22nd March 2008

My final thought on this Disney thing

posted in Blogging Rants |

I try to live my life seeing the good in people.  We are not perfect. We make mistakes and say things we don’t mean and don’t think before we act. I have definitely done this before in my life many times.

That’s what I want to believe with this whole Disney-event-over-Passover thing.  That it was some dumb intern who picked a date for the event, who wasn’t Jewish and who didn’t realize that the event was held over Passover. That when the blast e-mails went out to mom bloggers to attend, they just weren’t thinking about Jews/ non-Jews, etc.  Of course, they would have never scheduled the event this weekend, because it’s Easter, but I have to remind myself every now and then, while 90% of my friends are Jewish, we make up a small portion of this society. We are on the national calendar of events, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re top of mind. 

I’m not going to turn this into a religious tirade here, and I’m not excusing anyone’s behavior.  I actually hate getting involved in controversy. But, I wanted to speak out about this.  I think it’s unfortunate that the folks at Blue Suit Mom and Disney didn’t realize that the event was scheduled on a major Jewish holiday. But I think it’s just an instance of someone being dumb. Not a mess-up of blogger relations.  I’ve read all the comments and opined myself.  I’ve e-mailed with friends about it. 

 I read Maria Bailey’s comment (of Blue Suit Mom) on Devra’s blog and wonder if she doesn’t have a point:

I think there is a more productive way to meet in the middle than to publicly criticize their efforts. 

That was my approach before this whole brouhaha started. I told Maria over e-mail that the event was over Passover.  She apologized for the oversight and I accepted it for what it was - a dumb mistake. And I moved on.  Maybe I don’t get this whole blog thing, but I didn’t feel like chastizing her on a public forum.  Rather, I wanted to believe she and her team had good intentions and made a silly oversight. 

I don’t know if I’m right on this one.  But I hope I am. I want to see the good in people. And if I’m proven wrong, well, you all will hear about it here first. We all can learn from our mistakes.

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There are currently 8 responses to “My final thought on this Disney thing”

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  1. 1 On March 22nd, 2008, Adventures In Babywearing said:

    I admire your attitude about this and thank you so much for being understanding of my naivety about it all. I think this is a great situation from which to learn quite a bit.

    Steph

  2. 2 On March 22nd, 2008, Aviva said:

    “Thank you” and “I’m sorry” can go a very long way when mistakes are made. The intention is never to publicly criticize or insult the efforts of others. It is always to instruct in order to help us all as we move forward.

  3. 3 On March 22nd, 2008, Busy Mom said:

    I don’t never get to go to no Disney.

  4. 4 On March 22nd, 2008, Maria Bailey said:

    You were absolutely right in your assumption that my apology was sincere and that this was an honest mistake. Blogs are a wonderful tool however they only allow you to know people to a certain degree. I assure you that anyone who knows me well will tell you that my passion is bringing companies togethers with moms. Unfortunately, I cannot do it as fast or at the level of perfection that I and others would like me to do it. (Four kids, husband, two dogs and a job) But I keep on trying with every scholarship request for moms to attend blogher conventions, corporate request for events and introductions to advertisers. This Disney event was a test, one that now may not soon be duplicated. I thought I had done well by asking mom blogges for their input on dates, agendas, goals and event planning. (I always follow Susan Getgood’s rules.) What started out as a small test gathering of a dozen mom bloggers has become a real mess. I again apologize for any mistakes made but will continue my passion for linking companies to moms who I believe are making a difference.

  5. 5 On March 23rd, 2008, Susan Getgood said:

    Mistakes are mistakes. We’ve all made them. As I said in my response to your comment on my blog, they are also almost always dumb and avoidable.

    For my part I wish I had known it was Blue Suit Mom involved in the Disney project before I posted as I hold Maria in very high regard. I would have contacted her for a comment.

    When things go south, the real test is what you do next. Do you learn from a mistake or repeat it?

    Let’s hope we all learned something this week. And let’s move on.

  6. 6 On March 23rd, 2008, Amy@UWM said:

    Just got done watching Obama’s inspiring speech on race on YouTube. In it, he reminds us that each race has a different perspective based on their unique experiences. Each perspective is valid and until we can understand appreciate those perspectives, we will never bridge the gaps that divide us. I think the same is true of religion.

    I’m with you — Passover is not top-of-mind with our non-Jewish friends. Honestly, I’ve been completely oblivious to Easter Sunday more than once (until I showed up at a store only to find it closed — oh, yeah!).

    I do think this situation is a good reminder for all of us to be more sensitive to our differences and perspectives. But also to forgive each other when we forget.

  7. 7 On March 23rd, 2008, pickel said:

    Thanks for your perspective. It’s hard to walk in someone’s shoes and not judge their actions or intentions.

  8. 8 On March 24th, 2008, Kimberly said:

    Wow! You’ve got a great blog and this was a real nice post. It’s hard to not overreact at times and it sounds like you’ve got a great handle on this.

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