And we’re back! Thanks for your support in 2015. You made #HeyClay a huge success last year. You’d be surprised how many people were facing similar situations to the ones mentioned in the posts. You’d be even more surprised to find out how many people were helped in facing and embracing their challenges.
Hey, Clay.
I’m a little confused on the #blacklivesmatter movement. What is the message, and what do they want us to know about it. I have yet to receive a clear message on what it stands for. I know it has created spin offs like #alllivesmatter and #copslivesmatter. I know they want more policing of the police. What do they recommend we do to support them?
Hey, Clay.
This election season there’s so many candidates to choose from. It’s like they’re all saying the same thing. What do you think of Donald Trump?
Looking for the way home,
Dorothy Gale
Hey Clay,
I need your help navigating one of society’s emerging new awkward situations.
Hey, Clay.
I have always been very independent from a young age. I was the child that my parents were always proud of and boasted about. They still do to this day and tell everybody, “Our child is living the dream life, we are so proud.” Unfortunately something is missing. We have never made the transition from parent-child relationship to parent-adult relationship. I’m having issues with this.
Hey, Clay,
I’m a 62-year-old heterosexual male who grew up in the South with all the beauty and values southern living afforded. It wasn’t exactly a “Gone with the Wind” existence, but there were clear lines drawn between accepted and unaccepted behavior and right and wrong. Most of those distinctions were moral ones I learned according to a Christian upbringing which I needed to operate successfully in society, but when it came to Blacks and gays, there was an inherent and practiced prejudice taught by society and not by the Bible. I have spent most of my adult life discarding or un-learning the negative, racist ideas instilled in me from a young age. however, some of those beliefs still are attached to my core and may stay until I am gone from this life.
Hey, Clay.
Am I Black or not?
My mother is white, and my father is Black. I’m biracial, identify as Black, but look white. Black people always tell me I’m not Black enough, it’s like I constantly have to prove my Blackness. “You like hard rock? Obviously you’re not Black enough.” Oreo cookie.
Hey, Clay!
I have young kids who I am trying to raise to be compassionate and friendly to people they cross paths with, no matter their nationality or physicality.
When our oldest daughter was still alive and we would take her places in her wheelchair, I was always happy to answer people’s questions about her, the device she used to communicate, and her ability to understand.
If you have a situation that you’re currently dealing with that you’d like me to address, send an email (with a clever pen name instead of your real name) to me at heyclay@clayrivers.com, and tell me all about it. I’ll read through the submissions, pick one, and on Thursdays I’ll post the chosen letter along with my response here on my blog, my Facebook author page, and on my Twitter account. Rest assured, I will not publish email addresses. Ever.
