In the midst of a global pandemic, beautiful stories about how people are reacting are being told around the world. By now, we have surely heard of the people in Italy who came together to sing off of their balconies. Then, in Brooklyn, folks followed suit and sang one of my personal favorites, Rebel by Biggie Smalls, out of their windows.
Maybe you have heard about neighbors working together to do the grocery shopping for the elderly in Chicago or one wealthy man in Iowa who paid the water bills of his entire neighborhood. We have all read about countless acts of kindness and support for one another during this time of uncertainty and incredible loss.
If this were a radio show or a movie you would hear a record scratch right about now as the camera panned to Dare County, North Carolina where one resident felt that they could leave a horrible message on the windshields of out of state visitors telling them that they weren’t wanted here. A resident would act like out of towners were diseased simply because they lived somewhere else.
The camera might then move a little bit and show residents of Dare County attempting to protest other people’s arrival.
Pan a little bit farther and there you will see someone sitting in their home on the Outer Banks with their iPhone in their hands typing hate filled messages about anyone that may have ever spent time here on a vacation.
And while Iowa is known for the kindness of someone who paid water bills and Italy is singing beautiful songs… here on the Outer Banks we are putting on a REAL show. It’s a show that our children are watching and it’s far worse than anything R rated.
Those voices on our very own Outer Banks show (not to be confused with the Netflix rendition) aren’t a very good example of the folks that live here, but the angry voices of select few.
Let’s change that! Let’s share the goodness around here so loudly and so abundantly that there simply isn’t room for the hatred. Dare County is the Land of Beginnings and it’s never too late for a new beginning. As I scrolled through Facebook last night I read dozens of posts from local Outer Banks residents. The reactions to the terrible things that have gone on here lately were being heard and it was loud and clear; the horrible voices are a small, close minded group. The majority of the Outer Banks residents that I know are appalled at the actions of a few of our neighbors.
I love that our community has pulled together to do special things graduating seniors. I am still in complete awe of Roosters Southern Kitchen as they continue to offer free meals week after week with the help of this amazing community!
Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if at the end of this worldwide pandemic the stories that they told about Dare County and the Outer Banks were beautiful ones like these? The way this show ends is entirely up to you, Outer Banks. Let’s do it right. The children are watching.
