Did Don Lemon Overreact to Aaron Rodgers Testing Positive for Covid? | The Mister Brown Show

What does it mean to respond instead of react?  Did Don Lemon overreact to Aaron Rodgers testing positive for covid?  Let’s talk about it because on the Mister Brown Show we do “Real Talk, Real Life, Real Choices.” So choose well. Oh yeah! 

Quote Of The Day

“Blowing out someone else's candle will not make yours shine brighter.  Remember that.” 

Blowing out another person’s candle does nothing for the candle in your hands. Putting other people down will not lift you higher. I want to be careful with this concept as I discuss reacting vs responding.  It is not about putting other people down or calling people names, it is about finding solutions and having a discussion.  I may debate an idea, but I don’t want to attack the person holding the idea. 

Recently, I was having a conversation with someone about politics and they asked me if I am a Democrat or Republican.  Honestly, I didn’t want to answer the question. I vote based on policies that help humans flourish, not on what a specific party believes.  I believe in giving people a hand-up, not a handout.  Putting other people down based on preconceived beliefs about a political party does nothing to foster conversation.

Reacting vs. Responding 

Reacting vs. responding is all about choices.  I define ‘Reacting’ as: “Knee-jerk reaction. An immediate, unthinking, emotional reaction produced by an event or statement to which the reacting person is highly sensitive.” Road-rage is an example of reacting.  Someone cuts you off or doesn’t use their blinker and you immediately start yelling at them or cursing them out.  They can’t hear you, but you react due to an immediate feeling of anger.  I define ‘Responding’ as: “A thoughtful reply to an event or statement to which the reply can be easily understood.” It can be explained as taking a moment, even a short moment, to think and formulate a response.  I have a story to help illustrate this as well.  

There was a woman who worked for a firm where she was one of the only women. One day, she took medical leave to have her baby. When she returned to work she noticed that the environment had changed. There was more joking, inappropriate humor, etc..  One day, one of the men objected or made a comment in regards to her taking breaks to go pump or get food for her child.  She spoke with her therapist and she told her to “Convert the anger to conviction and act on the basis of principle. Doing this arms you with clarity, courage, and strength to take effective action.”  The next time that one of her coworkers said something inappropriate, she took a moment, thought about her response, and said: 

“I think we agree that we should all act professionally and treat each other as equals. 

So, if you think providing food for my child is an unprofessional distraction, I’ll stop doing it…

On one condition: you guys stop taking personal calls, talking about your dates, and interrupting meetings to talk about football. Tit for tat. No pun intended.” 

Responding is thoughtful. The woman in the story took a moment, collected her thoughts, and then responded. She didn’t react based on her emotional feelings at that moment. I encourage you to take a minute to think and then respond, don’t live your life on a reactionary basis. You can always choose to respond instead of react. Reacting and responding is a choice, and better choices equal a better life. So choose well. Oh yeah!

Responding to Don Lemon’s Reaction 

In this podcast I choose to respond to Don Lemon’s reaction to Aaron Rodgers testing positive for covid.  Don Lemon states that Aaron Rodgers is putting people’s lives in danger, should not be working, and that he should apologize for not getting vaccinated. If both vaccinated and unvaccinated people can get and spread covid, why is Aaron Rodgers at fault for not getting the shot? Is vaccination a criteria of being able to work?  

Don Lemon thinks that Aaron Rodgers shouldn't be working because he is unvaccinated.  One of the main reasons that Aaron Rodgers is not vaccinated is because he is allergic to ingredients in a majority of the covid vaccines!   He researched, spoke with his doctors, and decided that taking the covid shot was not in his best medical interests.  He made a personal decision regarding his body and his medical choices.  Don Lemon stated “do you know how many people’s lives he is putting in danger?”  Aaron Rodgers is not putting people ‘at risk’ any more than his vaccinated teammates who got covid the week before Rodgers did. His teammates are fully vaccinated and still got covid, so what is the difference? Don Lemon also stated “Why is Aaron Rodgers special?” and “I hope he owns it.”  What about the people who got the shot, and still got covid? Do they need to “own it”? Are we going to hold everybody to the same standard of liability for getting or spreading covid?  Do we get an apology for the vaccines not working, the same as they expect people to give apologies for not being vaccinated?  I have a friend who is fully vaccinated and ended up spreading covid to his wife and kids. Does the government and everyone pushing the vaccines owe my friend an apology?  If Aaron Rodgers owes people an apology, there are a lot of other apologies that need to be made as well. 

Another statement that Don Lemon made while discussing Aaron Rodgers is that “Nobody should be above the rules or the law or anything. Aaron Rodger is a human being and can spread covid as anybody else can.”  That is a great point, and I agree with Don Lemon on that comment! Aaron Rodgers is a human being and can get/spread covid like any other human, regardless of vaccination status. If you can get and spread covid after being vaccinated, what good is the shot?  

Aaron Rodger’s wide receiver, Davante Adams, got covid. He was vaccinated, but where is the uproar on that? If Aaron Rodgers was labeled as ‘vaccinated’, would we even be having this conversation?

Your Sphere Of Influence 

As Martin Luther King once said, “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” These rules or mandates are unjust.  We need to stand up against unjust rules, especially when they are proven not to be effective rules.  People are being shamed and ridiculed into getting this shot, and that is not right or moral. People should have a choice.  

Whatever your sphere of influence is, speak up! You don’t have to talk to the President of the United States or be elected to public office to make a difference.  Everybody has a sphere of influence around them. It is a choice to speak up to where your influence is. We have to stop being people who are afraid to give our opinion when it is not the same as the mainstream media! I keep hearing the term “Silent Majority.” We need to stop being silent and bring our ideas to the table.