk you through anything. If you didn’t know how to feel or how to say something or even how to pay a bill — if you threw on some music, you’d certainly feel better and eventually figure things out….

This is one of my favorite songs from George Michael.  One More Try.  He has a beautiful “Gospel” rendition as well on his latest CD Symphonica and I’m not sure which I love more (both videos are below).  But this song – the original –  spoke for me at a time, when I couldn’t figure out how to say what was wrong.  It’s exactly how I felt at one point in my life for a long time…and somehow I was able to scream this from the rooftops through this song and let it all out.. and eventually, like Mama said, I moved on through…

George Michael will finally be buried in the next few days, more than 10 weeks after his death on Christmas Day.  For those of us that revered  him so much for what he gave to the music world, it really is finally time to say good-bye.

oh, the power of music…

Music Lyrics (Video Below) “One More Try” by George Michael

I’ve had enough of danger
And people on the streets
I’m looking out for angels
Just trying to find some peace
Now I think it’s time
That you let me know
So if you love me
Say you love me
But if you don’t
Just let me go…

‘Cause teacher
There are things that I don’t want to learn
And the last one I had
Made me cry
So I don’t want to learn to
Hold you, touch you
Think that you’re mine
Because it ain’t no joy
For an uptown boy
Whose teacher has told him goodbye, goodbye, goodbye

When you were just a stranger
And I was at your feet
I didn’t feel the danger
Now I feel the heat
That look in your eyes
Telling me No
So you think that you love me
Know that you need me
I wrote the song, I know it’s wrong
Just let me go…

And teacher
There are things that I don’t want to learn
Oh the last one I had
Made me cry
So I don’t want to learn to
Hold you, touch you
Think that you’re mine
Because it ain’t no joy
For an uptown boy
Whose teacher has told him goodbye, goodbye, goodbye

So when you say that you need me
that you’ll never leave me
I know you’re wrong, you’re not that strong
Let me go. . .

And teacher
there are things, that I still have to learn
But the one thing I have
Is my pride

Oh, so I don’t want to learn to
Hold you
Touch you
Think that you’re mine
Because there ain’t no joy
for an uptown boy
who just as I’m willing to try
I’m so cold, inside

Maybe, just one more try

Gospel Version

RIP GKP

First Day in Shorts…Sun Damage…

GalleryCarmen Lezeth Suarez 5 Comments

First day running in shorts!  Oh, California I’m so glad we’ve had so much rain, but I loved today so much.  Not too hot, not too cold, finally no rain — sunny and gorgeous.  Beautiful day and a perfect run!   But looking at these pics, I noticed something on my skin I wanted to share…wait for it…

1) My bruised knees from a fall over two months ago — doesn’t look like the scars are going away any time soon!  😦

bruised-knees

2)  Mid Cam Pic.  I was hoping to record my squats, but uhm, nope.

laughing-mid-cam-03-03-17

3)  My favorite part:  Resting. Done.

resting

See those “white” dots/discoloration on my legs?  Sun-damage.  Yup.  And I don’t even lay in the sun.  So, please wear your sunscreen always peeps!  On lighter tones you may not even notice what too much of the wonderful sun can do to your skin.

Be smart and take care of you!

Happy sweet weekend to you!

Carmen

A Note to UNDER ARMOUR’s PR Folk

Carmen Lezeth Suarez
  • I wrote  this on a Facebook comment section of Under Armour’s advertising of a sports bra that the brilliant Misty Copeland was wearing.  It’s in response to another person telling me that Kevin Plank (CEO of Under Armour) really wasn’t saying all that much….  here’s my response.

Thank you for your information.  However, I’m quite concerned with any business that vocalizes their opinion during such a turbulent time in our country so much so, that their own spokespeople (Misty, The Rock and Steph Curry for example) find it necessary to come out and set the record straight, sort of speak.

Here’s the thing:  I don’t want my country to fail – no matter who’s in office.  I’m not sure any SANE American wants that.  So, if any administration finds the need to reach out to people in business to get answers, to give help or advice, then so be it. I know other organization like Amazon, Tesla and others have met with the Administration trying to assist in the next steps…  I get all of that.  Unfortunately, like UBER, you guys (UA) stepped in it and you stepped in it “bigly”.

You don’t get a pass from me because this is the business you’re in.  You should know better.  And yes, I’m so disappointed. I do love Misty Copeland and she was one of the first reasons I made the change from Nike to UA.  And just yesterday, I bought NIKE shorts online — I haven’t bought from NIKE in a long time but I’m getting ready for a Tough Mudder in March so I bought two pair.  Honestly, I didn’t even flinch at where I was going to purchase my new items… I just did it.

When you guys “step in it” it does something to the subconscious.  And surely, I’m not a supporter of this NIKEadministration.  But as professionals in this field, you guys should know better.  Maybe the same thing happened with Obama – people got upset with organizations that supported him, I have no idea.  Regardless, just like Uber, you have some mending to do from a PR point of view.  Of course Uber went all out and wrote a letter to its customers, and when I got rid of the APP on my phone, I got a letter from Uber asking me to reconsider and to give them one more shot – then, I was asked to just read a little more information on what the organization is doing to help others, to clear the air.  I linked over and saw a more detailed outline of what they were doing to be on-board with what is MORALLY right – and yes, not lose me to Lyft (I’m not completely clueless that, at the end of the day this is capitalism after all and business is business – I’m fine with that, as long as you have a moral compass as a human being, as a company).

Am I using Uber nowadays?  Not just yet, because I haven’t needed to.  But, I put the app back on my phone and I certainly will next time I need a ride.  I give Uber credit for acknowledging the issue and realizing they probably could have done better initially.  They didn’t deny the mistake.  Or make it sounds like it was just some little thing.

If Under Armour wants my business in the future, it needs to stay out of politics.  Period. Full Stop.  If it chooses to assist OUR COUNTRY in helping any administration, it needs to do so, understanding the ramifications of all of their verbage, and acting accordingly.  I would think this is PR 101.