Donuts Are Awesome!
THE BLEACHER REPORT offers the following explanation for why someone had 20 boxes of coconut donuts delivered to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department:
It was in response to the way he was reportedly treated by the department's event staff at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday after having flown out from Los Angeles to see the Wisconsin-Northwestern game. When he tried to meet friends by entering a section he was not assigned to, he was ejected.
The fan explained the gesture to a department representative via email as a way to show his appreciation for the job the officers do ("Donuts are awesome..."), but to also show his "disdain" for his treatment at the stadium ("...but coconut donuts are not so awesome").
What a memorable way to make a point. But perhaps the best thing about the 20 boxes of coconut donuts was how they were used to express not one, but two messages. Rather than just rant over his mistreatment, this man chose to also affirm the Madison Police.
"Donuts are awesome, but coconut donuts are not so awesome," was this man's way of saying, "Police are awesome, but the way they acted in this particular situation was not so awesome."
What a great lesson for the rest of us. We would all do well to remember to express our appreciation along with whatever misgivings we might have—to put forth a little extra effort to make sure we get the whole message across.
Occasionally, you may find something to complain about, but you can always find something to affirm!
"Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone" (Colossians 4:6).
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
There’s an unusual malware circulating the internet that actually cleans computers of other viral infections and warns users to update their passwords.
Thomas Fox of Forbes writes:
The Wifatch software, now resident on at least 10,000 routers running the Linux operating system, runs across a peer-to-peer network. When it discovers that a potentially vulnerable Telnet port – a port typically used to control functions on the device and is often protected with default, crackable passwords – Wifatch shuts it down. It then asks the user to change passwords and update the firmware on the router. Furthermore, Wifatch has a module that tries to remove “well-known families of malware targeting embedded devices”.
So what are we to think of this “white-hat" vigilante?
To answer that question, the above referenced article posed an analagous query: What would you think about someone who broke into your home and left you a note that said your alarm system wasn’t effective? Are they a friend or a foe? Perhaps the information they provided would be helpful to you, but that wouldn’t change the fact that they had violated your private space.
Even when we are motivated to help, we must do so in a manner that is respectful of the boundaries of others. Help isn’t welcomed when it violets another person's personal space.
The moral here is that in all of your relationships, although it’s important to be helpful, it’s more important to be respectful. A healthy relationship is a respectful relationship.
“Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other” (Romans 12:10).
Postal Carrier's Message to Congress Wasn't Delivered
Doug Hughes is a United States Postal Carrier with what he considers to be a crucial message which he passionately believes in: We need political/governmental fiscal reform. "We need to be worried about the piles of money that are going into Congress.”
He thought it might be effective to get his message across to Congress by making a play on his postal carrier status. So he wrote a letter, copied it, and addressed it in 535 separate envelopes to every member of Congress. He then decided to deliver them personally, not by making an appointment at each Congressional office, but by violating national airspace and illegally landing his gyrocopter, with the letters in tow, on the grounds of Capitol Hill!
For his efforts, Hughes was arrested and “returned to his home in Florida to await prosecution on charges of violating national airspace and operating an unregistered aircraft. … He will wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet until a May 8, 2015 court hearing in Washington.” Needless to say, the letters were not “delivered” nor the messages read.
Hughes has expressed great frustration that his “message wasn’t getting through.” It seems that the Secret Service and Congress were far more concerned about all the laws he broke and potential lapses in national security than the contents of his 535 letters.
Hughes' antics were disruptive (not to mention expensive!). He respected neither the laws of the land, nor the time or attention of the Congress he sought to engage.
As Christians, we have a crucial message to share—the message of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. We must exercise discernment in how we choose to package and deliver that message, however, if we want our message to “get through.”
Respect is key if we wish to engage our culture in an open and honest exchange.
“… but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong” (1 Peter 3:15-18).