WWJD?

"A LIFE IS NOT IMPORTANT EXCEPT IN THE IMPACT IT HAS ON OTHER LIVES"-Jackie Robinson


This doesn't stand for what you would usually think. It is most commonly thought of as "What would Jesus Do?" That is fine for people who believe that, and use that as their guideline for life.
I have a harder time identifying with that, especially since I am very lapsed with my religious views. So I have decided that the guideline for me would be WWJD- What Would Jackie Do?
As in Jackie Robinson. The first African American to be allowed to play Major League Baseball. I am currently reading a book called Opening Day.
It is about Jackie Robinson's first season in the Major Leagues. The 1930's and 1940's were a rough time to be African American. An interesting fact that I learned that Jackie's older brother, Mack, finished second to Jesse Owens in the 1936 Olympics, winning the Silver medal. But when Mack came back to the states, while White members of the Olympics found jobs as teachers and athletic coaches, Mack had to take a job sweeping streets and sidewalks. When the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, decided the time was right for integration, he didn't want a player that was going to roll over and let everyone walk all over him. He wanted a player that would get angry, and be offended, but be able to put the racism behind him, and do what was best for the game. In other words, Mr. Rickey wanted Jackie to take out his anger and frustations on the field. This kind of goes hand in hand with what I have been learning in Anger Management. Not learning how to bury my anger, because it is a normal, healthy emotion. Just like crying, laughing etc. But how to deal with it positively and constructively. I have found reading about Jackie's life very inspiring, although I never got to see him play. But it is more than a book about baseball, or about a baseball player. It is more about a pioneer, and a brave man. We fail to realize sometimes how bad things were then. How would you like to go to a hotel, or restaurant and be told you coluldn't eat or stay there. Or using a separate entrance. Having to use a seperate water fountain. Ride at the very back of the bus or train. Not being able to take a cab driven by a white driver. Showing up for work, knowing you are hated by everyone for no reason. These are some of the things I try to keep in mind when it comes to my relatively miniscule problems. So that's why I try to think "What Would Jackie Do?"