Tuesday, June 7, 2011

In case you were wondering...

I've had a few questions about the name of my blog, so I thought I would share with you the reasons for my choice. It's kind of a funny thing, naming one's blog.  I thought it should somehow reflect who I am and who I want to be.  I actually thought about it for quite a few weeks before finally settling on a name.

"Just one kind of folks" comes from Chapter 23 of  To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, one of my personal favorites of all the classics. For those of you familiar with the story, Scout and Jim are having a discussion about the differences between the different kinds of people.  When Scout asks if Walter Cunningham can come over for dinner one night, Aunt Alexandra replies, "There's no doubt in my mind that they're good folks. But they're not our kind of folks."  She then proceeds to explain that, while one must always be friendly and gracious, "you don't have to invite him home."  This upsets Scout, so Jem takes her into another room where they continue to discuss why people are different.  Jem suggests it could be a lack of "readin' and writin'."  This is Scout's reply, "No, everybody's gotta learn, nobody's born knowin'. That Walter's as smart as he can be, he just gets held back sometimes because he has to stay out and help his daddy.  Nothin's wrong with him. Naw, Jem, I think there's just one kind of folks.  Folks."

I love Scout.  I think of her as the original Junie B. Jones.  :-)  If you've never read the book, read it.  The movie with Gregory Peck is wonderful, an all-time favorite as well.

So there you go...how I chose the name of my blog. We like to label people so that they fit into certain categories, which seems to me to be a way to try to make sense of a world that so very often makes no sense at all. Maybe it makes us feel better about ourselves to be able to label others that we disagree with, are jealous of or those we don't understand.  The gay couple down the street? Perverts.  The girl driving the Prius with the Obama sticker?  Obviously a liberal, socialist hippie who wants to destroy our country.  The family in the minivan with the right to life sticker?  Well, they are religious fanatics who shoot abortion doctors. The neighbor with the perfect lawn who looks askance at the proliferation of dandelions in your front yard?  Snotty and elitist, needs to get a life.  The kid who can't seem to fit in at school?  Loser, destined for juvie.  Yes, I could go on.  But I won't.  I think you get the idea.

I like to think that I can start to see beyond the labels and the stereotypes, that we all can work to rise above.   After all, there's just one kind of folks.  Folks.

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