Banter Bites

Hate Having To Address This

How do you fight hate? Well, first, you have to admit it exists.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Whether it's flags at half-staff, people rallying across the country (great photos), articles in newspapers, emotional reports from televisions journalists (or all of the above), we're now aware of the extent of hate crimes against Asians in America, although we may each have different perspectives …

Since childhood, Red has always been guided by her warm and fuzzy personality and her genuine inclination to be nice to people, not to mention her conflict avoidance tendencies. And even though we grew up in New York, we were still sheltered from people who were "different", which became more evident to Red when she went to school in "the South." Once she started traveling internationally, and then lived overseas in Europe and Southeast Asia, she learned about other cultures and people, developing a better understanding and respect for their beliefs.

Black, on the other hand, doesn't "do nice" and can be extremely blunt (she sometimes will disagree with someone just for the "sport" of it). She admits that she's opinionated about people, and can be impatient or intolerant. However, she'll quickly clarify that means individuals, not a race or group of people. Her reactions are always based on that specific person's words or actions, not on characteristics of their identity. That's why, to her, hate crimes are not only morally wrong, but illogical.

So, although we view hate crimes from different perspectives, we're both outraged and saddened to learn about hate crimes in America against Asian people, and think that President Biden said it best,

At this very moment, so many of them – our fellow Americans – they're on the frontlines of this pandemic, trying to save lives, and still, still, they're forced to live in fear for their lives just walking down streets in America. It's wrong, it's un-American, and it must stop.

This is one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites in large part because of Black’s “corny” puns, but also because fresh corn is a summer staple – whether cooked on the grill or in the microwave, whether eaten on its own or as a primary ingredient in refreshing summer salads


This may be one of the corniest things you’ll ever read.

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: It’s just a vegetable, so how can it possibly elicit such a strong reaction from Red, while, for Black, it’s more a source of amusement and even, it turns out, admiration?

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Think you can avoid artificial intelligence? Think again …

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Red already fights technology at every turn, preferring to keep her ostrich head in the sand, plus, she finds Artificial Intelligence (AI) scary; whereas Black knows ignoring reality merely postpones the inevitable, so she’s started playing with AI to understand it better …

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A man better known for his death than his life, although Red, the straight-A student and history lover, immediately thinks of the costly and controversial movie of his life. (Well, technically, it was the life of Cleopatra.) Black, of course, focuses on business – leadership lessons, including the power of words, although she surprises Red with some food trivia. But the fact July’s named after him is the perfect excuse to rerun one of Red’s favorite Banter Bites …

Quick! If someone says "Julius Caesar," what comes to mind?

BANTER BITE BACKSTORY: Almost everyone has heard of Julius Caesar, but how many of us really know much about him, or at least that's what Red starts to wonder when she receives the usual flippant, but still accurate, reply from her sister, after feeling very proud that she knew that July was named after the famous Roman.

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